£230,000 for work to commercial units

The cash will be used to bring units up to the standards required by businesses in the 21st century.

The council owns a significant number of units across industrial estates in the town, particularly smaller units on the Marches and Royal Oak areas many of which were built decades ago.

Cllr Chris Millar told the Daventry Express: “A three -year plan to breathe new life into commercial units in the town will be launched this year. The council plans to invest £230,000 for three years towards work on properties within its commercial portfolio, to improve their performance and to help attract further investment into the district.

He added: “We have the iCon building and we have already seen a couple of businesses outgrow that space and move on.

“We need to provide premises in Daventry that are suitable for those firms, and any others that want to come here. That way we can attract in jobs and investment.”

The council has already done similar projects in recent years. It worked with Hi-Force to provide it with a new base on the Royal Oak industrial estate, and has demolished and replaced units elsewhere in town to provide modern office space, or updated industrial units.

Cllr Wayne Howard, strategic planning portfolio holder, said: “We have already completed the Abbey Retail Park, and it is good to see one of the units has recently been moved into by a firm expanding their Daventry operation.”