A339 compulsory purchase order approved
Key decision taken on Newbury's future - but councillors representing the town are banned from voting
A KEY decision giving a vital new road in Newbury the go-ahead has been taken – even though none of the councillors representing the town were allowed to take part.
West Berkshire Council has come under fire for using its compulsory purchase powers to buy land needed to deliver a new access road from the A339.
The decision to press ahead with the compulsory purchase order was taken at a special council meeting on Monday and means that units 6 and 7 in Fleming Road, currently occupied by Guardian Realty Ltd and owned by Faraday Developments Limited (FDL), will be demolished.
It will also see the Conservative-controlled district council obtain a sliver of land in Victoria Park from Newbury Town Council.
As a result, district councillors who also sit on Newbury Town Council were banned from taking part in Monday’s debate and from voting, as they were deemed to have a prejudicial interest.
The access road is part of a wider scheme to develop the London Road Industrial Estate, which will see 300 homes and an 80-bed hotel built.
The council said that the CPO was necessary as it needed to start work on the road within the next 12 months to comply with the conditions of a £1.9m grant from central government.
Before Monday night’s decision, Wash Common resident Peter Norman had urged councillors to vote against the proposals.
In an impassioned letter, Mr Norman said: “To pursue this just because the money is there before there is any scheme for the much- needed re-development of this area of Newbury would be a monumental mistake.”
However, the Conservatives did just that – but not all voted in favour of the CPO.
Conservative Tim Metcalfe (Purley on Thames) officially asked for his abstention to be recorded.
The only one to do so, he said that he didn’t know enough to make an informed decision and was not convinced that people would not use the road as a ‘rat run’ to get to the A4 from the A339.
During the meeting, Graham Pask (Con, Bucklebury) said: “Traffic modelling shows a dramatic improvement of 17 per cent in traffic flow by building the junction.
“If traffic is flowing, there is less pollution. The CPO is an important first step in a scheme that has been planned for a considerably long time.”
Pamela Bale (Con, Pangbourne), added: “The fact that we have support from the Thames Valley Local Enterprise Partnership shows the local business community across Berkshire believes it is worthwhile.
“We all understand the traffic issues in Newbury and I’ll admit I was sceptical at first, but having seen the extensive traffic modelling, I believe the system will work.”
After the meeting, the director of FDL, Duncan Crook, described the lack of debate as shocking.
Mr Crook said that he felt the CPO was inappropriate and that he would challenge it if the process went ahead.
Following the meeting, Mr Norman, who stood as an Apolitical candidate in May’s General Election said: “It was a ridiculous situation whereby an important decision on the future development of Newbury was taken with no representatives of the people of Newbury present.
“If ever there was a case for district councillors not being also town councillors this is it.
“I find it disgraceful that Newbury has been under-represented. It was a bleak insight into decision-making under the new administration.”
It was the third time the item had been listed for debate after two blunders meant the decision had had to be delayed.
The issue was first due to be debated as a confidential item in March, but solicitors from FDL argued that there was absolutely no justification to hold discussions in private.
The council said the item had been erroneously issued as a confidential report and it was re-listed to be debated in public last month.
However, it was pulled again at the last minute, when councillors spotted a technical error in the drawings.
