| West Northamptonshire | |
| Settlement Type: | Unitary authority area |
| Motto: | Ambition, Pride, Unity, Prosperity |
| Coordinates: | 52.237°N -0.895°W |
| Subdivision Type: | Sovereign state |
| Subdivision Name: | United Kingdom |
| Subdivision Type1: | Country |
| Subdivision Name1: | England |
| Subdivision Type2: | Region |
| Subdivision Name2: | East Midlands |
| Subdivision Type3: | Ceremonial county |
| Subdivision Name3: | Northamptonshire |
| Established Title: | Incorporated |
| Established Date: | 1 April 2021 |
| Seat Type: | Administrative HQ |
| Seat: | Northampton |
| Government Footnotes: | [1] |
| Government Type: | Unitary authority with leader and cabinet |
| Governing Body: | West Northamptonshire Council |
| Leader Title: | Control |
| Leader Title4: | House of Commons |
| Area Rank: | |
| Area Total Km2: | 1380 |
| Area Water Km2: | 3 |
| Population Rank: | |
| Demographics Type1: | Ethnicity (2021) |
| Demographics1 Title1: | Ethnic groups |
| Demographics Type2: | Religion (2021) |
| Demographics2 Title1: | Religion |
| Timezone1: | GMT |
| Utc Offset1: | +0 |
| Timezone1 Dst: | BST |
| Utc Offset1 Dst: | +1 |
| Postal Code Type: | Postcode area |
| Postal Code: | NN |
| Area Code Type: | Dialling codes |
| Iso Code: | GB-WNH |
| Code1 Name: | GSS code |
| Code1 Info: | E06000062 |
| Code2 Name: | ITL code |
| Code2 Info: | TLF24 |
| Blank Name Sec1: | GVA |
| Blank Info Sec1: | 2021 estimate[2] |
| Blank1 Name Sec1: | Total |
| Blank1 Info Sec1: | £13.2 billion |
| Blank2 Name Sec1: | Per capita |
| Blank2 Info Sec1: | £30,905 |
| Blank Name Sec2: | GDP (nominal) |
| Blank Info Sec2: | 2021 estimate |
| Blank1 Name Sec2: | Total |
| Blank1 Info Sec2: | £14.7 billion |
| Blank2 Name Sec2: | Per capita |
| Blank2 Info Sec2: | £34,385 |
West Northamptonshire is a local government district in the ceremonial county of Northamptonshire, England, created in 2021. West Northamptonshire Council is a unitary authority, being a district council which also performs the functions of a county council.
By far the largest settlement in West Northamptonshire is the county town of Northampton. Its other significant towns are Daventry, Brackley and Towcester; the rest of the area is predominantly agricultural villages though it has many lakes and small woodlands and is passed through by the West Coast Main Line and the M1 and M40 motorways. The district includes the site of the Roman town of Bannaventa, and the grade I listed Althorp House and its estate.
West Northamptonshire was formed on 1 April 2021[3] through the merger of the three non-metropolitan districts of Daventry, Northampton, and South Northamptonshire. The new West Northamptonshire Council therefore absorbed the functions of those districts' councils, plus those of the abolished Northamptonshire County Council. These changes were implemented by creating a new non-metropolitan district and a non-metropolitan county covering the area, both called West Northamptonshire. There is no county council; instead the district council performs county-level functions, making it a unitary authority.[4] West Northamptonshire remains part of the ceremonial county of Northamptonshire for the purposes of lieutenancy and shrievalty.[5]
In March 2018, following financial and cultural mismanagement by the cabinet and officers at Northamptonshire County Council, the then Secretary of State for Local Government, Sajid Javid, sent commissioner Max Caller into the council, who recommended the county council and all-district and borough councils in the county be abolished, and replaced by two unitary authorities, one covering the West, and one the North of the county.[6] These proposals were approved in April 2019. It meant that the districts of Daventry, Northampton and South Northamptonshire were merged to form a new unitary authority called West Northamptonshire, whilst the second unitary authority North Northamptonshire consists of the former Corby, East Northamptonshire, Kettering and Wellingborough districts.[7] [8]
| West Northamptonshire Council | |
| Logo Pic: | West Northamptonshire Council.svg |
| Logo Res: | 170px |
| House Type: | Unitary authority |
| Leader1 Type: | Chair |
| Leader1: | Jo Gilford |
| Party1: | Conservative |
| Election1: | 16 May 2024[9] |
| Leader2 Type: | Leader |
| Leader2: | Adam Brown |
| Party2: | Conservative |
| Election2: | 16 May 2024[10] |
| Leader3 Type: | Chief Executive |
| Leader3: | Anna Earnshaw |
| Election3: | 2020[11] |
| Members: | 93 councillors |
| Structure1: | File:UK West Northamptonshire Council 2021.svg |
| Structure1 Res: | 250px |
| Political Groups1: |
|
| Last Election1: | 6 May 2021 |
| Next Election1: | 1 May 2025 |
| Session Room: | One Angel Square, Northampton.jpg |
| Meeting Place: | One Angel Square, 4 Angel Street, Northampton, NN11ED[12] |
West Northamptonshire Council provides both county-level and district-level services. The whole area is also covered by civil parishes, which form a second tier of local government.[13]
Since its creation in 2021, the Conservatives have held a majority of the seats on the council:[14]
The leader of the council from its first meeting following its creation in 2021 was Jonathan Nunn, who was the last leader of the old Northampton Borough Council. Ian McCord, outgoing Conservative leader of the old South Northamptonshire District Council, had served as leader of the shadow authority set up to oversee the transition to the new arrangements.[15]
| Councillor | Party | From | To | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jonathan Nunn[16] | 20 May 2021 | 18 April 2024 | ||
| Adam Brown | 16 May 2024 | |||
Following the 2021 election and subsequent changes up to May 2024, the composition of the council was:
| Party | Councillors | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| 61 | |||
| 20 | |||
| 6 | |||
| 6 | |||
| Total | 93 | ||
See also: 2021 West Northamptonshire Council election. Elections for a shadow authority were due to be held on Thursday 7 May 2020 but were postponed until 6 May 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. New ward boundaries have been drawn up to take effect from the 2025 elections, which will reduce the number of councillors from 93 to 76, to be elected from 35 wards each electing one, two or three councillors. From 2025 elections will be held every four years.[18]
Council meetings are generally held at Northampton Guildhall, with the nearby former Northamptonshire County Council offices at One Angel Square serving as the council's headquarters.[19] The council also inherited offices at The Forum in Towcester from South Northamptonshire District Council and Lodge Road in Daventry from Daventry District Council. The Forum continues to be used as additional offices and for some council meetings, whilst Lodge Road has closed, being replaced by a smaller area office in Daventry.[20]
The West Northamptonshire population was estimated to be around 406,733 people in 2020, in 2011, off of previous administrative boundaries, the population of the West Northamptonshire area was around 375,101 people, with it being 345,589 people in 2001.[21]
In 2020, there was around an estimated 202,004 men and 204,729 women.
| Ethnic Group | 1991[22] | 2001[23] | 2011[24] | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Number | % | Number | % | Number | % | ||
| White Total | 301,940 | 96.1% | 326,513 | 94.5% | 336,933 | 89.8% | |
| White: British | – | – | 315,127 | 91.2% | 314,924 | 84% | |
| White: Irish | – | – | 4,996 | 4,011 | |||
| White: Gypsy or Irish Traveller | – | – | – | – | 214 | ||
| White: Other | – | – | 6,390 | 17,784 | |||
| Asian or Asian British Total | 6,268 | 2% | 7,224 | 2.1% | 16,063 | 4.3% | |
| Asian or Asian British: Indian | 2,918 | 3,915 | 6,471 | ||||
| Asian or Asian British: Pakistani | 563 | 915 | 1,789 | ||||
| Asian or Asian British: Bangladeshi | 1,215 | 1,818 | 3,474 | ||||
| Asian or Asian British: Chinese | 847 | 1,495 | 2,005 | ||||
| Asian or Asian British: Other Asian | 725 | 576 | 2,324 | ||||
| Black or Black British Total | 4,746 | 1.5% | 5,078 | 1.5% | 11,598 | 3.1% | |
| Black or Black British: Caribbean | 2,877 | 3,077 | 6,837 | ||||
| Black or Black British: African | 513 | 1,465 | 3,298 | ||||
| Black or Black British: Other Black | 1,356 | 536 | 1,463 | ||||
| Mixed or British Mixed Total | – | – | 4,412 | 1.3% | 8,823 | 2.4% | |
| Mixed: White and Black Caribbean | – | – | 2,009 | 3,819 | |||
| Mixed: White and Black African | – | – | 353 | 1,241 | |||
| Mixed: White and Asian | – | – | 1,130 | 1,947 | |||
| Mixed: Other Mixed | – | – | 920 | 1,816 | |||
| Other: Total | 1,283 | 0.4% | 867 | 0.3% | 1,684 | 0.4% | |
| Other: Arab | – | – | – | – | 579 | ||
| Other: Any other ethnic group | 1,283 | 0.4% | 867 | 1,105 | |||
| Total | 314,237 | 100% | 345,589 | 100% | 375,101 | 100% | |
| 52,453 | 48,857 | 45,494 | 52,919 | 54,387 | 57,322 | 43,181 | 34,676 | 17,865 |
In terms of television, West Northamptonshire is served by BBC East and ITV Anglia with television signals received from the Sandy Heath transmitter. [25] However, some southwestern parts of the area such as Brackley is served by BBC South and ITV Meridian broadcasting from the Oxford TV transmitter. [26]
Radio stations for the area are:
The area is served by these local newspapers: Northampton Chronicle & Echo, Daventry Express and Banbury Guardian which covers Brackley.
For a county-wide list for Northamptonshire see List of places in Northamptonshire
West Northamptonshire is entirely covered by civil parishes, of which there are 166.[27]
The district includes the site of the Roman fortified town of Bannaventa, and the grade I listed stately home Althorp House and its estate.
| Escutcheon: | Vert on a Bend wavy on the upper edge Or four Roses Gules barbed and seeded proper between a Lion's Face and a Garb Or banded Gules.[28] [29] |
| Crest: | On a Wreath Or and Vert in front of a Mount Vert thereon a Tower triple-towered Argent the portcullis raised Or three Garbs banded and two Roses Gules barbed and seeded proper. |
| Supporters: | On the dexter side a Lion guardant Or resting the interior hindpaw on an Escallop Argent and on the sinister side a Bull guardant Sable gorged with a Collar and Line reflexed over the back Or and resting the interior hindleg on a Horseshoe Argent. |
| Badge: | A Lion sejant guardant supporting a Garb Or thereon four Roses palewise Gules barbed and seeded proper. |
| Motto: | Ambition, Pride, Unity, Prosperity |
| Symbolism: | The Dexter supporter, a golden lion, is taken from the arms of Northampton, with the scallop on which it stands, a reference to the arms of the Spencer family, owners of the Althorp Estate. The black bull in sinister, is taken from the former Northamptonshire County Council's arms. The four roses on the escutcheon stand for the towns of Daventry, Brackley, Towcester and Northampton.[30] [31] |
| Notes: | Granted in May 2023.[32] |