Town council seeks legal advice over Guildhall move

The town council was set up as part of a local government organisation following the abolition of Northamptonshire Council Council

Town councillors facing eviction from their Victorian civic base are seeking legal advice, claiming it is their "natural home".

Northampton Town Council was set up in 2021 and has leased part of the town's Guildhall, which is owned by West Northamptonshire Council (WNC), ever since.

It has been told it must leave later this year by WNC under its "office optimisation" plan. This includes selling off the Guildhall's 1992 extension.

Reform UK WNC leader Mark Arnull said the town council had been offered "alternative and suitable long-term space at county hall".

The town council leases the lower west wing of the building, but was told in January last year it had to give up the space to allow the coroner's service to relocate, the Local Democracy Reporting Service said.

The town council has leased the building since it was set up in 2021

"We see the Guildhall as a valuable part of civic life for all residents of Northampton, and as the formal town hall, which is also home to the Mayor's Parlour, it is without any doubt, the natural home of the town council and the town's mayor," said Les Marriott, chair of the town council's policy and finance committee and Labour leader.

Marriott added when the town council was set up, a cross-party working group - including the former borough council and the shadow West Northamptonshire Council - agreed to grant it "a long lease of the historic part of the Guildhall".

"We have sought legal advice on this matter and now hope to continue pragmatic and constructive negotiations with WNC to secure the long-term lease that was originally promised," he added.

Councillors unanimously backed plans to continue negotiating with WNC over the proposed eviction.

Former mayor Rufia Ashraf, who is also a WNC Labour councillor, said on social media that "some members are prepared to strap ourselves to the building to keep their iconic home".

WNC has not confirmed a date for the council's relocation.

Arnull said: "The historic part of the Guildhall will continue to be home of the mayor of Northampton, as it has been so for many centuries."