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.[9] 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.[10][11]
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.[16]
Political control
Since its creation in 2021, the Conservatives have held a majority of the seats on the council:[17]
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.[18]
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.[21]
Premises
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.[22] 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.[23]
Demographics
Population
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.[24]
Gender
In 2020, there was around an estimated 202,004 men and 204,729 women.[24]
Age distribution of West Northamptonshire in 2020[24]
0-9 years
10-19 years
20-29 years
30-39 years
40-49 years
50-59 years
60-69 years
70-79 years
80+ years
52,453
48,857
45,494
52,919
54,387
57,322
43,181
34,676
17,865
Media
In terms of television, West Northamptonshire is served by BBC East and ITV Anglia with television signals received from the Sandy Heath transmitter. [28] However, some southwestern parts of the area such as Brackley is served by BBC South and ITV Meridian broadcasting from the Oxford TV transmitter. [29]