Flooding among concerns for 350-home plan near Newbury
FEARS of flooding and increased traffic have been raised by residents living near a site where 350 homes are planned.
A public exhibition was held yesterday (Thursday) to discuss the plans, just over the Hampshire border from Newbury within the Basingstoke and Deane boundary.
Housing developer Bewley Homes has opened up discussions with residents who are concerned about the proposals for Wash Water at the junction of Andover Road and the A34.
The developer is calling the Watermill Bridge proposal an ‘eco-development’, with each house having solar PV panels, electric vehicle charging points, and air source heat pumps – which are said to be an environmentally friendly alternative to gas boilers.
However, worries have arisen as the development is located near the River Enborne on a floodplain, although most of where the housing would be built is in flood zone 1 – the lowest level.
The main concern for residents of the surrounding areas – including Wash Water, Enborne, Woolton Hill and Wash Common – is an increased risk of flooding around their homes.
Bewley Homes strategic land director Andy Morris said he wanted to offer “a peace of mind” to locals who are concerned about flooding.
Bewley Homes has also devised a ‘maximum flood extent’ model which offers a projection of how much risk it thinks the development will present within the next two to 100-plus years.
Mr Morris said: "We worked out what space the river needs and we have designed around that. We will give the river that space.”
He reassured residents: “We work for the worst case.”
He has also said that Bewley Homes has plans to increase the biodiversity of the site.
Flood risk engineer Dan Matthews said that the developer has drawn up models to manage and decrease the risk of any potential flooding.
West Berkshire councillor James Cole (Con, Hungerford and Kintbury) attended the public exhibition at the Woodpecker pub in Wash Water and saw the Bewley Homes flood predictions model.
He said: “I walked in and looked at it and said that’s rubbish, it is not what happens in reality.
“Climate change is having a much faster impact than is suggested by the model.
“It is an actual floodplain, there’s floods every two or three years."
He added that the development “is not in West Berkshire's control".
"It is in control of Basingstoke and Deane.
"Yet it is West Berkshire residents and West Berkshire services that will be far more affected than everyone in Basingstoke and Deane."
Another concern is that all traffic coming in and out of the development will be via Andover Road.
But Mr Morris claimed the pandemic has provided a “culture shift” in which less people will be working in offices. He believes this will reduce potential traffic.
He said: "We are putting work spaces in the houses.
"We will also encourage alternative transport."
He added that he wants buses to be able to “do a loop off the road” and go through the development.
Cycle routes have also been worked into the plans but will be worked around Andover Road.
One resident was concerned for the safety of pedestrians.
She said: “I am absolutely against narrowing Andover Road.
“A cycle way needs to be totally separate from the road.”
When asked about infrastructure, Mr Morris said that the developer has been approached by local doctor’s surgeries and is due to have discussions with schools.
Chris Garrett, who is chairman of Enborne Parish Council, has set up a website called ‘Keep Wash Water Rural’ to rally objections to the scheme – which is currently in the consultation phase, ahead of a formal planning application being submitted.
To view the Bewley Homes Watermill Bridge proposal, head to https://watermillbridge.co.uk/index.html
To view Mr Garrett's opposition website, visit https://keepwashwaterrural.co.uk/
