Plans to build £730k cycle track from Daventry look set to move a step closer

It is hoped planning permission for a new cycle route between Daventry and Braunston could be won in February if the business plan is approved this week.

Daventry District Council reached an agreement last July to construct a track from Farnborough Drive in Middlemore to the Canal & River Trust track near the mouth of the Braunston Tunnel.

An agreement was reached with Christ Church College in Oxford, which owns the land, to build the track, with an anticipated budget of £730,000.

And next week (December 3) full council is expected to approve a business plan which will kick start the physical process of getting the track built.

The business plan outlines how the design is due to be finalised this month, with the anticipation that the council’s planning committee will grant planning permission in February, with a main construction contractor being appointed at the same time. It’s hoped construction work will start on site in March 2021 and finished a few weeks later in June.

In a report by Simon Bowers, the council’s executive director for business, he states that the £730,000 budget should be enough and prove ‘value for money’.

He adds: “As the construction of the track is relatively uncomplicated and with low risks, it has been concluded that straightforward competitive tendering is likely to achieve best value for money. This should also maximise opportunities for local suppliers. It is proposed to invite tenders in mid-December 2020 for return in mid-February 2020.

“It is of course not be possible to confirm the costs until tenders have been returned and evaluated. In the unlikely case that the tenders do exceed the budget, then it may be necessary to consider varying from the preferred design and specification.”