North Northamptonshire

This article is about the district. For the constituency, see North Northamptonshire (UK Parliament constituency).

North Northamptonshire
Unitary authority area
Kettering, the district's second largest town
North Northamptonshire shown within Northamptonshire
Coordinates: 52°24′00″N0°43′41″W / 52.400°N 0.728°W / 52.400; -0.728
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Country	England
Region	East Midlands
Ceremonial county	Northamptonshire
Incorporated	1 April 2021
Administrative HQ	Corby Cube
Government [1]
• Type	Unitary authority with leader and cabinet
• Body	North Northamptonshire Council
•  House of Commons	3 MPs Lee Barron (L) Rosie Wrighting (L) Gen Kitchen (L)
Area [2]
• Total	381 sq mi (987 km2)
• Rank	25th
Population  (2022) [3]
• Total	363,408
• Rank	23rd
• Density	950/sq mi (368/km2)
Ethnicity (2021) [4]
Religion (2021) [4]
•  Religion	List 47.9% Christianity 42.6% no religion 1.3% Hinduism 1.2% Islam 0.5% Sikhism 0.3% Buddhism 0.1% Judaism 0.5% other 5.6% not stated
Time zone	UTC+0 (GMT)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+1 (BST)
Postcode area	NN
Dialling codes	01536 01933
ISO 3166 code	GB-NNH
GSS code	E06000061
ITL code	TLF25
GVA	2021 estimate [5]
•Total	£7.4 billion
•Per capita	£20,612
GDP (nominal)	2021 estimate [5]
•Total	£8.5 billion
•Per capita	£23,536

North Northamptonshire is a unitary authority area in the ceremonial county of Northamptonshire, England, and was created in 2021. ^[6] The council is based in Corby, the district's largest town. Other notable towns are Kettering, Wellingborough, Rushden, Raunds, Desborough, Rothwell, Irthlingborough, Thrapston and Oundle.

North Northamptonshire borders the City of Peterborough, Rutland, Milton Keynes, Huntingdonshire, Bedford, Harborough, West Northamptonshire and South Kesteven districts.

It has a string of lakes along the Nene Valley Conservation Park, associated heritage railway, the village of Fotheringhay which has tombs of the House of York as well as a towering church supported by flying buttresses. This division has a well-preserved medieval castle in private hands next to Corby – Rockingham Castle – and about 20 other notable country houses, many of which have visitor gardens or days.

History

North Northamptonshire was created on 1 April 2021 by the merger of the four non-metropolitan districts of Corby, East Northamptonshire, Kettering, and Wellingborough. The new council took on the functions of these districts, plus those of the abolished Northamptonshire County Council within the area. The way these changes was implemented was to create a new non-metropolitan district and a non-metropolitan county covering the area, both called North Northamptonshire. There is no county council; instead the district council performs county-level functions, making it a unitary authority. ^[7] North Northamptonshire remains part of the ceremonial county of Northamptonshire for the purposes of lieutenancy and shrievalty. ^[8]

In March 2018, following financial and cultural mismanagement by the cabinet and officers at Northamptonshire County Council, the then Secretary of State for 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. ^[9] 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. ^{[10] [11]}

The council logo depicts Rockingham Castle, the River Welland and a red kite. The red kite is a bird of prey that has become strongly associated with the county of Northamptonshire, and is particularly commonplace in the north-eastern parts of the county around Corby and Rockingham Forest. ^[12]

Governance

Corby, the administrative centre and largest settlement in North Northamptonshire

North 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. ^[13]

Settlements and parishes

See also: List of civil parishes in Northamptonshire

The parish councils for Burton Latimer, Corby, Desborough, Finedon, Higham Ferrers, Irthlingborough, Kettering, Oundle, Raunds, Rothwell, Rushden, Thrapston and Wellingborough have declared their parishes to be towns, allowing them to take the style "town council". ^[14]

Population pyramid of North Northamptonshire

Wellingborough, the third-largest settlement in North Northamptonshire

Rushden, the fourth-largest settlement in North Northamptonshire

• Achurch, Aldwincle, Apethorpe, Ashley, Ashton
• Barnwell, Barton Seagrave, Benefield, Blatherwycke, Bozeat, Brampton Ash, Braybrooke, Brigstock, Broughton, Bulwick, Burton Latimer
• Chelveston cum Caldecott, Clopton, Corby, Collyweston, Cotterstock, Cottingham, Cranford, Cransley
• Deene, Deenethorpe, Denford, Desborough, Dingley, Duddington-with-Fineshade
• Earls Barton, East Carlton, Easton Maudit, Easton on the Hill, Ecton
• Finedon, Fotheringhay
• Geddington, Glapthorn, Grafton Underwood, Great Addington, Great Doddington, Great Harrowden, Grendon, Gretton
• Hardwick, Hargrave, Harrington, Harringworth, Hemington, Higham Ferrers
• Irchester, Irthlingborough, Islip, Isham
• Kettering, King's Cliffe
• Laxton, Lilford-cum-Wigsthorpe, Little Addington, Little Harrowden, Little Irchester, Loddington, Lowick, Luddington, Lutton
• Mawsley, Mears Ashby, Middleton
• Nassington, Newton and Little Oakley, Newton Bromswold
• Orlingbury, Orton, Oundle
• Pilton, Polebrook, Pytchley
• Raunds, Ringstead, Rockingham, Rothwell, Rushden, Rushton
• Shotley, Southwick, Stanion, Stanwick, Stoke Doyle, Stoke Albany, Strixton, Sudborough, Sutton Bassett, Sywell
• Tansor, Thorpe Malsor, Thorpe Waterville, Thrapston, Thurning, Titchmarsh, Twywell
• Wadenhoe, Wakerley, Warkton, Warmington, Weekley, Weldon, Wellingborough, Weston by Welland, Wilbarston, Wilby, Wollaston, Northamptonshire,Woodford, Woodnewton, Wollaston
• Yarwell

Media

In terms of television, the area is served by BBC East and ITV Anglia which broadcast from the Sandy Heath transmitter. ^[15] The Waltham transmitter can also be received which broadcasts BBC East Midlands and ITV Central programmes. ^[16]

Radio stations for the area are:

• BBC Radio Northampton on 103.6 FM
• BBC Radio Cambridgeshire on 95.7 FM
• Heart East on 96.6 FM
• Smooth East Midlands (formerly Connect FM) on 97.2 FM, 106.8 FM, and 107.4 FM

North Northamptonshire is served by the following local newspapers: Northamptonshire Evening Telegraph and Northampton Chronicle and Echo .

See also

• 2019–2023 structural changes to local government in England
• 2021 North Northamptonshire Council election
• West Northamptonshire for the other unitary authority created in Northamptonshire in April 2021.

References

1. "Councillors and democratic information". North Northamptonshire Council. Retrieved 12 February 2024.
2. "Mid-Year Population Estimates, UK, June 2022". Office for National Statistics . 26 March 2024. Retrieved 3 May 2024.
3. "Mid-Year Population Estimates, UK, June 2022". Office for National Statistics . 26 March 2024. Retrieved 3 May 2024.
4. UK Census (2021). "2021 Census Area Profile – North Northamptonshire Local Authority (E06000061)". Nomis. Office for National Statistics . Retrieved 12 February 2024.
5. Fenton, Trevor (25 April 2023). "Regional gross domestic product: local authorities". Office for National Statistics. Retrieved 12 February 2024.
6. "North Northamptonshire shadow unitary council 'in place next year'". BBC News. 20 April 2018.
7. "The Northamptonshire (Structural Changes) Order 2020", legislation.gov.uk , The National Archives, SI 2020/156, retrieved 14 July 2024
8. "Lieutenancies Act 1997". legislation.gov.uk . The National Archives. 1997 c. 23. Retrieved 25 February 2024.
9. "Northamptonshire County Council: statement" . Retrieved 13 June 2018.
10. "Northamptonshire: Unitary authorities plan approved". BBC News. 14 May 2019. Retrieved 18 August 2020.
11. "AT LAST! Northamptonshire's new unitary councils are made law by parliament". Northampton Chronicle. 14 February 2020. Retrieved 18 August 2020.
12. "The peculiar case of Corby's dive-bombing birds" – via www.northantstelegraph.co.uk.
13. "Election Maps". Ordnance Survey. Retrieved 12 December 2023.
14. "Parish council contact details". North Northamptonshire Council. Retrieved 12 December 2023.
15. "Full Freeview on the Sandy Heath (Central Bedfordshire, England) transmitter". UK Free TV. 1 May 2004. Retrieved 13 April 2024.
16. "Full Freeview on the Waltham (Leicestershire, England) transmitter". UK Free TV. 1 May 2004. Retrieved 13 April 2024.