Consultation starts today on £8.2m Daventry town centre cinema proposals

The proposed three to four screen cinema at North Street would be scheduled to open by summer in 2020, with the library relocating to ‘modern new premises’ at the Abbey Resource Centre in St John’s Square.

Consultation on the Daventry District Council scheme officially opens today, with members of the public having until Sunday, October 28 to register their views ahead of an anticipated planning application being submitted in the autumn.

Residents can also view the plans in person at three open exhibition events at the library within the next week.

The council is working with design and build contractors Willmott Dixon and architects Marchini Curran Associates on the plans, which would also see two restaurants or bars included in the development.

The district council says it is ‘continuing discussions with a range of cinema operators’ and working with commercial advisors to appoint an operator for the scheme.

Plans were revealed for the project earlier this month with Councillor David James, the council’s economic, regeneration and employment portfolio holder, saying that a new cinema had ‘always been at the forefront of our vision to transform Daventry town centre into a thriving leisure destination’.

The council decided to take on the venture itself instead of extending its development agreement for the site with Henry Boot Developments Ltd (HBDL). The authority approved the £8.2m investment back in May.

It is anticipated that the library will relocate to its new premises by April, with building work on adapting the Abbey Resource Centre beginning in the New Year. The library move does not require planning permission.

The cinema open events take place at Daventry library on Tuesday October 16 (3pm-7pm), Thursday October 18 (10am-2pm) and Saturday October 20 (11am-3pm).

Residents can submit their views on the council’s online consultation, which can be found at www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/76K3L7Z