Northampton has lots of great outdoor spaces, and the Active Quarter partnership was formed to help make enjoying these spaces even easier. The partnership is a collection of businesses, organisations, and local people – all working together to easier for people to enjoying being outdoors.

Part of this work has meant mapping great local places to visit – and listing any information that would be useful to know if you’ve never been before.

When the Active Quarter website first launched, we included street-lit routes, benches, and bus stops on our online map. Now, we’re delighted to have added over 100 new data points to our map – marking the locations of even more public seating across the area.

To maintain this map, we rely on open source data and local knowledge – and we know that we haven’t found all local benches yet. To make listings as comprehensive as possible, we need your help. You can help us make this feature even better. Visit this link and drop a pin to tell us about a new bench you’ve spotted – or where you think a new bench would be useful in the future.

From previous research, we know how valuable outdoor seating can be. For some people, benches can be the difference between making a visit or staying at home. In fact, the Department for Transport’s Inclusive Mobility report recommended that benches are never more than 150 metres apart.

And if you have any other ideas for making our website better in general, you can get in touch with us via this link – or submit listings for other local activities here.

Anything you can tell us about the area is exceptionally useful. It will help people feel more confident getting outside and choosing places to visit. This way, everybody can enjoy being outdoors knowing that their needs will be met, wherever they choose.