Why the new Water Space could be good for Daventry

By David Raven Editor of idaventry.com

Water always seems to have a strong attraction for humans hence the reason why our parks and open spaces are more often than not embellished with a natural or man-made pond, lake, river or canal. Imagine the scene on a warm summer’s afternoon families off for stroll around Daventry’s beautiful country park, wandering along the canal towpath.  Completing the outing with a coffee or meal whilst sitting outside a waterside café overlooking the new Marina close to the town centre. Maybe this is an unrealistic dream for many readers who have clearer visions of an underused unsupported watery waste peppered with abandoned shopping trolleys.

 Quite a few Daventry residents are here as a direct result of the large migration from London and Birmingham which took place in the 1960’s and 70’s. Before this Daventry was a quiet little town with a population of around 6,000 people. Amongst the small number of remaining original Daventry folk, quite a few of them would probably like the population to return to its original size however, we know this is not going to happen. Therefore, since we can’t put the clock back we have to view the future going forward. Our population will continue to grow and requirement for more leisure and cultural needs continue to expand.

 The idea for a canal and marina are not new to Daventry since as long ago as the 1830’s plans were made to connect Daventry to the Grand Union Canal when is was being built. Then came the railways and since Daventry’s success rested on being at the centre of a busy road network (ironically as it has become again today) canal transportation went out of fashion.

 Numerous other towns in Britain are already building or planning to build marinas linked to the canal network. Places like Newbury, Reading and Banbury all have waterways running through their commercial centre providing attractive and practical facilities. Most of these schemes include housing and commercial developments with additional leisure facilities, both Northampton and Milton Keynes have their own similar plans to Daventry.

 It goes without saying the success of this venture will be judged not on the building of the canal and marina but on the future management and ongoing support and maintenance. Yes it will end up a cesspit for shopping trolleys and bicycles if no money is allocated for future support services. If Daventry District Council just pocket the short-term revenue from the sale of land and buildings and without planning for the long-term.

 The problem with particularly older residents in Daventry and I include myself in this category, we can all too often see the reasons any new scheme may not work based on our long experience. A younger person doesn’t have the same doubts since they don’t know the reasons why it could fail – they haven’t got to that bit yet – and since they don’t know they may just go ahead and make it work!

David Raven has lived in Daventry town for over 30 years and is the Managing Editor of www.idaventry.com
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