The Council of West Northamptonshire Council convened to consider nominations for Honorary Aldermen and Alderwomen. The meeting was scheduled to include announcements from Councillor Alison Eastwood, Chairman of the Council, and Councillor Mark Arnull, Leader of the Council and Leader of the Reform UK Group. Councillors were also expected to address any urgent business and consider the exclusion of press and public for certain items.

Nominations for Honorary Aldermen and Alderwomen

The council was asked to consider nominations for the title of Honorary Alderwoman and Honorary Alderman, in accordance with a scheme approved by the council in 2023.

Under Section 249 of the Local Government Act 1972, the position of Honorary Alderman is open to individuals who:

have, in the opinion of the Council, rendered eminent services to the Council as past members of that Council, but who are not then members of the Council .

The report pack stated that the nominees met the criteria of having served as an elected member for a total of 12 years for West Northamptonshire Council and/or one of its predecessor councils: Northampton Borough Council, Daventry District Council, South Northamptonshire Council, or the part of Northamptonshire County Council that covered the West Northamptonshire area. They also had to meet at least one of the following conditions:

• Holding senior political office with distinction.
• Having an exceptional record of community service and leadership.

The council was asked to consider nominations for: Ann Addison, Dermot Bambridge, Sally Beardsworth, Alan Chantler, Nazim Choudary, Mary Clarke, Gareth Eales, André Gonzalez de Savage, Andrew Grant, Alan Hills, David James, Anna King, Jamie Lane, Wendy Randall, Brian Sergeant, John Shephard, Winston Strachan, and John Townsend.

Appendix A of the Public Reports Pack contains short biographies of each of the nominees.

Biographies of Nominees

Ann Addison was first elected to the former South Northamptonshire Council in 1987, representing the Kislingbury Ward and then the Harpole and Grange Ward. She was elected Leader in 1991, holding the post until 1995, and also chaired the Planning Policy Committee. Addison is a retained Magistrate and a member of the Magistrates in the Community Team. She was also the first Chairman of West Northamptonshire Council.

Dermot Bambridge served on South Northamptonshire Council from 2003 until 2025, representing Silverstone. He also served on Silverstone Parish Council and was involved in the growth of Silverstone Village and the re-generation of Silverstone Circuit. Bambridge held portfolios for Environmental Services and Economic Development, Regeneration and Housing, and chaired the Moat Lane Regeneration Board.

Sally Beardsworth served as a councillor for thirty years, having first been elected to Northampton Borough Council in 1983. She also served as the councillor for the Kingsthorpe division of Northamptonshire County Council from 2007 until 2021. Beardsworth served as the member for Kingsthorpe South on West Northamptonshire Council from 2021 to 2025, and served as Mayor of Northampton in 2005-2006.

Alan Chantler lives in Yelvertoft and has been a Parish Councillor for over 40 years, including 25 years as Chairman. He served as a member of Daventry District Council from 2009 until 2021, holding the portfolio for Strategic Planning. Chantler's professional life was spent in higher education, and he retired as Head of Computing and Software Engineering at Coventry University.

Nazim Choudary was first elected to Northampton Borough Council in 2011 and represented the St Davids ward for a decade. He was elected to West Northamptonshire Council in 2021 and served until 2025 and also served as a member of Northampton Town Council. A former Mayor of Northampton, Choudary was the youngest serving mayor in the 800 year history of the role.

Mary Clarke was a Director in the IT and telecommunications sector until her retirement in 2018. A member of South Northamptonshire Council for sixteen years, Clarke served as Leader for five years and Deputy Leader and Portfolio Holder for Housing and Economic Regeneration for 11 years. From 2011-2014, Clarke was a Director of West Northamptonshire Development Corporation (WNDC) and was also a member of the West Northamptonshire Joint Strategic Planning Committee.

Gareth Eales grew up in the Dallington Spencer Ward and represented this area on Northampton Borough Council from 2011 until 2021. He also served on Northamptonshire County Council and then West Northamptonshire Council, where his service included Leadership of the Labour Group. He served a term as the town's Mayor.

André Gonzalez de Savage was elected to represent the East Hunsbury Division on Northamptonshire County Council in 2004 and served until 2021, when he was elected to West Northamptonshire Council. He also served as a parish councillor for nearly 20 years. Gonzalez de Savage served as Cabinet Member of Northamptonshire County Council, overseeing services including Public Protection, Super-fast Broadband, Customer Services, Commercial Operations, Tourism and Heritage, Inward Investment, the Olympics, Business Development, Trading Standards, Transport & Highways.

Andrew Grant began his local government career as a councillor for Wandsworth in the 1980s. After relocating to Northamptonshire he was firstly elected to the Towcester Brook ward then twice elected to Towcester Mill ward on South Northamptonshire Council, serving from 2003 to 2015. Elected to West Northamptonshire Council in 2021, Grant represented the Hackleton and Grange Park ward and went on to chair the Children, Housing and Education Overview and Scrutiny Committee.

Alan Hills served as a member of Daventry District Council from 2002 to 2021, representing the Hill ward. Hills held the Community, Cultrure and Leisure Portfolio on the Council. A former Mayor of Daventry and Chairman of Daventry District Council, Hills also represented Daventry East division on Northamptonshire County Council, serving three terms from 2005 to 2017.

David James began his service as a Daventry District Councillor in 2012, representing the Abbey North Ward. He was then elected to represent the Daventry East Ward of West Northamptonshire Council from 2021 to 2025. Throughout his tenure at Daventry District Council, James held the Portfolio for Economic Regeneration and Employment.

Anna King was elected to Northampton Borough Council in 2011, representing the Phippsville ward. She retained her seat in 2015 and was elected to West Northamptonshire Council in 2021, representing the Duston West and St Crispin ward until 2025. King served as Cabinet member for Community Engagement and Safety on Northampton Borough Council.

Jamie Lane was first elected to Northampton Borough Council in 2003 and represented the Ecton Brook ward for eight years. In 2005 he was also elected onto Northamptonshire County Council where he served one term. When WNC was created in 2021 Lane represented the Boothville and Parklands ward until 2025. On West Northamptonshire Council Lane chaired a Planning committee from 2021 to 2025

Wendy Randall served the public in as a councillor from 2011, when she was first elected to Daventry District Council, until 2021 and then again from 2021 until 2025 on West Northamptonshire Council. She served as the Leader of the Labour group on both councils. In 2013 Randall was elected to Daventry Town Council, and in 2015 served as Mayor of Daventry.

Brian Sergeant was elected to Northampton Borough Council in 2001, serving two terms as member for the Upton ward. In 2021 he was elected to represent the Sixfields ward on West Northamptonshire Council. Sergeant was the last Mayor of the Borough of Northampton, serving from 2020-2021.

John Shephard represented Boughton and other villages throughout his time on the Daventry District Council. During this time he chaired the Personnel, Scrutiny, Governance and Policy committees and was chairman of the Council in 1991-92. He was Deputy Leader to two Leaders and was elected as Leader of the Council for a period in 2001 to deal with a specific issue.

Winston Strachan was first elected to Northampton Borough Council in 1999, representing the St Crispin ward. He also served as the councillor for the Billing division on Northamptonshire County Council from 2001 to 2005. He was re-elected to the St Crispin division from 2005 to 2013 and then as the councillor for Castle from 2013 to 2021 and again on West Northamptonshire Council from 2021 to 2025.

John Townsend was elected to South Northamptonshire Council in 1984, serving until he retired in 2021. He was a member of the Planning Committee and became Vice Chairman and then Chairman. As a member of the Cabinet he was appointed onto the steering committee for the move of the Council Offices from Springfields to The Forum in Towcester.