Daventry town centre vision unveiled – and includes revamp of Market Square and High Street

The vision outlines how the town centre will develop up until 2035, and includes ideas such as redesigning Market Square to create an ‘attractive space’ that could host events and markets, while retaining parking spaces.

A ‘cafe culture’ would be created along the High Street by de-cluttering street furniture and prioritising pedestrians over cars, and Bowen Square car park would be remodelled to create an ‘attractive environment with outdoor seating and flexible event space’.

Other proposals include relocating the bus station and ‘enhancing’ the space in front of the Shopmobility Centre in New Street; making New Street and St James Street one-way to provide space for a cycle route and broader footpaths; a new splash park on New Street Rec; and replacing the New Street car park at the rear of Bowen Square with a new building offering small retail units.

The ideas form part of a document that will be known as the Daventry Town Centre Vision. A first consultation over the summer saw 11,000 leaflets delivered to households, with 670 people responding in the online questionnaire.

Based on those results, a new draft vision is going out for a second consultation, which will be held between December 7 and January 10.

But some concerns were raised by opposition Labour councillors over both the document itself, and the consultation process at the full council meeting on December 3.

Councillor Stephen Dabbs disagreed with holding a consultation over the Christmas period, and speaking about the proposals he said: “It looks like it’s smartening the place up but not creating an innovative solution for a town centre and for a High Street that is dying, you might even say it’s dead. It’s too weak, it lacks ambition and innovation.”

But Conservative council leader Richard Auger thanked members of the public who took part over the summer, and criticised Councillor Dabbs for ‘dismissing their views’. He added: “I have a more optimistic outlook rather than the pessimistic approach of Councillor Dabbs.”

Labour councillor Ken Ritchie saw a motion calling for more thorough consultation rejected by the council. He said: “We believe that consultation has got to be a lot more than just box ticking or responding to questions on a predetermined agenda. People’s views are not fixed, they’re refined by dialogue and reflect on arguments they make by others. Lockdown makes this difficult, but it should not be an excuse for a shallow consultation.”

But Councillor Auger said that pressing ahead with a second online consultation was all that was feasible due to COVID-19 restrictions and also the time limits facing the council. With the authority to be abolished in March and replaced by the new West Northamptonshire unitary council, the Town Centre Vision document needs to be in place by then for the replacement council to take it on.

Feedback provided during the second phase of consultation will be used to help create the final vision document, which must be voted on by councillors before it can be introduced.

Councillor David James, Daventry District Council’s economic, regeneration and employment portfolio holder, said: “We had a fantastic response to the consultation we held in the summer, with some really interesting and thoughtful ideas put forward. We have put those ideas into this draft Vision, and I would urge people to please find out more by visiting the website and sharing their thoughts with us once again.”

The proposals, including sketches and maps, can be viewed in full here. People have until midnight on Saturday January 10 to have their say by visiting https://daventry2035.comPeople can also request a paper copy of the draft Vision and questionnaire by emailing [email protected] or by phoning Daventry Town Council on 01327 301246.