‘This is a valuable piece of green space. Leave it alone’
The proposed new master plan for Daventry’s town centre is being met with opposition, with plans to build homes on a playing fields upsetting locals
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Local journalists Craig Lewis and Hilary Scott will be reporting alongside me, Sarah Ward, thanks to the donations from our readers.
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By Sarah Ward
Plans by West Northamptonshire Council to rejuvenate Daventry town centre and build homes on a green patch of land are being met with strong opposition.
Tensions are rising between residents and the unitary authority about the new draft master plan that was unveiled in the spring.
It proposes to upgrade the retail units in the town, improve the connections between areas and build new homes on the green space off Eastern Way in order to ‘meet the needs of all generations’.
Labour leader of the opposition on West Northants Council Wendy Randall, said the plans to replace the Eastern Way playing fields with new housing, which come after a series of other unrealised schemes, are very unpopular.
She said:
“They [the unitary council] are putting people’s backs up.
“Before 1997 when Labour were in power that whole area was supposed to be a millennium park and lead onto the country park. But after the election it never came to fruition. It had the full backing of the people.
“Then the outdoor pool closed and the area turned into a wasteland. There were plans for a canal arm that were scrapped and also a school.
“We don’t want the council to put houses there. This is a valuable piece of green space - leave it alone.”
She added:
“They say the reason they want to build the houses is to upgrade the town centre, but they don’t know the people. It is decent shops that we are lacking, not housing. The town centre has gone downhill. You can’t get clothes for teenagers, there is no shop for school shoes.
“The town centre is a mess. We have buddleia growing out of empty buildings. Weeds are a metre high. It is very scruffy.”
Facebook groups have been set up in protest, with people posting images of them using the playing fields. It is a popular recreation spot and is the venue to regular events such as the starting point for the weekly Parkrun and the home to the travelling circus. Daventry’s own ‘Banksy’ (whose campaign of signs made national attention and led the unitary council to fill in a number of potholes) has also been making new signs to show her discontent.
Cllr Randall held a ‘last minute’ meeting with residents at the town’s leisure centre last month and 75 people turned up. She plans to have another one and wants senior members of the unitary council to attend so they can hear what people think.
She said:
“I want them to come along so they can hear from the people. I’m often made to feel when I speak out at council meetings that I’m exaggerating, but they need to hear what they people have to say and realise the strength of feeling. No one I have spoken to supports building homes on the playing fields.”
She has also criticised the public consultation that took place, claiming that it was an outdoor exhibition on a Saturday, without any senior officers from the council in attendance. The consultation closed last month and will then go forward for consideration by the council.
But Cllr Randall thinks if senior councillors approve it, the wider council will follow suit.
She said:
“I assume it will be the cabinet who make the decision. If cabinet votes on it, it then goes to full council and it will be a done deal.”
The council, which was set up in 2021 is Conservative controlled and so far all business that the cabinet has wanted to approve has gone through.
The master plan was devised following on from a town centre vision developed in 2020.
Liberal Democrat town councillor Alan Knape has been involved in organising a petition which has 700 signatures so far.
He said:
“I don’t think there is any support for this in the town. It is a very odd situation. It is the largest area of green space that we have in the centre of Daventry and it just seems odd to want to develop it.
“There are lots of other homes planned for the town, and we do need them, but not in that space.
“The land is well used, but it could do with improvements.”
The town council is also against the plan for the homes. A statement on its website says:
“Following consultation with West Northamptonshire's Planning and Regeneration Team, Daventry Town Council maintain their objection to large scale development on Eastern Way Playing Fields, but accept that as the proposed development is likely to be approved, it is resolute in shaping that development via the planning process and will strive to ensure that funds from the sale of land within the Town will be invested back into the Town, as per the visionary element of the Masterplan.”
The West unitary has been putting together regeneration plans since it was set up in 2021. Money was won from the government to regenerate parts of Northampton town centre and the controversial upgrade of the market, which saw long standing traders moved to another part of the town, is due to be finished soon.
However costs have risen from £8m to more than £12m.
The authority has also bought buildings and has paid consultants to draw up plans for development of the Greyfriars area.
However as NN Journal reported recently, there is no available money for this large development, which is certain to cost tens of millions.
We contacted Cllr Dan Lister, who is the cabinet member for regeneration, but he is yet to respond.
At the time the consultation was launched he had said:
“Improving Daventry town centre and reinventing our market town is a priority for us and the new master plan aims to build in more detail upon the aspirations of the community set out in the Daventry Town Centre Vision 2035.
“Improving public spaces, enhancing play spaces and celebrating local cultures and heritage are key themes for the proposals set out in the master plan, which also strives to provide an improved and welcoming space for people to come together to eat, play and relax.
“We want to bring residents, businesses and stakeholders along on this journey and it's really important they tell us what they think about the proposals, so I would encourage them to take a look and complete the survey."
As the climate crisis progresses urban heat will become increasingly dangerous. Urban green spaces should be protected as essential infrastructure for physical and mental health. We also need to update our Victorian concept of parks as wide open spaces. Planting more trees and bushes in our parks would provide shade for us and habitats for our beleaguered wildlife.
We also need to revisit one of our core values: "I shop therefore I am". Consumerism-as-leisure is killing our poor planet. If we are to avert climate catastrophe we all need to gain our sense of self-worth from something other than buying more stuff.
Peter Nalder
First: In Northampton the Council 'plays things differently'. South Court Environmental have been supported by them to plant (appropriate) trees in (appropriates) places to mitigate expected climate catastrophe effects. This includes providing cool shade for hot hot days. So: What trees where in the building plans. And what strategies for their(appropriate) upkeep? And what trees NOT removed?
Second: I understand that very few houses have been built in this country to standards that take account of the Climate Change Future. Or built with materials chosen to reduce carbon footprints. Should the scheme go ahead, can we all be sure that the manner of doing so will be 'least bad' for the future planet?
One could go on .....