Eagle Quarter plans will create 'significant harm to character of Newbury' – Historic England

Historic England has fired a salvo of objections to West Berkshire Council over the latest plans to redevelop Newbury town centre.

It says considerable harm to the character of Newbury will be caused by the scheme to knock down the Kennet Shopping centre – and replace it with multi-storey blocks of flats and a reimagined shopping zone.

“We do not consider the heritage benefits alone, which are limited to a slight improvement in facades (other heritage benefits claimed as part of the application are of little real value), come close to outweighing the harm that would be caused,” it writes.

"This application would cause a high degree of harm to the Newbury Conservation Area and many of the listed buildings within it.

“The council should refuse it unless they are confident that this harm has clear and convincing justification, as is required by the National Policy Planning Framework.

"Given the high level of harm any public benefit would need to be considerable in order to outweigh this.”

The latest iteration of the application has been submitted by developers after the scheme was roundly criticised for "turning Newbury into Basingstoke or Reading".

It is accompanied by a glowing endorsement from a top heritage architect providing an independent design review – although developer Lochialort has since conceded that they paid him.

“The plan of the new development is one that derives from an intelligent analysis of the historic plans and plots an appropriate response,” said Professor George Ferguson, a former president of the Royal Institute of Architects.

“In conclusion, as someone who is intensely aware of the need to respect the history, scale and character of our historic towns, I believe the Eagle Quarter scheme to be well judged and that it will be seen by future generations as being a significant and fitting addition to Newbury’s vitality and townscape.”

The planning application is yet to be decided by West Berkshire Council – but the significant number of objections from members of the public outweigh those who have written in to support it by four to one.