New chair appointed at North Northamptonshire Council

28 May 2024

At North Northamptonshire Council’s Annual Full Council meeting last week, Councillors welcomed a new Chair for the next civic year.

During the meeting, Cllr Lora Lawman was elected as the Council’s chair with Cllr Jennie Bone as Deputy Chair. Councillors also thanked Cllr Barbara Jenney for carrying out the role for the past year.

The role of the Chair is a largely ceremonial one, including chairing Full Council meetings and representing the area at civic functions and events.

The new Chair of the Council announced that the local charity Teamwork Trust will be her charity for this year. 

It is an absolute honour to represent North Northamptonshire Council as its civic head for the next twelve months. I am looking forward to getting out and about to meet people and organisations across North Northamptonshire.

There is lots of fabulous work and projects taking place across North Northamptonshire and it will be a privilege to visit them and help shine a light on the great work that is taking place in our local communities. I have nominated Teamwork Trust as my charity for the year.Cllr Lora Lawman, Chair of the Council

As a Council we remain focused on our mission to invest in public services. At this meeting of Annual Council I outlined the significant investment this council is making in public services including our roads, education, housing as well as investing in in a wide range of important facilities in communities across North Northamptonshire.Jason Smithers, Leader of the Council

During the meeting, the Executive and their portfolios for 2024/25 were confirmed with Cllr Jason Smithers continuing as Leader and Cllr Helen Howell as Deputy Leader alongside her role as Executive Member for Sport, Leisure, Culture and Tourism.

The meeting also saw Claire Edwards approved as Interim Director of Finance and Performance and Section 151 Officer (S151) for North Northamptonshire Council. Tributes were also paid to the departing Janice Gotts, Executive Director of Finance and Performance/S151 Officer who was wished well in her new role.