Northampton Town Council is the parish council covering the majority of the town of

Northampton Northampton () is a market town and civil parish in the East Midlands of England, on the River Nene, north-west of London and south-east of Birmingham. The county town of Northamptonshire, Northampton is one of the largest towns in England; ...

, England. The council is the largest parish level authority in England by population served. The council has its headquarters at

Northampton Guildhall Northampton Guildhall is a municipal building in St Giles' Square in Northampton, England. It is a Grade II* listed building. History The first guildhall in Northampton was a 12th-century building at the junction of Gold Street and Horsemark ...

History

The council was created on 1 April 2020, but did not become fully functional until a year later. It was created to eliminate the need for

charter trustees In England and Wales, charter trustees are set up to maintain the continuity of a town charter or city charter after a district with the status of a borough or city has been abolished, until such time as a parish council is established. Duties are ...

and to ensure Northampton had a representative body, following the abolition of the former

Northampton Borough Council Northampton Borough Council was the borough council and non-metropolitan district responsible for local government in the large town of Northampton in England. In 2021 the council was abolished and succeeded by West Northamptonshire Council; a uni ...

, which was merged into the larger

unitary authority A unitary authority is a local authority responsible for all local government functions within its area or performing additional functions that elsewhere are usually performed by a higher level of sub-national government or the national governmen ...

West Northamptonshire West Northamptonshire is a unitary authority area covering part of the ceremonial county of Northamptonshire, England, created in 2021. By far the largest settlement in West Northamptonshire is the county town of Northampton. Its other signif ...

Council, following local government changes in

Northamptonshire Northamptonshire (; abbreviated Northants.) is a county in the East Midlands of England. In 2015, it had a population of 723,000. The county is administered by two unitary authorities: North Northamptonshire and West Northamptonshire. It is ...

. Unlike the former borough council, the town council does not cover the entire Northampton urban area, as several smaller parish councils cover several of the town's suburbs. The town council covers an area with around 130,000 people, out of the roughly 225,000 people in Northampton as a whole. The historic

coat of arms A coat of arms is a heraldry, heraldic communication design, visual design on an escutcheon (heraldry), escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the latter two being outer garments). The coat of arms on an escutcheon forms the central ele ...

from the former borough council were transferred to the new town council.

Responsibilities

The council initially took responsibility for cemeteries, allotments and the mayoralty, and also the running of civic events like festivals, Remembrance Sunday and Armed Forces Day. In 2021 it launched two schemes for distributing

grants Grant or Grants may refer to: Places *Grant County (disambiguation) Australia * Grant, Queensland, a locality in the Barcaldine Region, Queensland, Australia United Kingdom *Castle Grant United States * Grant, Alabama *Grant, Inyo County, C ...

to local community groups and charities, from an annual budget of £125,000.

Political control

At the first elections to the council on 7 May 2021, the Labour Party took control, winning 17 seats. The

Conservative Party The Conservative Party is a name used by many political parties around the world. These political parties are generally right-wing though their exact ideologies can range from center-right to far-right. Political parties called The Conservative P ...

won seven, and the Liberal Democrats won one seat.

Other parishes in Northampton

As well as the Northampton Town Council area, there are 12 other

civil parish In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government below districts and counties, or their combined form, the unitary authority ...

es in the Northampton urban area, ten were pre-existing, and two (Kingsthorpe and Far Cotton and Delapre) were created concurrently with the town council, these are: * Billing *

Duston Duston is a suburb of Northampton and a civil parish in West Northamptonshire, England. History Archaeological remains found in the area suggest that Duston has roots in Prehistoric and Roman settlements. However, development in the area ha ...

Collingtree Collingtree is a village and civil parish in the West Northamptonshire district of Northamptonshire, England. It is part of the Northampton built-up area. Location and context The village is about from Northampton town centre, close to the ...

East Hunsbury East Hunsbury is a large residential area in the south of the town of Northampton, England, from the town centre and from junction 15 of the M1 motorway. For administrative purposes it is part of the unitary authority of West Northamptonshire. ...

* Far Cotton and Delapre * Great Houghton *

Hardingstone Hardingstone is a village in Northamptonshire, England. It is on the southern edge of Northampton, and now forms a suburb of the town. It is about from the town centre. The Newport Pagnell road (the B526, formerly part of the A50) separates ...

Hunsbury Meadows West Hunsbury is a large housing estate in the south of the town of Northampton, from the town centre, from the M1 motorway, junction 15A and from junction 15. The motorway can be seen and heard as most of the area is elevated and the wind's ...

Kingsthorpe Kingsthorpe is a suburb and civil parish of Northampton, England. It is situated to the north of Northampton town centre and is served by the A508 and A5199 roads which join at Kingsthorpe's centre. The 2011 Census recorded the population of ...

* Upton *

West Hunsbury West Hunsbury is a large housing estate in the south of the town of Northampton, from the town centre, from the M1 motorway, junction 15A and from junction 15. The motorway can be seen and heard as most of the area is elevated and the wind's ...

* Wootton, Wootton Fields and Simpson Manor

References

{{reflist

External links

Official Website
Politics of Northampton Local government in Northamptonshire Parish councils of England 2020 establishments in England Local authorities in Northamptonshire