Petitions

The Council welcomes petitions as they are a useful tool for highlighting important issues and allowing individuals to share their concerns. If you live, work or study in West Northamptonshire you can submit a petition or e-petition for us to deliberate. All petitions must relate to an area that we have authority over. You can find more information on these services throughout this website.

All petitions sent or presented to us that meet the requirements below will receive an acknowledgement from us within 10 working days of receipt, setting out what we plan to do with the petition.

What is a petition?

A clear written statement requesting for action to be taken by us that is accompanied by signatures from people who live, work or study in the area. A petition may be in either paper form or electronic (ePetition).

A petition should include the following details:

A clear concise statement which sets out your concerns and what action you would like us to consider
The name and contact details of the lead petitioner who we can send correspondence relating to the petition and communicate with on behalf of the people you are supporting. If you are the lead petitioner, your details will not be disclosed on the website, they will be used to contact you for information regarding the petition and keep you up to date with its progress
The names and addresses of those who have signed the petition or email address if it is an ePetition

How do I submit a petition?

E-Petitions can be created and submitted quickly and instantly

ePetitions
Title	Respondents	Deadline to sign by
A fence for Abington Park Playground	4	06/02/2025

A paper petition can be sent to:

The Democratic Services Manager

Democratic Services

West Northamptonshire Council

One Angel Square

Angel Street

Northampton

NN1 1ED

Petitions using the template below can be submitted electronically by email to democraticservices@westnorthants.gov.uk.

Petition template

Petitions can also be presented to a meeting of the Council. These meetings take place on an approximately 6 weekly basis. See Council meetings for dates and times.

Exclusions

It is reiterated that the Council welcomes petitions and recognises that they are one of the ways in which people can let the Council know their concerns, but there are a few exclusions in respect of submitting a petition and these are listed below.

No petition may be presented which:

(a) is not about a matter:

(i) for which the council has a responsibility or

(ii) which particularly affects the West Northamptonshire area;

(b) contains intemperate, inflammatory, abusive or provocative language;

(d) contains false statements;

(e) does not relate to a subject matter which is within the direct control of the council, e.g. request to lobby central government;

(f) discloses confidential or exempt information, including information protected by a court order or government department;

(g) discloses material that is commercially sensitive;

(h) names individuals, or provides information where they may be easily identified, e.g. individual officers of public bodies, or makes criminal accusations;

(i) contains advertising statements;

(j) refers to an issue which is currently the subject of a formal council complaint, local ombudsman complaint or any legal proceedings

(k) is directed to an individual or small group;

(l) likely to cause a breach of the peace;

(m) concerns any planning application or decision (including about a development plan document or the community infrastructure levy), or any licence, notice or order issued, served or made by the council;

(n) is substantially the same as a petition which has been presented to a meeting of the council in the past six months.

(o) is in response to a Council consultation on a specific matter. Such petitions should be returned to the person at the address set out in that consultation document.

(p) is made under other legislation, for example seeking a referendum on an elected Mayor.

(q) relates to an individual or entity where a right of review or appeal is given by other legislation, such as Council Tax banding.

(r) raises issues of possible councillor misconduct. These will be taken as complaints arising under the Local Government Act 2000 and will be considered under the member complaints procedure.

(s) raises issues of officer competence or conduct. These will be referred to the Chief Executive (or to the Head of Human Resources in respect of the Chief Executive) and will be considered under the Council’s Disciplinary Procedures.

(t) where more than one petition is received in time for a particular meeting, each supporting the same outcome on one matter, each petition organiser will be treated as an independent petition organiser, but only the petition organiser of the first petition to be received will be invited to address the relevant meeting.

Current e-Petitions

West Northamptonshire Council has a Petition Scheme, which sets out the procedures for submitting written and e-Petitions to the Council. This scheme can be found in the Council's constitution.

An e-Petition is a petition which collects signatures online. This allows petitions and supporting information to be made available to a potentially much wider audience than a traditional paper based petition.

Anyone who lives, works or studies in the West Northamptonshire area can submit or sign an e-Petition To find out more about how this works read the instructions below under "What is a Petition?"

Disclaimer

This Council accepts no liability for the petitions on these web pages. The views expressed in the petitions do not necessarily reflect those of the providers.