The government has decided to change the way local councils work in Northamptonshire. Northamptonshire County Council and the seven district and borough councils, including Kettering, will be replaced by two new unitary councils on 1st April 2021: North Northamptonshire and West Northamptonshire.
North Northamptonshire Council will take over providing all our local services that are now split between the County Council and Kettering Borough Council, as well as those now provided by Corby, Wellingborough and East Northamptonshire councils. That includes services like Housing, Social Care, Street Cleaning, Planning, Highways, Sports, Leisure & Tourism.
A new Kettering Town Council will be set up, like those in Burton Latimer, Desborough and Rothwell. Across Kettering, there will be elections for the town councils and North Northamptonshire Council on 6 May.
In February 2018 the Conservative run County Council was effectively bankrupt - the first council in 20 years. Eventually, in May 2018, the government stepped in and appointed Commissioners to run the council. And they said:
‘When we arrived it was clear that the authority had not had effective leadership for some considerable time – it lacked integrity and was operating without a corporate centre. It was failing to manage its activities in accordance with the established norms of a local authority. This was most pressingly reflected in its financial situation.’
We need to make sure that we have councillors who have the skills, knowledge and experience to take on the huge challenge facing them. You have the chance to choose them on Election Day, Thursday 6 May.
You can read more detailed information about the restructure by clicking here, and you can read more detailed information about the election by clicking here.
