List of preferred housing sites in West Berkshire revealed

West Berkshire Council has released its list of preferred housing sites across the district and south Newbury is to bear the brunt of the development. 

The council has identified 27 sites for around 1,600 homes in its Housing Site Allocations Development Plan Document.

The document outlines the council's preferred locations for homes across the district and follows a public consultation on 38 sites identified last year. 

Land earmarked for development includes:

250 homes in south-east Newbury
140 homes at the Pirbright Institute in Compton
100 homes on Bath Road Speen
100 homes near Salisbury Road in Hungerford

Several sites originally considered for development were rejected following a public consultation – which received 8,500 responses.

Rejected proposals included:

285 homes at Turnhams Farm, Pincents Lane at Calcot due to concerns about the impact on the local road network
87 homes in Hungerford due to a number of concerns about the delivery of the site
30 homes near Blackthorn Close in Tilehurst because of concerns about flooding and the landscape

The council said that the DPD will help protect the district from unwanted development and provide added protection to the countryside.

Speaking about the housing plan, the council's executive member for planning Alan Law (Con, Basildon), said: “Earlier this week results of a study were announced which found that West Berkshire will need to build 665 homes each year for twenty years to keep up with demand. This plan will help us deliver the first batch of those and in doing so put us in control of how we balance the provision of housing with protection for our countryside and living environment.

“These proposals are the culmination of discussions with landowners and developers but also one of the largest consultations we’ve ever run. In reaching this point, 8,500 people had their say on our plans, and after listening to the communities we rejected a number of sites. This plan is a positive step forward for us and shows where we think houses should be built. It puts the council, not developers, in control of where homes should be built and will mean we can ensure additional infrastructure is in place to support the additional houses.

“Communities are at the heart of this process and I believe this is a good move for them too. It’s important that we plan for the future to make sure there are enough homes for local people, especially key workers such as our nurses, teachers, carers and aspiring first time buyers. We want the area to prosper and to do this we need to make sure West Berkshire remains a great place to live and work in – and this housing will help us achieve that.”

The plans will be discussed at a special council meeting to be held at St Bartholomew's School, Andover Road, Newbury at 7pm on Thursday November 5th, 2015.

Doors will open at 6.30pm and there will be limited capacity at the meeting for 150 people seated and around 100 people standing.

The council said that anyone planning to attend should consider whether they will be able to stand for the duration of the meeting should all the seating be taken.

And, it added, that as it is a special meeting it will not be accepting questions from councillors or the public. 

The council will for the first time be live-streaming the meeting on YouTube.

For more, including a full list of sites, see next week's Newbury Weekly News