Three week consultation kicks off for revised Daventry Canal Arm plans

Daventry District Council (DDC) is seeking detailed planning permission for the proposed 2.6km stretch of waterway that would connect the nearby Grand Union Canal to Daventry town centre.

The planning process for the canal has been dormant for some years, but now DDC is moving forward with them once more it seems.

The council has updated the planning application with new information, including changes to bridges and ground levels and a revised environmental statement.

The application for the canal arm only deals with the proposed waterway from Northern Way, near the iCon centre, out to the Grand Union Canal. The waterside development proposed by DDC for the Eastern Way playing field is not included.

The canal would leave the Grand Union Canal, and head towards Daventry, skirting the eastern edge of Daventry Country Park, ending in a mooring basin just before the Northern Way underpass through to Eastern Way. The underpass was originally constructed with carrying the canal under the road in mind.

The plans show a canal with a series of locks along it, rather than a boatlift. But the application could be updated or altered to incorporate a lift.

The application was originally submitted to the West Northamptonshire Development Corporation (WNDC) in 2011 but not determined. With WNDC disbanded and its planning powers since transferred to DDC, the council says it is now moving forward with the process for determining the revised application.

A three-week statutory planning consultation on the proposals starts today, inviting comments from the public and other consultees.

The planning application – reference 11/0052/FULWND – and all supporting documents can be viewed on the DDC website at www.daventrydc.gov.uk/planningsearch

Anyone who wishes to comment on the proposals must do so within the next 21 days and in writing to The Development Control Manager, Daventry District Council, Lodge Road, Daventry, NN11 4FP