Daventry District was a local government district in western Northamptonshire, England, from 1974 to 2021. The district was named after its main town of Daventry, where the council was based.

Daventry District
Shown within Northamptonshire
Shown within Northamptonshire
Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom
Constituent countryEngland
RegionEast Midlands
Administrative countyNorthamptonshire
Admin. HQDaventry
Government
 • TypeDaventry District Council
 • Leadership:Alternative - Sec.31
 • Executive: 
Area
 • Total
255.84 sq mi (662.62 km2)
Population
 (2019)
 • Total
85,950
 • Density340/sq mi (130/km2)
Time zoneUTC+0 (Greenwich Mean Time)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+1 (British Summer Time)
ONS code34UC (ONS)
E07000151 (GSS)
Ethnicity96.5% White
Websitedaventrydc.gov.uk

The district was created on 1 April 1974, under the Local Government Act 1972, by a merger of the historic municipal borough of Daventry with the Daventry Rural District and most of the Brixworth Rural District. The town of Daventry became an unparished area with Charter Trustees and remained so until 2003 when a civil parish was created, roughly corresponding with the boundaries of the former borough, so allowing Daventry to have its own town council.[1]

Abolition and replacement

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In March 2018, following suspension of the County Council arising from its becoming insolvent, due to financial and cultural mismanagement by the cabinet and officers, the then Secretary of State for Local Government, Sajid Javid, sent commissioner Max Caller into the council, who recommended the county council and all district and borough councils in the county be abolished, and replaced by two unitary authorities, one covering the West, and one the North of the county.[2] These proposals were approved in April 2019. It meant that the districts of Daventry, Northampton and South Northamptonshire were merged to form a new unitary authority called West Northamptonshire, whilst the second unitary authority North Northamptonshire consists of Corby, East Northamptonshire, Kettering and Wellingborough districts. These new authorities came into being on 1 April 2021.[3] Elections for the new authorities were due to be held on 7 May 2020, but were delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[4] These elections were later held on 6 May 2021.

Demography

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At the 2011 Census, the district had a population of 77,843, a little under a third of whom (25,026) lived in the town of Daventry.[5] Other significant settlements included Brixworth, Long Buckby and Weedon Bec. The rest of the district was predominantly rural.

Ethnicity

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Ethnic Group 1991[6] 2001[7] 2011[8]
Number % Number % Number %
White: Total 62,256 99% 70,398 98% 75,123 96.5%
White: British 68,788 95.8% 72,448 93.1%
White: Irish 571 509
White: Gypsy or Irish Traveller 54
White: Other 1,039 2,112
Asian or Asian British: Total 333 0.5% 478 0.7% 1,183 1.5%
Asian or Asian British: Indian 161 320 551
Asian or Asian British: Pakistani 38 85 172
Asian or Asian British: Bangladeshi 0 12 55
Asian or Asian British: Chinese 82 128 151
Asian or Asian British: Other Asian 52 61 254
Black or Black British: Total 333 0.5% 239 0.3% 481 0.6%
Black or Black British: Caribbean 82 176 211
Black or Black British: African 23 50 213
Black or Black British: Other Black 70 13 57
Mixed or British Mixed: Total 522 0.7% 971 1.2%
Mixed: White and Black Caribbean 183 381
Mixed: White and Black African 45 98
Mixed: White and Asian 181 302
Mixed: Other Mixed 113 190
Other: Total 92 0.1% 73 0.1% 85 0.1%
Other: Arab 7
Other: Any other ethnic group 92 73 78
Total 62,856 100% 71,838 100% 77,843 100%

Housing

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In 2007, the Council housing stock owned by the council was transferred to Daventry & District Housing Ltd., a specially formed registered social landlord, under a Large Scale Voluntary Transfer. A subsequent dispute about the provisions made in the transfer contract for employees' pensions led to a legal case heard in the England and Wales Court of Appeal concerning the legal doctrines of mutual or unilateral mistake.[9][10]

Settlements

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Political control

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Daventry Civic Centre, the headquarters of the former Daventry District Council. Built 1980s.

See Daventry District Council elections

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Daventry Town Council
  2. ^ "Northamptonshire County Council: statement". Retrieved 13 June 2018.
  3. ^ "Northamptonshire: Unitary authorities plan approved". BBC News. 14 May 2019. Retrieved 18 August 2020.
  4. ^ "AT LAST! Northamptonshire's new unitary councils are made law by parliament". Northampton Chronicle. 14 February 2020. Retrieved 18 August 2020.
  5. ^ "Key Figures for 2011 Census: Daventry". Office for National Statistics (Neighbourhood Statistics). Retrieved 28 August 2015.
  6. ^ 1991 census data taken from NOMIS which was extracted using the 'local authorities: district / unitary (prior to April 2015)' geography type.
  7. ^ "Office of National Statistics; 2001 Census Key Statistics". webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk. Retrieved 7 September 2021.
  8. ^ "2011 Census: Ethnic Group, local authorities in England and Wales". webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk. Retrieved 15 December 2021.
  9. ^ Swarbrick, D., Daventry District Council v Daventry and District Housing Ltd: CA 13 Oct 2011, updated 27 November 2022, accessed 23 July 2023
  10. ^ England and Wales Court of Appeal (Civil Division), Daventry District Council v Daventry & District Housing Ltd [2011] EWCA Civ 1153, published 9 May 2011, accessed 23 July 2023

52°18′N 1°03′W / 52.30°N 1.05°W / 52.30; -1.05