West Northamptonshire is one of two unitary authority areas in the ceremonial county of Northamptonshire, England. It contains the county town of Northampton, as well as the towns of Daventry, Brackley and Towcester, and the large villages of Brixworth and Long Buckby; the rest of the area is predominantly agricultural villages though it has many lakes and small woodlands.

West Northamptonshire was created in 2021 as part of local government restructuring from the previous non-metropolitan districts of Northampton, Daventry and South Northamptonshire.

The West Coast Main Line and the M1 and M40 motorways pass through the district, and it includes the site of the Roman town of Bannaventa and the grade I listed Althorp House and its estate.

History

West Northamptonshire was formed on 1 April 2021 through the merger of the three non-metropolitan districts of Daventry, Northampton, and South Northamptonshire. The new West Northamptonshire Council therefore absorbed the functions of those districts' councils, plus those of the abolished Northamptonshire County Council. West 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, Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and 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.

Governance

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.

Demographics

Population

Population pyramid in 2020

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.

Gender

In 2020, there was around an estimated 202,004 men and 204,729 women.

Ethnicity

Ethnic Group199120012011
Number%Number%Number%
White: Total301,94096.1%326,51394.5%336,93389.8%
White: British––315,12791.2%314,92484%
White: Irish––4,9964,011
White: Gypsy or Irish Traveller––––214
White: Other––6,39017,784
Asian or Asian British: Total6,2682%7,2242.1%16,0634.3%
Asian or Asian British: Indian2,9183,9156,471
Asian or Asian British: Pakistani5639151,789
Asian or Asian British: Bangladeshi1,2151,8183,474
Asian or Asian British: Chinese8471,4952,005
Asian or Asian British: Other Asian7255762,324
Black or Black British: Total4,7461.5%5,0781.5%11,5983.1%
Black or Black British: Caribbean2,8773,0776,837
Black or Black British: African5131,4653,298
Black or Black British: Other Black1,3565361,463
Mixed or British Mixed: Total––4,4121.3%8,8232.4%
Mixed: White and Black Caribbean––2,0093,819
Mixed: White and Black African––3531,241
Mixed: White and Asian––1,1301,947
Mixed: Other Mixed––9201,816
Other: Total1,2830.4%8670.3%1,6840.4%
Other: Arab––––579
Other: Any other ethnic group1,2830.4%8671,105
Total314,237100%345,589100%375,101100%

Age structure

Age distribution of West Northamptonshire in 2020
0–9 years10–19 years20–29 years30–39 years40–49 years50–59 years60–69 years70–79 years80+ years
52,45348,85745,49452,91954,38757,32243,18134,67617,865

Media

In terms of television, West Northamptonshire is served by BBC East and ITV Anglia with television signals received from the Sandy Heath transmitter. BBC East Midlands and ITV Central can also be received with the television signals received from the Waltham. However, Daventry is served by BBC West Midlands and ITV Central broadcasting from the Sutton Coldfield TV transmitter. However, southwestern parts of the region such as Brackley, Towcester and Silverstone are served by BBC South and ITV Meridian broadcasting from the Oxford TV transmitter. Radio stations for the area are:

The area is served by these local newspapers: Northampton Chronicle & Echo, Daventry Express and Banbury Guardian which covers Brackley.

Settlements and parishes

For a county-wide list for Northamptonshire see List of places in Northamptonshire

West Northamptonshire is entirely covered by civil parishes, of which there are 166.

Locations

The district includes the site of the Roman fortified town of Bannaventa, and the grade I listed stately home Althorp House and its estate.

See also

External links