New housing plan for Blue Ball pub - decision due today

The application, submitted by Hackwood Homes Ltd, seeks to knock down the 19th century pub in Greenham Road and replace it with eight houses, including two semi-detached two-bedroom houses and six three-bedroom houses, with 12 parking and 16 cycle spaces.
This is the seventh time in recent years that an application has been submitted to demolish the building.
The applicant states that the development is a reasonable and realistic response that optimises the site’s potential while respecting the character of the area.
However, the plans were met with opposition from members of Newbury Town Council’s planning and highways committee on Monday, on the grounds of demolition of a historical building and inadequate parking, as four spaces in the current car park are used by residents from nearby Eeklo Place.
Adrian Edwards (Con, Falkland) said: “We may well see the end of this historic building which I think is a great shame.”
The plans have also been opposed by Greenham parish councillors, who said that the location was totally unsuitable for housing owing to the proximity of the A339, and that noise and air pollution were already above recommended levels.
Previous applications to bulldoze the pub were met with criticism from residents, councillors and the West Berkshire branch of the Campaign for Real Ale.
In response to the recent application, pubs officer for West Berkshire Camra, Glenn Parsons, urged people who wanted to see the pub restored to make their objections known.
“Under the right leadership most pubs can be viable, as can be seen by many of our more rural pubs, and with the huge development started at the racecourse, the potential for new customers is massive,” he said.
The Blue Ball, which has been a pub since 1830 but is not listed, has been closed since March 2011.
A decision is expected by West Berkshire Council today (Fri).