North Northamptonshire

North Northamptonshire is one of two local government districts in Northamptonshire, England. Its council is a unitary authority, being a district council which also performs the functions of a county council. It was created in 2021. The council is based in Corby, the district's largest town. Other notable towns are Kettering, Wellingborough, Rushden, Raunds, Desborough, Rothwell, Irthlingborough, Thrapston and Oundle.

It has a string of lakes along the Nene Valley Conservation Park, associated heritage railway, the village of Fotheringhay which has tombs of the House of York as well as a towering church supported by flying buttresses. This division has a well-preserved medieval castle in private hands next to Corby – Rockingham Castle – and about 20 other notable country houses, many of which have visitor gardens or days.

History
North Northamptonshire was created on 1 April 2021 by the merger of the four non-metropolitan districts of Corby, East Northamptonshire, Kettering, and Wellingborough. The new council took on the functions of these districts, plus those of the abolished Northamptonshire County Council within the area. The way these changes was implemented was to create a new non-metropolitan district and a non-metropolitan county covering the area, both called North Northamptonshire. There is no county council; instead the district council performs county-level functions, making it a unitary authority. North Northamptonshire remains part of the ceremonial county of Northamptonshire for the purposes of lieutenancy and shrievalty.

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. 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.

The council logo depicts Rockingham Castle, the River Welland and a red kite. The red kite is a bird of prey that has become strongly associated with the county of Northamptonshire, and is particularly commonplace in the north-eastern parts of the county around Corby and Rockingham Forest.

Governance
North 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.

Political control
Since its creation in 2021, the Conservatives have held a majority of the seats on the council:

Leadership
The leader of the council from its first meeting following its creation in 2021 has been:

Russell Roberts, outgoing leader of the old Kettering Borough Council, had served as leader of the shadow authority set up to oversee the transition to the new arrangements.

Composition
Following the inaugural election in 2021 and subsequent by-elections and changes of allegiance up to July 2024, the composition of the council was: The next election is due in 2025.

Elections
Elections for a shadow authority were due to be held on Thursday 7 May 2020, but were postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. These elections were instead held on 6 May 2021 and the Conservatives won a majority of seats. The Council comprises 78 councillors elected across 26 wards. New ward boundaries have been drawn up to come into effect for the 2025 elections, reducing the number of councillors to 67.

Premises
The council inherited four sets of offices from the predecessor authorities, being the Corby Cube, the Kettering Municipal Offices, Swanspool House in Wellingborough, and the old East Northamptonshire District Council offices on Cedar Drive in Thrapston. The Corby Cube was chosen as the main meeting place. The other buildings serve as area offices.

Settlements and parishes
The parish councils for Burton Latimer, Corby, Desborough, Finedon, Higham Ferrers, Irthlingborough, Kettering, Oundle, Raunds, Rothwell, Rushden, Thrapston and Wellingborough have declared their parishes to be towns, allowing them to take the style "town council".


 * Achurch, Aldwincle, Apethorpe, Ashley, Ashton
 * Barnwell, Barton Seagrave, Benefield, Blatherwycke, Bozeat, Brampton Ash, Braybrooke, Brigstock, Broughton, Bulwick, Burton Latimer
 * Chelveston cum Caldecott, Clopton, Corby, Collyweston, Cotterstock, Cottingham, Cranford, Cransley
 * Deene, Deenethorpe, Denford, Desborough, Dingley, Duddington-with-Fineshade
 * Earls Barton, East Carlton, Easton Maudit, Easton on the Hill, Ecton
 * Finedon, Fotheringhay
 * Geddington, Glapthorn, Grafton Underwood, Great Addington, Great Doddington, Great Harrowden, Grendon, Gretton,
 * Hardwick, Hargrave, Harrington, Harringworth, Hemington, Higham Ferrers
 * Irchester, Irthlingborough, Islip, Isham
 * Kettering, King's Cliffe
 * Laxton, Lilford-cum-Wigsthorpe, Little Addington, Little Harrowden, Little Irchester, Loddington, Lowick, Luddington, Lutton
 * Mawsley, Mears Ashby, Middleton
 * Nassington, Newton and Little Oakley, Newton Bromswold
 * Orlingbury, Orton, Oundle
 * Pilton, Polebrook, Pytchley
 * Raunds, Ringstead, Rockingham, Rothwell, Rushden, Rushton
 * Shotley, Southwick, Stanion, Stanwick, Stoke Doyle, Stoke Albany, Strixton, Sudborough, Sutton Bassett, Sywell
 * Tansor, Thorpe Malsor, Thorpe Waterville, Thrapston, Thurning, Titchmarsh, Twywell
 * Wadenhoe, Wakerley, Warkton, Warmington, Weekley, Weldon, Wellingborough, Weston by Welland, Wilbarston, Wilby, Wollaston, Northamptonshire,Woodford, Woodnewton, Wollaston
 * Yarwell

Media
In terms of television, the area is served by BBC East and ITV Anglia which broadcast from the Sandy Heath transmitter. The Waltham transmitter can also be received which broadcast BBC East Midlands and ITV Central programmes.

Radio stations for the area are:
 * BBC Radio Northampton on 103.6 FM
 * BBC Radio Cambridgeshire on 95.7 FM
 * Heart East on 96.6 FM
 * Smooth East Midlands (formerly Connect FM) on 97.2 FM, 106.8 FM, and 107.4 FM

North Northamptonshire is served by the following local newspapers: Northamptonshire Evening Telegraph and Northampton Chronicle and Echo.