Hotels in Northampton are getting quite a lot of refund requests. The trial of Jason Zadrozny, Ashfield District Council's leader, was due to get underway in the town's crown court on Monday (February 24).

In preparation for covering the trial, Nottinghamshire Live asked Northampton Crown Court to simply confirm that it would begin as planned on Monday. We expected this to be a simple yet important formality to banish any nerves that we would be making the long and surprisingly arduous trip from Nottingham to Northampton (look up the rail links) in vain.

An astonishing reply came back from the court, telling us that the February 24 date had been vacated and that the trial would now begin in August 2026. As with many, it wasn't until the second glance that the second element of that new date really sunk in.

The trial, relating to charges on which Councillor Zadrozny was first arrested way back in September 2021, will now not begin for well over a year. It is a delay that does nobody any good.

It of course does no good for Councillor Zadrozny himself, who has pleaded not guilty to 12 counts of fraud by false representation and four counts of income tax evasion. The Ashfield leader has described how he and his family have already "endured" the weight of this process for four years now.

The delay also does no good for........

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