270-home Watermill Bridge development between the A34 and Andover Road will be built after High Court judge upheld inspector’s appeal decision

A large 270-home development will be built just south of Newbury after a High Court judge upheld an inspector’s appeal decision.

The Watermill Bridge development - plans for which were put forward by Baughurst-based housing developer Bewley Homes - will be located just south of the county border in Hampshire, on a patch of land between the A34 and Andover Road.

Earlier this year Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council had been given permission to proceed with a statutory review of the Planning Inspectorate’s earlier decision to allow the development’s appeal.

And this week the judgement came out and was in favour of the developer, paving the way for the build to begin.

Andrew Brooks, managing director at Bewley Homes, said: “We are delighted with the decision of the High Court judge, Mr Justice Holgate, who was firm in concluding that that the Inspector’s finding were ‘unimpeachable’ and was damning on Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council when he stated that the council’s ‘challenge has no legal merit at all’.

“Watermill Bridge will now provide significant benefits to the local area including 108 affordable homes of varied sizes to help towards meeting the needs of over 5,000 families on the local housing register.

“Furthermore, the scheme includes a convenience store, community centre, healthcare facility and homes for older people providing huge benefit to the wider community.

“Further to the ‘built’ benefits of the scheme, we are committed to providing over 20 per cent increase in biodiversity. We will also deliver large scale public open space in the form of a riverside park, ponds, allotments and children’s play spaces all helping towards increased social wellbeing, and providing a complete 20 minute walkable neighbourhood.

“This decision also clearly identifies the failings of the local authority to deliver local housing and the undersupply of housing in this area for so many years.

“This, coupled with the clear direction by the new Government to build more housing, we hope will give current applications less unjustified resistance and be looked at more favourably.”

But Basingstoke and Deane councillor John Izett (Conservative, Evingar) said that he thought the High Court decision was “disappointing”.

“I think the planning law is now so complex what happens tends to be a lottery and we get in this case, the High Court judge saying that our local plan is out of date and ignoring the change made in December of last year….which said we needed to show a four-year housing land supply, which we did. And coming down on the side of the developer and saying the advantages of the development far outweigh the negatives and the impact would be relatively limited harm.”

He added that it was now of “paramount importance” that the council gets a new local plan in place as quickly as possible.

The cabinet member for planning and infrastructure at Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council, Andy Konieczko, added that the council was “disappointed with the outcome of the challenge”.

“This means the appeal decision, that overturns the council’s refusal of the planning application, stands and the development at Watermill Bridge is approved,” he said.

“Subsequent appeal decisions have confirmed that the Local Plan policies remain up to date and will protect sites that aren’t allocated in the plan from speculative development.”

Previously West Berkshire councillor, David Marsh, had said he was hopeful that the Watermill Bridge decision would be reversed in light of the 360-home Sandleford Park West development being given the green light.

Bewley Homes first put forward the Watermill Bridge plans in November 2021.