A consultation will launch over whether Northampton should create new town, parish and community councils for areas of the town without one.
Northampton Borough Council has announced the plan in a move to 'ensure that the communities of Northampton have a strong voice' within the new West Northamptonshire Unitary Council.
It comes after Northampton Borough Council voted to dissolve itself and usher in the new proposed Northamptonshire unitary councils.
It could mean creating a council or councils for the town centre, Far Cotton, King's Heath, Dallington, Kingsthorpe, Parklands, Moulton, Blackthorn, Eastfield, Abington and Weston Favell.
The consultation will roll out in two stages. The first consultation puts forward three options for the public to give feedback on. They are:
- No change - no town council would be created
- Creating a Town Council covering the entire unparished area of the existing borough
- Creating a Town Council and more parish/community councils covering the unparished area of the existing Borough
Feedback on the three options will be condensed into a single option for full consultation at a later date.
The consultation would not affect the existing parishes of Billing, Collingtree, Duston, Great Houghton, Hardingstone, Upton, Wootton, East Hunsbury, Hunsbury Meadows and West Hunsbury.
Further information is available on the Northampton Borough Council's website, along with maps of the three options. The engagement also covers a range of frequently asked questions from similar processes elsewhere.
The engagement questionnaire will be available until 31 March, following which the final proposal will be drawn up. Public consultation will then following throughout April and May 2019.
Visit the website for further information or to complete the engagement questionnaire. Anyone needing a print copy can request one by emailing lgr@northampton.gov.uk or calling 01604 837111.