‘I want Market Square to host events every weekend’ says council leader after Northamptonshire Day success

The event, on Saturday, October 25, was organised by West and North Northamptonshire Councils alongside Discover Northamptonshire and a range of local partners and sponsors.

The day saw cultural, heritage and community projects from across the county come together to display the best that Northamptonshire has to offer, as well as dedicated family fun zones and live entertainment on the main stage.

Speaking to the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS), leader of West Northamptonshire Council (WNC), Councillor Mark Arnull, said the celebration was one of many examples of the authority maximising the use of the new town centre attraction after its £12m makeover last year.

He said: “The first Northamptonshire Day celebrations are one year on from the regeneration of the Market Square. It’s now getting used to its full potential and that’s brilliant.

“One of the priorities in the West, and similar in the North, is to connect with the electorate and bring the electorate together, so we really need to use these spaces more and more.

“Personally, I’d like to see something [in the Market Square] every weekend. That’s a big goal, but it’s not unachievable.”

This is the first county-wide event delivered in partnership with Discover Northamptonshire, using £10,000 from the UKSPF (UK Shared Prosperity Fund).

North Northamptonshire Council (NNC) leader, Cllr Griffiths, said the flagship event would be “the first of many” and revealed that the authority was already preparing to host Northamptonshire Day 2026.

He added that the event would be brought to the north of the county next time.

Cllr Griffiths told the LDRS: “Northamptonshire brings in about £1bn of investment in tourism – what we want to do is make sure that people actually not only just pass through Northamptonshire, but they actually stay and really appreciate the wonderful towns and settlements that we’ve got.”

When asked how many years the residents can expect to see the event stick around, Cllr Arnull said they would commit to holding Northamptonshire Day celebrations every year.

“We need to start setting some tone here and setting some agenda and making commitments to our people. I’d like to see it come back to us in 2027 and it can only get bigger and better,” he explained.