Daventry International Rail Freight Terminal (DIRFT) is a rail-road intermodal freight terminal with an associated warehousing estate in Northamptonshire, England. The facility is located at the junctions between the M1 motorway, A5 and A428 roads, 4 miles (6 km) east of Rugby and 6 miles (10 km) north of Daventry; it has a rail connection from the Northampton loop of the West Coast Main Line.

The original development of approximately 120 ha (300 acres) was built during the 1990s. of which only DIRFT south (DIRFT Railport) had a direct rail connection. An extension, often referred to as DIRFTII, of about 54 ha (130 acres) received planning permission in 2005, and is designed to have all facilities rail connected - the first occupier of DIRFT2 was Tesco, whose distribution centre reached completion in late 2011.

A third extension DIRFTIII, also rail connected, is now underway.

History

DIRFT

Daventry International Rail Freight Terminal is part of a land development project undertaken by Severn Trent Water on a 174 hectares (430 acres) site near Crick in Northamptonshire. The location, at junction 18 of the M1 motorway in close proximity to the A5 and M6 roads had been identified as early as 1978 as a "motorway orientated growth point". The ground area of the original DIRFT development is divided into three sections: DIRFT Central 16 ha (40 acres), DIRFT East 53 ha (130 acres), and DIRFT South 55 ha (140 acres) by the A5 and A428 roads.

A freight terminal is a processing node for freight. Most freight terminals are located at ports. They may include airports, seaports, railroad terminals, and trucking terminals. Freight is usually loaded onto and off the transport. As most of the terminals are located at ports, one can see many large cargo boxes around the area.

See also

Coordinates: 52°16′N 1°10′W / 52.26°N 1.16°W / 52.26; -1.16

Daventry /ˈdævəntri/ (historically /ˈdeɪntri/) is a market town in Northamptonshire, England, with a population of 25,026 (2011 census).

The town is also the administrative centre of the larger Daventry district, which has a population of 77,843 (2011 census).

Geography

The town is 76.4 miles (123 km) north-northwest of London via the M1 motorway, 13.9 miles (22.4 km) west of Northampton, 10.2 miles (16.4 km) southeast of Rugby. and 15.8 miles (25.2  km) north-north east of Banbury.

Other nearby places include: Southam, Coventry and the villages of Ashby St Ledgers, Badby, Barby, Braunston, Byfield, Charwelton, Dodford, Dunchurch, Everdon, Fawsley, Hellidon, Kilsby, Long Buckby, Newnham, Norton, Staverton, Welton, Weedon, and Woodford Halse. The town is twinned with Westerburg, Germany.

The town sits at around 440–520 ft (135–160 m) above sea level. It is surrounded to the south and east by hills topping out at 738 ft (225 m). To the north and west the land is generally lower than the town. Daventry sits on the watershed of the River Leam which flows to the west of England and the River Nene which flows east. There is no river in the town and the largest gatherings of water are two reservoirs made to supply the canal that swings from Watford Gap into the west midlands through the 2,042 yd (1.9 km) long Braunston Tunnel around the north of the town. To the north west is Drayton Reservoir and to the north east is the Daventry Reservoir and country park.

Daventry is a local government district in Northamptonshire, England. Its council is based in the town of Daventry.

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.

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. Other significant settlements include Brixworth, Long Buckby and Weedon Bec. The rest of the district is predominantly rural.

Settlements

Daventry may refer to: