Northampton Town Council
Working with the community to improve
the quality of life in Northampton
Cllr Ashraf is Northampton Town Council's new First Citizen
The first meeting of the 25 newly elected Town Councillors was held on Monday 17th May 2021 at 6pm, at which Cllr. Rufia Ashraf was elected as Town Mayor, with Cllr. Dennis Meredith as her Deputy Town Mayor for the coming year. She succeeds Councillor Brian Sargeant who was Mayor until the devolution of the Borough Council on 31st March.
Rufia, the 781st Mayor of Northampton, is born and bred in Northampton and is also proud of her Bangladeshi heritage. Cllr Ashraf has dedicated her career to the people of Northampton, she has been an activist within her community for the last 25 years. As a trained social worker and Domestic Abuse and Women's Officer Cllr Ashraf is thrilled to be representing NDAS – Northamptonshire Domestic Abuse Service.
Cllr Ashraf is dedicated to local democracy and fairness, she loves a challenge and to influence change. Cllr Ashraf's mission statement as Mayor is; "a Cleaner, Greener, Safer Northampton". She hopes to raise awareness of climate change and the issue of litter. When not serving the people of her ward in St James, and afar, Cllr Ashraf loves to spend time with her family of three young children and her husband Abu. When she has the time in her busy schedule Cllr Ashraf loves to read and go for walks in the beautiful Northamptonshire countryside.
As well as the office of Mayor, the town's proud civic heritage, events and traditions have also been transferred to the Town Council which will continue to honour these events and much more with a new dedicated team of Officers.
New Town Council up and running
From Thursday 1st April Northampton's new Town Council will be fully operational with its new, dedicated team of five staff starting in their roles. All statutory services previously provided by Northampton Borough Council will now be delivered by the new West Northants Council. The Town Council team will be making preparations for the first elected town councillors to take up their roles as the democratic voice of all the town's communities, after elections on 6th May.
The Council is usually based at the historic Guildhall, however to comply with Covid 19 restrictions, the team will be working remotely for the time being. You can contact us between the hours of 9.00 a.m. to 5.00 p.m. Monday to Friday by telephone on 01604 349310or by email at info@northamptontowncouncil.gov.uk
A New Town Council for Northampton!
Why?
Local Government in Northamptonshire is changing next year. All existing boroughs, districts and the county council are being replaced by two new unitary councils: North Northamptonshire and West Northamptonshire which will include the current Borough of Northampton.
This would leave a large area of the Borough, not currently covered by a parish council, without direct representation. The Borough Council, following an extensive public consultation in 2019, has agreed to create a new Town Council as well as a Kingsthorpe Parish Council and a Far Cotton and Delapré Community Council.
What will it do?
The main function of the Town Council will be to give a democratically elected voice to the people of the Northampton on the key issues facing the town. It will also ensure that the town's rich heritage and traditions will be protected and enhanced as well as providing a range of local services.
Who is running the Council?
There will be 25 councillors representing 21 Wards (or electoral areas). A list of Wards can be found here.
The secretariat to the Town Council is being provide by the Northants County Association of Local Councils and the Acting Town Clerk is Richard Walden. See below for their contact details.
During 2020 the Town Council will be recruiting and selecting their own permanent Town Clerk and other staff.
The Town Mayor
During its first year of operation the Town Councillors will elect a Chairman and Deputy Chairman. However, after Northampton Borough Council ceases to exist in April 2021, the Chairman and Deputy Chairman are expected to be styled the Town Mayor and Deputy Town Mayor, so continuing Northampton's proud tradition of centuries with a Mayor as its first citizen.
The Wards
The Town Council is serving only part of the areas previously falling within the area of the Borough Council. The rest of the population is served by 12 parish councils whose contact details can be found here.
A map showing the new wards and surrounding parishes can be found here
A list of wards covered by Northampton Town Council can be found here