Kennet Shopping centre redevelopment decision time - see the latest images of what it could look like

A decision on whether Newbury town centre gets redeveloped is due this week.

Plans for the Kennet Shopping centre could see it turned into an eight-storey flats development.

But the Lochailort proposal for build-to-rent flats, to include a new street through the current Kennet Shopping centre, are still being vehemently opposed by conservationists.

The council planning team recommended the proposals, which would essentially transform the look of Newbury town centre, should be approved.

On balance, they said the latest in a string of proposals that have been kicked back should be approved, based on the fact that the current Kennet Shopping centre, built in the late 1970s, was now out of date and ‘failing’, and that it would result in economic improvement for the town.

But the plans, which would see a selection of high-rise flats built purely for rental, would mean the ‘dwarfing’ of the character of Newbury some say. There have been 92 objections to the scheme.

Dr David Peacock of conservationists The Newbury Society has consistently claimed that the long-term impact to Newbury’s appearance, heritage and character will be irreversibly damaged.

“In terms of massing, scale, height and location, is this the kind of building which really benefits the town centre?” he said.

“You stick up a five-storey building with an eight-storey building behind it, the effect on the atmosphere of Bartholomew Street is significant.”

The plans, if approved, will take six months to demolish the existing Kennet Shopping centre and three years to construct in the centre of the town.

“The developers have supplied endless detail on the prose but nothing on construction,” said Newbury central councillor Martin Colston (Lib Dem).

“How bad will it be? We want to see development, but not at the expense of Newbury town centre.”

Previously, the council heard that build-to-rent (BtR) is a positive way of meeting a growing demand within the UK’s housing market.

It also heard that the scheme was not financially viable to provide affordable housing, but that BtR would go some way to alleviate housing pressure in the area with the selection of studio and small flats proposed.

The scheme is made up of nine residential blocks ranging from two to eight storeys in height and the development will cost £158m to build.

Underneath the flats will sit a walkway and new shopping area with business units, and the Vue cinema also gets an upgrade.

The developer stands to make around £14m from the proposal.

If the plans are approved at district planning level, there will also be significant conditions attached to everything from the detailed design of shop fronts to the look and feel of the planned open spaces.

Additionally, there will be nearly £1m in fees levied specifically for cycle ways, signage improvements in Newbury, and cash towards a health centre.

The district planning committee sits tomorrow (Wednesday).