Mulberry Place

Daventry District Council wanted to create a ‘first-class leisure destination’ in Northamptonshire. To achieve this, we've created a new social and leisure space in the centre of town that can be enjoyed by local communities.

The project consisted of demolishing the existing library and replacing it with a new cinema, two restaurants and a public square.

The Arc Cinema

There are four screens, with a total capacity of 361 people. All auditoriums have luxury electric recliner seating, and digital laser projection and Dolby Digital 7.1 surround sound.

In the double-height foyer, visitors can purchase tickets from the ticket office before stocking up on drinks and snacks from the range of onsite facilities including a concessions bar, vending area and café/bar.

There is also a purpose-built function space available that the local community can hire out for events.

Restaurants and public realm

There are also two restaurant units on the site. The first is approximately 3,000 sqft and the second approximately 2,500 sqft. Occupants for the two restaurant spaces were confirmed before work was complete, with Dough&Co and Burger Amour each taking a unit.

Bringing the new areas together is a public square that sits in the centre of the cinema and restaurants. The public square provides outdoor space where people can sit and socialise in the heart of Daventry. There is outdoor seating that is surrounded by planters and greenery, with the real focal point being the decorative fountains.

The square also provides an extension to the two restaurants, with outdoor seating available.

Giving back to the local community

Throughout the course of the project, we generated £3.7m SROI through social value activities we delivered in the local area.

Daventry Hill School was our main partnering school during the build. The students came to site for an Archaeological dig and took part in a Health and Safety on site colouring campaign where the winning posters were displayed on our site hoarding. We also donated signage and PPE for their construction corner.

The school's students also attended a meet the builder day where they had the opportunity to implement hands-on learning with some electric circuits kits. Students got to learn all about the importance of electricity and how circuits work, which was followed by building their own circuits to put what they had learned into practice.

Our site team also supported their local MIND group in Daventry by purchasing cakes made by a group member to share on site at tea break. Time to talk day is one of the biggest days on the mental health calendar, so it was fantastic to be able to support a local mental health group whilst also encouraging our people on site to talk about their own mental health.