Council meeting called off as Northampton Guildhall set to become ‘uncomfortably hot’
West Northamptonshire Council (WNC) has had to postpone its full council meeting later this week due to the extreme heat sweeping the country.
The authority has confirmed that tonight’s (Thursday June 25) meeting will be delayed for three weeks until Monday, July 13, as the Met Office has issued a rare red weather warning for the region, until 9pm on Thursday.
The warning has been in place since 9am on Wednesday and temperatures are expected to soar to nearly 40C at their peak.
WNC has said that their decision to postpone the meeting follows a meeting between the council’s newly elected chairman, Cllr Fiona Baker, and representatives of all political groups this afternoon.
The authority has warned that internal temperatures are likely to exceed 30C inside the Northampton Guildhall, where the meeting was set to take place from 5pm, and that the decision has been taken in the interest of welfare .
“The Great Hall would be uncomfortably hot for councillors, officers and members of the public,” a spokesperson added.
The red weather warning stretches down from Birmingham to Salisbury and across the UK from Cardiff to London. Locally, it covers Northampton, Daventry and the south of county.
The full council meeting was due to have a packed agenda, with items of business including the authority’s Annual Report for 2025-26 which sets out its performance against key priorities, the budget outturn position for last year which indicates a £7m overspend, and updates to the council’s constitution.
Motions put forward by the political parties include priority business from the Conservative opposition which addresses the council’s responsibility to support local businesses, another Tory motion on the new rules being introduced around pavement parking, a Labour motion asking the council to recognise and conduct a strategic review work done by the voluntary sector, a returning Lib Dem motion ensuring the council makes decisions through the lens of disability, and a Reform UK motion opposing the loss of local democratic oversight in upcoming government planning reforms.
The matters due to be debated, as well as public participation and questions of cabinet members, will instead be discussed at the next full council on July 13.
This is thought to be the first time WNC has had to postpone meetings due to the heat as temperatures are expected to hit record highs. A meeting of the West Northamptonshire Health and Wellbeing Board scheduled for 2pm today was also postponed to next month, on July 20, due to the red weather alert.