Bishops Green 400 homes plan is being pushed ahead

A LAND promoter is pushing ahead with plans to build up to 400 homes on a greenfield site in Bishops Green.

As reported by the Newbury Weekly News in December last year, Catesby Estates is targeting College Copse Fields, off Ecchinswell Road, for the development, which will have 40 per cent affordable homes and a “well-balanced mix of housing, including smaller one-, two- and three-bed properties”.

The company entered into an agreement with the owner of the land last year, and is pushing to get the site allocated for housing in Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council’s 2011-2029 Local Plan, which guides where houses can be built in the borough.

The council is now set to begin debating where new homes should go, and it has set itself a target of building around 900 new homes a year based on population projections and affordability.

Catesby Estates has put together a consultation website for feedback on its plans from residents and has been delivering leaflets to locals detailing the development.

On the website, the company is looking for feedback from residents on the type of homes the village needs, if any, what type of facilities to put in the proposed open spaces, and what “additional community benefits” Bishops Green needs, potentially including a community café, allotments, sport facilities or funding towards the village hall.

If the Bishops Green development was to go ahead, it could potentially double the size of the Ecchinswell, Sydmonton and Bishops Green parish, which currently has around 1,200 people.

To view the proposals and take part in the consultation, visit https://bit.ly/3koA3JS

This isn’t the first time the company has conducted a local consultation. In December last year Catesby Estates did a preliminary consultation with residents and the Ecchinswell, Sydmonton and Bishops Green Parish Council.

In a virtual parish council meeting on December 15, concerned locals lined up to oppose the scheme, saying the development would “devastate” the area.

Of particular concern was the lack of infrastructure to cope with the influx of people and cars, and the potential increased risk of flooding, with one resident saying the whole area was “on an edge” due to standing water.

On June 10 this year, Catesby Estates then invited stakeholders, including parish and borough councillors, to a round table meeting to discuss the development.

Reporting back, the parish council said Catesby Estates had not “altered their plans for 400 homes in any significant way” and was “fully aware of residents’ concerns but showed no real evidence of trying to address the associated infrastructure and services issues”.

The company plans to submit an outline planning application before the end of 2021.

If it gets approved, it will then market the site to housebuilders.