Flagship Northamptonshire Day event marks the start of effort to make county 'a place to visit', says council leaders

The Northamptonshire Day celebrations were held on the Northampton Market Square on Saturday, October 25

Nadia Lincoln Local Democracy Reporter | Monday 27th October 2025 11:45am

Council leaders have praised the success of Northamptonshire Day celebrations in the Market Square this weekend, marking the start of a joint effort to make the county “a place to visit”.

The event, on Saturday, October 25, was organised by West and North Northamptonshire Councils alongside Discover Northamptonshire and a range of local partners and sponsors.

The day saw cultural, heritage and community projects from across the county come together to display the best that Northamptonshire has to offer, as well as dedicated family fun zones and live entertainment on the main stage.

Speaking to the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS), Leader of West Northamptonshire Council (WNC), Cllr Mark Arnull, said the celebration was one of many examples of the authority maximising the use of the new town centre attraction after its £12m makeover last year.

He said: “The first Northamptonshire Day celebrations are one year on from the regeneration of the Market Square. It’s now getting used to its full potential and that’s brilliant. 

“One of the priorities in the West, and similar in the North, is to connect with the electorate and bring the electorate together, so we really need to use these spaces more and more.

“Personally, I’d like to see something [in the Market Square] every weekend. That’s a big goal, but it’s not unachievable.”

This is the first county-wide event delivered in partnership with Discover Northamptonshire, using £10,000 from the UKSPF (UK Shared Prosperity Fund).

North Northamptonshire Council (NNC) Leader, Cllr Griffiths, said the flagship event would be “the first of many” and revealed that the authority was already preparing to host Northamptonshire Day 2026.

He added that the event would be brought to the north of the county next time, with current plans to hold it at the same time as the reopening of the Alfred East Art Gallery and museum, as Kettering’s cultural quarter. 

Cllr Griffiths told the LDRS: “We want to make Northamptonshire a place to visit where people come and spend time. This is the start of that.

“Northamptonshire brings in about £1bn of investment in tourism – what we want to do is make sure that people actually not only just pass through Northamptonshire, but they actually stay and really appreciate the wonderful towns and settlements that we’ve got.

“We’ve got to think outside the box and these are the sort of events that actually bring people into our town centres and give our local businesses a real chance to thrive.

“We’ve got to look at events moving forward and do something a little bit different.”

When asked how many years the residents can expect to see the event stick around, Cllr Arnull said they would commit to holding Northamptonshire Day celebrations every year.

“We need to start setting some tone here and setting some agenda and making commitments to our people. I’d like to see it come back to us in 2027 and it can only get bigger and better,” he explained. 

“If we do the right work and the research on this, we can put more on and bring more people in and that’s what it’s all about.”

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