Councillors query delay in Sandleford development plans

The issue was raised at a meeting of Greenham Parish Council last week, when councillor Phil Barnett asked about the delay.
“It’s gone unbelievably quiet and some of us are wondering what’s going to happen,” he said.
In total, 2,000 new homes are to be built at a Sandleford Park site in south Newbury, 1,000 of which must be completed by 2026 in accordance with West Berkshire Council’s core strategy – a planning document that includes proposals to build at least 10,500 new homes in the district by 2026.
West Berkshire Council is still waiting for the developers to submit plans for the site, despite the executive committee giving outline plans the green light 12 months ago.
It is up to the landowners to appoint the scheme’s developers. At the time of the last confirmation, these included Delia Norgate, widow of John Norgate, the founder of development firm Trencherwood Homes, Nicholas Laing from Cirencester, Noel Gibbs from Cheltenham, Lady Ana Wyndham-Quin from County Limerick, Ireland, and Irish company Faria Ltd.
Under the core strategy, there is no legal requirement for plans to be submitted within a specified time, so long as the first 1,000 dwellings are completed by 2026, as stated.
Next April, the current section 106 developer contribution system, which requires developers to contribute a certain amount – decided by the district council – towards surrounding infrastructure, is to be replaced by the community infrastructure levy which will instead see developers incur a set charge per square metre.
Despite the council being praised nationally for its section 106 scheme, it has been forced to adopt the CIL, with central government stating that all local authorities must be using the new system by next April.
Parish councillor and Greenham ward member at West Berkshire Council, Julian Swift-Hook (Lib Dem), said at the meeting: “It’s gone unbelievably quiet because, in my view, the developers are waiting until April so they can pay their developer contributions under CIL to save themselves some money, which I think is a pity.”
A spokesman for West Berkshire Council, Keith Ulyatt, said: “We have no control over when a developer submits a planning application.
“Whenever applications are made, the council will seek to ensure that any impact on local services and communities caused by developments are acceptably mitigated by the developer, whether using section 106 developer contributions or the community infrastructure levy.”