Northampton Town Council criticises WNC for 'senseless' decision to evict them from the Guildhall by early 2025

A decision to “evict” Northampton Town Council out of the prestigious Guildhall has been criticised as an “orchestrated attempt to break up” the authority.

At a cabinet meeting on Tuesday (January 16), the Conservative-led West Northamptonshire Council (WNC) agreed to relocate the Labour-run Northampton Town Council (NTC) from the historic Guildhall.

WNC’s proposals involve moving the majority of its back-office workers to its base in One Angel Square (OAS), with the exception of the Coroner's service, which will relocate to the historic part of the Guildhall.

The historic Guildhall building will continue to be the “democratic heart” of West Northamptonshire and host civic and ceremonial events and activities, including continuing as the home to the Mayor of Northampton, says WNC.

WNC says the move is expected to save taxpayers at least £350,000 a year initially. It follows a thorough review which identified that WNC has “significantly more office space than it requires”, along with a need to “change how it uses its buildings to better support residents”.

Councillor Jonathan Nunn, leader of WNC, said: “As we adapt to the challenges across public services, it’s important we do not waste valuable taxpayers' money on things like surplus office space and that we make plans to reduce office space and maintenance costs. But it’s not just a financial decision; it's about bringing our teams closer, so they can work even better together, and that we ensure we adapt our services and locations to reflect residents’ needs.”

However, as part of the move, the Labour-run Northampton Town Council (NTC) is set to be moved out of the building by early 2025.

WNC initially agreed to allow NTC to use part of the Guildhall for three years following its creation in 2021, while it “established itself”. WNC says it will now give NTC another 12 months to find a new home, which WNC says it will help with.

Leader of Northampton Town Council, councillor Jane Birch, slammed the decision. She said: “The current Guildhall building was opened in 1864 after the cooperation of councillors, It was stated at the time that the new building was constructed to allow the public business of the town to be conducted in a proper manner and it would provide accommodation for carrying out the civic and business of the borough.

"It is proposed to evict the town council from its traditional central administration…this goes against all previous democratic decisions. This is an orchestrated attempt to break up the functions and fragment the operation of the town council.

“My question is, why are you doing this? It makes no sense. It makes no economic or logical sense. We are a leaseholder at the moment and we pay our rent to you. We pay over £80,000 a year to WNC. Why do you want to get rid of us? And how are you going to explain this to the residents of Northampton who look on the Guildhall as their town hall. I can assure you the citizens of Northampton will give you their answer in May 2025.

"We are being done to, not with.”

Mayor Stephen Hibbert also criticised the proposals. He said: “I find the proposal to evict the town council from the Guildhall petty and unnecessary. They occupy seven rooms on a single ground floor corridor. WNC have no need of it for meetings – they barely use the meeting rooms on the first floor. You should not create a disconnect. Reject the proposal, and grant a lease of a two ground floor corridors to Northampton Town Council.”

The plans were approved by cabinet.

NTC is set to discuss the decision at its full council meeting tonight (Monday, January 22).