Newbury reacts to ‘Old Town’, developer Lochailort’s new Kennet Shopping centre redevelopment plans

Newbury residents have had their say on the new proposals to redevelop Newbury’s Kennet Shopping centre.

Developer Lochailort’s ‘Old Town’ plans would ditch the controversial high-rise flats of ‘Eagle Quarter’ and replace them with Georgian-style mews houses, fewer commercial units and several lanes connecting them all to the town centre.

After revealing the plans last week, Lochailort held its first public presentation of the plans on Tuesday afternoon.

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We spoke to those present to find out their thoughts on Old Town, which would radically change the look and feel of Newbury town centre.

Jan Ellis lives with her husband David in a town centre property facing Victoria Park.

Mrs Ellis said she liked everything about the plans, including its design, character and layout.

“You would want to live there if you could afford it,” she said.

“It is impressive and a breath of fresh air. It is just a wonderful development.”

She described the previous Eagle Quarter plans as “truly awful” and “depressing”, but thought that Old Town would “make Newbury come up in the world” if built.

She didn’t think the lack of affordable housing in the scheme was an issue as she said “there is enough social housing around”.

She added: “This is obviously going to be more upmarket I suppose, and there’s nothing wrong with that.”

Tony Linden, who has previously served as a West Berkshire councillor, said that Old Town was an “improvement” on the previous plans.

He said: “We can see that the Kennet Centre is falling to pieces and we need to get the right mix [of commercial and residential properties] in and some businesses may have to move, which is sad, but we need to look into the long-term interests of the area.

“We’ve got to realise that Newbury is a large town. It is not a city and it never will be, and you need to be able to attract more people.”

Mr Linden said he was pleased with the new proposals, but he wanted assurances on improvements to infrastructure and the inclusion of affordable housing in the scheme.

Lifelong Newbury resident Hilary Bowsher said it was a “shame” that the Kennet centre was not “fulfilling its potential anymore” and understood why the aging shopping centre site was up for redevelopment.

She said: “I think it is unrealistic at this stage to hope that the Kennet centre as it stands can be reinvigorated for today’s economic situation.”

Speaking of Old Town, Mrs Bowsher said: “Many more people feel like this is not an affront to their sensibilities.

“They felt that the previous proposal was too big of a change for an incredibly historic area with a lot of culture and a lot of history within a conservation area.

“I don’t think that should be misunderstood as not being open to change. It just felt like too much of a change that wasn’t appropriate for Newbury.”

She felt the scale of the new proposals were more appropriate to the town and hoped that they would help Newbury to flourish economically.

“Wouldn’t it be nice to have 40 businesses on a waiting list waiting for an empty unit to come up because there is so much demand for them?” she asked.

“At the moment it’s just empty unit, after empty unit, after empty unit, and that’s awful.”

Bob Dodridge, a retiree who worked as a regional design and planning manager for Taylor Wimpey Homes for 30 years, was “very impressed” with the proposals and said that he “looked forward” to a planning application being submitted.

A lifelong resident in the Newbury area, Mr Dodridge felt that the Old Town scheme recalled Newbury’s past and is “a step in the right direction” when compared to Eagle Quarter.

He compared Old Town favourably to Poundbury, the experimental urban extension on the western outskirts of Dorchester spearheaded by King Charles.

Edward Marriage thought it was a “vast improvement” upon previous plans to redevelop the Kennet centre, but he wanted more information on whether the residential properties would be for sale or to rent.

He felt the Eagle Quarter plans were too “congested” and “dense” while Old Town feels “more relaxed and spread out”.

His father Chris Marriage was unsure whether the Old Town development would attract young professionals to Newbury.

“Is this too twee and country to attract the urban high-flyer into the town?” he asked.

A second public presentation is taking place tomorrow (Friday) within the empty shop next door to Caffè Nero in the Kennet Shopping centre.

There are slots available at 3pm, 4pm, 5pm and 6pm. You must register and book to attend, which can be done by calling (01635) 40748.