200-home Porch Farm plan in Kingsclere submitted

Plans for a 200-home housing development – which would expand Kingsclere by around 20 per cent – have now been submitted.

Vistry Group, which ran a two week virtual consultation on the scheme last month, has officially put forward its Porch Farm proposal.

The plans would see the houses built on the west side of Kingsclere, with a new entrance created into the site off the A339.

The application is split into two parts. The first is an outline planning application for 200 homes, which will ascertain whether the nature of the whole development is acceptable, and the second is a full planning application for 63 homes.

The 63 homes application is based on the northern portion of the site closer to the A339, with a residential mix of 30 two-beds, 25 three-beds, and eight four-beds.

Forty per cent of the homes would be classed as ‘affordable’.

The design and access statement argues that “the proposals respect the local character but also move the community towards a more sustainable future, through a significant increase in housing choice".

“Development will accord with the principles of high-quality design and best practice to create a townscape that is both varied, and yet sympathetic to its environment," it added.

“The aim is to achieve a development with a strong identity and distinct sense of place, whilst at the same time integrating with the existing community.”

The scale of the plans will likely be met with a backlash by the local community, as well as the parish council.

The application is also likely to be the first of two big housing developments Kingsclere will be targeted by – the second being Thakeham Homes’ scheme for 120 homes on Yew Tree Farm.

As previously reported by the Newbury Weekly News, the Yew Tree Farm scheme remains in the preliminary stages, but a ‘vision’ document has been drawn up by the developer and a public consultation is expected in the near future.

The Porch Farm plans will now go to Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council for a decision.

To view the plans, go to the borough council’s planning portal and enter the reference 22/01856/FUL.