Issues still surround Sandleford application

Council still has a number of concerns - including access and traffic

A CLOUD of uncertainty is still looming over the Sandleford Park planning application.

It has now been six months since plans were submitted for the district’s largest housing development – but the council and developers are still ‘miles away’ from agreeing on much of the application.

Despite much toing and froing and years of detailed discussions, it is still no clearer as to whether there will be two, three or four access roads to the 2,000-home site.

Developer Bloor Homes remains adamant the development can work with two accesses on to Monks Lane – but council officers say that claim is ‘anything but proven’ and insist that only four will do.

West Berkshire Council is trying to push for an access from Sandleford on to the A339 and is currently in discussions with Newbury College about buying the land it needs to deliver it.

But the cash-strapped council, which has to make savings of £17.5m this year, admitted it hasn’t yet secured all the necessary funding required for the road.

There is also confusion over whether the proposed controversial A343 Warren Road access can actually be achieved.

Newbury-based developer Donnington New Homes, which owns that piece of land, says it can be – but Bloor’s traffic consultant, Jubb, isn’t so sure.

In an email on April 26, Jubb’s group director Matthew Grist said: “While the access to the A343 may come forward, we still have no guarantee that it will.”

In contrast, Donnington New Homes managing director Mark Norgate sent an email to the council on March 31 saying that it was ‘commercially realistic’ that the road could be delivered.

Accesses aside, the council is still questioning many aspects of the application, including the developer’s traffic modelling reports.

The council’s highways development control team leader, Paul Goddard, said in an email to Mr Grist that he had some ‘serious concerns’ over the proposed traffic modelling scenarios.

In a previous email, Mr Grist wrote: “It seems we can still meet the original timetable agreed at the meeting in March if we agree everything urgently”.

He added: “This is now in danger of delaying the modelling results, which we cannot let happen.”

Mr Goddard said he noted that the email was of ‘threatening urgency’, but that he would not agree to the traffic modelling until he was confident it was right.

Months ago, the council’s highways team published a damning assessment of Bloor’s application, saying that its traffic surveys were out of date.

It seems that many of the issues raised in that report have still not been addressed.

The delays to the application are typified by Bloor submitting a minerals and waste report three times and it still notfinding favour with the council’s minerals and waste planning officer.

Say No to Sandleford camp- aigner Peter Norman said: “I think it is clear that there is little love lost between Donnington and Bloor and we seem to be miles away from a resolution to the application.”

The Sandleford application, which comprises plans for 2,000 homes, two new primary schools and a country park, was due to be decided this month.

However, that deadline was extended until July at the developer’s request.

Despite repeated attempts to contact it, Bloor Homes could not be reached for a comment before this paper went to press.