Adam sports energy and enthusiasm for new leadership role

17 May 2024

Rugby fan Adam Brown is aiming to put West Northamptonshire at the top of the league for better public services and outcomes for residents in his new role as Leader of the Council.

The 39-year-old Saints fan and qualified rugby referee, who was born in Northampton and grew up in Weedon, took the reins as West Northamptonshire Council’s Leader at its annual meeting last night (Thursday, 16 May) as the unitary authority embarks upon its fourth year.

Adam, 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, is looking forward to tackling WNC’s challenges and converting them into opportunities that 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. We’ve 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 whilst also saving millions of pounds of public money in the process.

“We’re now moving into our second phase as a council with a laser focus on productivity initiatives, such as best use of IT and artificial intelligence as well as redesigning services that are easier for our residents to interact with and more cost effective for our taxpayers.

He added: “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 and there will be some positive news in the coming weeks around how we’ll be doing this that will signify how serious we are about acting on these issues.

“Other key focuses will include stepping up our work with partners on tackling poverty and improving people’s health and wellbeing and continuing to progress our major regeneration plans for Northampton whilst shaping similar proposals for Daventry, Towcester and Brackley. We’ll also be developing new place strategies to really put West Northants on the national map, with plans to host exciting international events including the Rugby World Cup 2025.”Cllr Brown

Hear more from Cllr Brown about his plans and priorities as Leader in our video:

First finding his way into politics in 2015 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 continued to serve for the past three years alongside the remits of Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Housing, Culture and Leisure.

Cllr Brown, who lives in Northampton with his wife and three-year-old son, has a professional background in financial services, including spending time working at Santander Bank in Spain after studying modern languages at Exeter University.

“As a relatively young Council Leader I’m hoping I’ll 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.”Cllr Brown

In his spare time, alongside his passion for rugby and being a Saints season ticket-holder, Cllr Brown enjoys spending time with family and is also a keen runner and is currently in training to take part in the Amazing Northampton Run half-marathon this September, to help raise funds for Northampton’s Hope Centre.

“West Northamptonshire is a wonderful area and I’m 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’m now bringing up my own family.”Cllr Brown