New outdoor arena for Newbury Showground?

Newbury and District Agricultural Society want to make Chieveley showground one of UK's best

NEWBURY Showground could soon feature a new outdoor livestock arena which it is hoped will make the Royal County of Berkshire Show one of the premier agricultural displays in the country.

The application for a new menage submitted to West Berkshire Council includes plans for a building to show livestock, as well as assembly and leisure on no-show days, a new pond to encourage wildlife growth, and the extension of an internal road at the site in Chieveley.

The move follows the withdrawal of previous application in October 2010, which was recommended for refusal by the West Berkshire Council planning department.

Problems were cited with the visual impact on the building on the North Wessex Downs Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) which the site sits in.

In the latest visual assessment has been carried out by a landscape consultant, and the Newbury and District Agricultural Society (NDAS) now say the revised plans would not have a significantly adverse impact on the AONB.

The building will primarily be used to show cattle during the Royal County of Berkshire Show, and the Society has said the new menage would elevate the show to make it one of the best in the country.

It also hopes the facilities will enable more school visits to the site, as the current situation is considered limited.

Conscious of the as-yet un-submitted plans by Grundon for a waste incinerator within the AONB, mooted to be at the Old Kiln Quarry in Chieveley, the Society has also listed how its application differs from the Grundon proposals, and outlines why its proposal should be considered a special case.

The Society claims that the menage would improve existing facilities rather than bring a new use to the area.

The application has received hundreds of letters of representation, the overwhelming majority in support, including one from the MP for Newbury Richard Benyon, who said it would be an “important development for the long term future of The Royal County of Berkshire Show, and for the Newbury and District Agricultural Society”.

Those opposing the proposals argue that the Society is ignoring the plight of those who live near the site and have had to put up with disruption for many years.

In a letter to the Newbury Weekly News last week Chieveley resident Michael Jackson said: "This proposal is a step too far, it will further impinge on the lives of those who live here and it isn't justified in any terms."

A target decision date has been set for Friday, September 16.