Plan to sell off town's playing field defended

A banner, believed to be the work of the pothole campaigner 'Daventry Banksie', has appeared on a wall near the field

A council has defended a plan to sell off a playing field used for parkruns, events and dog walking.

West Northamptonshire Council said funds raised from the sale of Eastern Way playing field in Daventry would be used to "enhance" the town.

But the authority added that if a majority of residents were against the sell-off, it would not happen.

About 100 people attended a public meeting about the plans over the weekend.

Labour councillor Wendy Randall said no-one at the public meeting supported the sell-off

Eastern Way playing field was once attached to Daventry's former grammar school but is now owned by West Northamptonshire Council.

It hosts the weekly parkrun and occasional visits from circuses as well as being a popular site for dog walking and summer picnics.

The playing field is the finish point for the weekly Daventry Parkrun

In its masterplan for Daventry, the council said it wanted to use the income from 150 houses being built on the site to fund improvements to the town.

A local Labour councillor, Wendy Randall, organised a public meeting with a representative of the council and the local MP, Stuart Andrew, to discuss the sell-off.

She said: "There wasn't one person in favour of putting houses on Eastern Way.

"The outcome of the meeting was, the only way we are going to get any enhancement within the town is for them to be able to sell that land off to a developer, and then they could use that money to enhance the town."

She added that local residents wanted any development of the playing field to involve something for the community, such as a park or a bandstand.

Under the masterplan, most of the playing field would become a housing development

The playing field is on the edge of Daventry town centre

Dan Lister, the council's cabinet member for local economy, was at the meeting and defended the sell-off plan.

"We hear a lot, 'we've got shops closing, we've only got charity shops, barbers and estate agents.'

"This is about how can we create a catalyst because Daventry does deserve better than what it's got currently."

Dan Lister said town centre improvements could start before houses are built

He added: "If the majority says 'no, we'd rather retain this space and we'll just leave Daventry how it is', that's fine."

Responding to concerns the homes would get constructed without improvements, Mr Lister said: "We would look to do is start to make the improvements first, before the houses were built."

The suggested next steps for the Daventry Masterplan will be considered by the council's cabinet this autumn.