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.
A New Town Council for Northampton!
Northampton's new Town Council has been fully operational from Thursday 1st April, with a new, dedicated team of five staff. All statutory services previously provided by Northampton Borough Council will now be delivered by the new West Northants Council. The first elected town councillors took up their roles as the democratic voice of all the town's communities, following the elections of the 6th May.
The Council is based at the historic Guildhall. 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
Why?
Local Government in Northamptonshire has changed. All existing boroughs, districts and the county council have been replaced by two new unitary councils: North Northamptonshire and West Northamptonshire which will include the current Borough of Northampton.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, agreed to the creation of the 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 is 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 are 25 councillors representing 21 Wards (or electoral areas). You can find your local Councillor here. A list of Wards can be found here.
The secretariat to the Town Council is being provided by the Northants County Association of Local Councils. The Town Clerk is Stuart Carter. See below for their contact details.
The Town Mayor
After Northampton Borough Council ceased to exist in April 2021, the Chairman and Deputy Chairman are styled as the Town Mayor, Cllr. Rufia Ashraf and Deputy Town Mayor, Cllr. Dennis Meredith, 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