Residents invited to comment on Conservation Area

Members of the public and organisations are invited to give their views during a six-week consultation starting on Saturday, November 1. There will also be two public exhibitions.

Earlier this year consultants were appointed by Daventry District Council to advise on the suitability of designating the Daventry Country Park area as a Conservation Area. The first stage, involving a study of the area, site surveys and historic research is now complete.

Councillor Wendy Amos, Strategic Community and Planning portfolio holder, said: “The consultants have drawn up a proposed boundary for the Conservation Area, which contains Daventry Reservoir, its spillway and link to the Grand Union Canal.

“They have advised that the main reason for its suitability is the historic nature of Daventry Reservoir and its link to the Grand Union Canal.

“This consultation is a great opportunity for residents to have their say, and I would encourage everyone to go along to the public exhibitions to find out more about the proposals.”

Public exhibitions are taking place at the following times:

Saturday, November 1 - at Daventry Farmers Market from 10am until noon, and Daventry Country Park Visitors Centre from 1.30pm until 3.30pm.

Friday, November 21 - at Daventry Market from 10am until noon, and at the Daventry Country Park Visitors Centre from 1.30pm until 3.30pm.

The proposed Conservation Area will also be presented at the Daventry Town council Planning and Development Committee on November 20 at 6.30pm.

Simon Bovey, Managing Director, said: “The proposed Conservation Area would give some added protection to the land and water within it, which future planning of development needs to take into account.

“This is particularly relevant to land known as Church Fields to the east, the subject of a planning appeal and Public Inquiry in January. This Council objects to that proposal, so the developer, Croudace, will need to show respect for this setting to the proposed Conservation Area and, should the Inquiry Inspector allow the appeal, ensure a wide green buffer of 80 -150 metres at least.“

The proposed Conservation Area boundary and Appraisal, and a separate Management Plan, which sets out proposals for how the new Conservation Area would be managed, will also be available for inspection from November 1 at the District Council offices in Lodge Road, Daventry Library and the Daventry Country Park Visitors Centre during normal opening hours; or it can be viewed at www.daventrydc.gov.uk/environment-and-planning/planning/planning-local-development-framework/latest-news/.

The District Council welcomes comments, which should be sent to:

Daventry District Council

Planning Policy and Housing Strategy

Lodge Road, Daventry

Northants, NN11 4FP

Please mark your response ‘Conservation Area Consultation’.

You can also make comments on the Web-based response form, which is located at

http://www.daventrydc.gov.uk/environment-and-planning/planning/planning-local-development-framework/latest-news/.

Comments must be received by 4.30pm on Monday, December 15, 2008 at the latest.

Consultation feedback will then be reported back to the Council’s Strategy Group in January 2009. If the proposals are approved, the Conservation Area would be adopted by spring next year.