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Councillor would 'lie down in front of the bulldozers' before supporting current Kennet Centre redevelopment plans in Newbury




A TOWN councillor has said he would “lie down in front of the bulldozers” before supporting the proposed redevelopment of the Kennet Centre in its current form.

Gary Norman (Lib Dem, Wash Common) added that the scale of the development was completely wrong and would turn Newbury into something it isn’t.

The comments came in a Newbury Town Council planning and highways meeting on Monday, when councillors heard a presentation from Hugo Haig, the managing director of Lochailort – the company behind the plans to transform the Kennet Centre into a high-rise, multi-purpose complex.

The proposed Eagle Quarter viewed from the Kennet & Avon Canal (46648383)
The proposed Eagle Quarter viewed from the Kennet & Avon Canal (46648383)

The plans – named Eagle Quarter after Plenty's Eagle Ironworks previously located on the site – would provide 402 new homes, 5,355 m2 of office space, including a headquarters office building, 2,413 m2 of lettable flexible commercial space and a two-storey car park extension.

The new homes would be built in seven residential blocks, the highest stretching to 10 and 11 storeys in the centre of the redevelopment.

Mr Haig revealed the entire scheme would cost £115m to build.

The proposed Eagle Quarter viewed from Bridge Street (46648375)
The proposed Eagle Quarter viewed from Bridge Street (46648375)

In the meeting, councillors praised many aspects of the development, including its carbon neutral nature, the presence of local independent businesses and restaurants and that it was bringing homes to central Newbury.

However several councillors – including Vaughan Miller (Lib Dem, East Fields), Phil Barnett (Lib Dem, Clay Hill), and Jeff Beck (Con, Clay Hill) – voiced concerns over the scale and height of the development, which would be clearly visible from Victoria Park.

Speaking at the end of the debate on the plans, chairman of the planning and highways committee Mr Norman said the council’s previous feedback to the project had been ignored.

He said: “Consultation has been more like, we’ve been told what you’re going to do and nothing has changed since the beginning.

Block B of the proposed Eagle Quarter from the west (46648367)
Block B of the proposed Eagle Quarter from the west (46648367)

“We’ve given a lot of feedback and your presentation tonight – there wasn’t a single change from any presentation we’ve had thus far.

“And yes there are huge benefits of the scheme, like the greenness of the scheme, and I love the mixture of shops and residences in the town, but two or three things really keep coming back to me.

“One is the argument that it’s better than what’s there at the moment – anything is better than what’s there at the moment.

The proposed Eagle Quarter viewed from Market Place (46648378)
The proposed Eagle Quarter viewed from Market Place (46648378)

“The Kennet was, has been and is now a total disaster.

“We’re constantly told Bracknell, Maidenhead and Reading have gone down this route – we’re not any of those.

“I can’t get away from the fact that this is a large, city centre development in a market town. The scale is completely wrong.

“I don’t want any pussy-footing words anymore, there are lots in favour of this, but on this scale, this changes Newbury forever into something that it isn’t.

“Far from supporting this, I’m going to be lying down in front of the bulldozers.”

The eastern elevation view of the central block (46648372)
The eastern elevation view of the central block (46648372)

Mr Haig said he believed the scheme was “perfect” and the public were in favour of it.

He said: “We believe this scheme is perfect.

“I can assure you that all the public I speak to are thrilled to bits with the scheme.

“There is very little objection – there have been about 30 objections, of which about three-quarters of them are generic objections.

“There are very few well-written and thought out objections.

“For a big scheme like this, it’s not that controversial.”

The plans can be viewed by entering 21/00379/FULMAJ into West Berkshire Council's planning site.

A separate application for 91 retirement living apartments has been submitted and can be viewed at 21/00380/FULMAJ.



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