| The 39-year-old Saints fan and qualified rugby referee, who was born in Northampton and grew up in Weedon, took the reins as leader at the council’s annual meeting on Thursday (May 16).
He, who has been a councillor for eight years and championed the successful bid to bring the 2025 Women’s Rugby World Cup to West Northants. Now Cllr Brown is looking forward to tackling the challenges facing the council and, he says, converting them into opportunities to improve services and support local communities.
“I feel privileged to have been chosen for this role and really excited to be leading West Northamptonshire Council into its next chapter as a young unitary authority,” Cllr Brown said.
“We have already achieved some significant milestones in our first three years, bringing together hundreds of services and staff from the old councils, working to transform and improve what we deliver to our residents while also saving millions of pounds of public money in the process.”
The next step is to focus on improving productivity through best use of IT and Artificial Intelligence and redesigning services to make them more cost-effective and easier for residents to use.
“A top priority for us moving forward this year is the need to do much more to improve and invest in our roads and tackle the blight of potholes, which we know are a huge concern for our residents.”
He promised “positive news” in the coming weeks. Cllr Brown has also put tackling poverty and improving health and wellbeing aa council priorities, along with regeneration plans for Northampton, Daventry, Brackley and Towcester.
Hear more from Cllr Brown about his plans and priorities as Leader of West Northamptonshire Council here.
Having worked as a campaign volunteer, Cllr Brown became a Daventry District Councillor for Weedon ward the following year, then later DDC’s deputy leader. In 2017 he was elected as a Northamptonshire County Councillor for Bugbrooke and in 2021 became a WNC councillor for the same division, a role he has held for the past three years alongside the remits of deputy leader and cabinet member for housing, culture and leisure.
He is married, lives in Northampton and has a professional background in financial services.
“As a relatively young council leader, I am hoping I will bring a different perspective to the role along with fresh energy and enthusiasm. I also think bringing two strong sets of experience to the role, through my financial services background and as a councillor of eight years, will prove really beneficial.
“West Northamptonshire is a wonderful area and I am passionate about providing excellent services and focusing on issues that matter most to the people here, in the place where I live, grew up and where I am now bringing up my own family.” |
