Northampton: Council votes to make city status bid

Residents were asked to send in pictures of their favourite parts of the town, including its Cultural Quarter, ahead of the bid

A town which boasts three top-level sports teams and one of Britain's largest and oldest market squares is to make a bid for city status.

Councillors in Northampton voted to proceed with the bid ahead of the 8 December entry deadline.

Winning cities will be announced as part of the Queen's Platinum Jubilee celebrations in June 2022.

West Northamptonshire Council leader Jonathan Nunn said city status would increase "civic pride".

Speaking at the authority's full council meeting, Conservative Mr Nunn said a successful bid would also bring investment into the area.

West Northamptonshire Council leader Jonathan Nunn welcomed the decision to bid for city status

A report submitted to the meeting said Perth, which became a city in 2012, had seen £30m invested in its cultural sector alone since 2016, as a result of its new status.

The authority's deputy leader Adam Brown said "semantics and symbols do matter".

"We've always had big city lights, it is time we matched that with big city ambitions," he said.

The plan received cross-party support, with Labour's Emma Roberts reading a statement from party leader Gareth Eales, who could not attend the meeting.

It said: "A successful bid will raise our national profile and allow us to access enhanced funding streams that are only open to cities, giving us more opportunities to regenerate and promote our heritage and culture."

Labour and its leader Gareth Eales backed the city status bid

Liberal Democrat Dennis Meredith told the council the bid would be a "wonderful opportunity to create economic development".

Northampton unsuccessfully applied for city status in 2000.

The council previously asked residents to send in photographs of their favourite parts of the town, which would now form part of the application.

In 2012, the Queen's Diamond Jubilee year, Chelmsford, Perth and St Asaph were awarded city status.

'Love Northampton'

All Saints Church dates back to 1680 and was built after the original building was destroyed by the Great Fire of Northampton in 1675

• The earliest reference to Northampton in writing occurred in AD914 under the name Ham tune, literally meaning "home town"

• Around 700 of the town's 850 buildings were destroyed in the Great Fire of Northampton in September 1675

• Northampton's Grade II listed Guildhall was designed in a Gothic revival style and dates back to 1864

• The town's Racecourse once held regular horse racing meetings and cricket matches

• Northampton is home to three top-level professional sports teams; Northampton Town Football Club, Northampton Saints and Northamptonshire County Cricket Club

• Its Market Square dates back to 1235 and was established after Henry III forbade the selling of goods in the churchyard of All Saints

The Platinum Jubilee winners are due to be revealed on the bank holiday weekend of 2-5 June 2022.

It had already been announced that Southend-on-Sea would become the UK's 52nd city, in honour of MP Sir David Amess who was killed during a meeting with constituents in October.

Other towns in the running include Blackburn, Warrington and Doncaster.