Newbury town councillors concerned at prospect of 3,000 new homes

Councillors were charged with the task of scrutinising 84 sites in Newbury and adjacent parishes which had been identified in West Berkshire Council’s strategic housing land availability assessment (SHLAA) following a call for sites last year.
Some sites failed to find support with councillors, including a 100-dwelling development at Coley Farm, Ashmore Green, and the redevelopment of West Berkshire Council-run Waterside Youth Centre, Northbrook Street (pictured), which runs a number of youth groups and activities.
Howard Bairstow (Con, Falkland) said: “If this was taken away I don’t think we would see another centre replace it.”
Further concerns were expressed at developments proposed close to the 2,000-home development due to be built at Sandleford Park by 2036, among them a 90-dwelling proposal for Garden Close Lane.
And councillors largely agreed that, where possible, currently undeveloped greenfield sites should be avoided.
The leader of the council, Julian Swift-Hook (Lib Dem, Pyle Hill), said: “There has always been tension between preserving and protecting the countryside and building housing for people to live in and there always will be, but I believe this council should [agree] that building on greenfield should be a last option.”

Yet there was also concern that if all brownfield sites - sites that have previously been developed - were redeveloped, Newbury could become a “dormitory town” with little employment on offer.
Several sites have already been thrown out by the district council on the grounds that they are undevelopable, for varying reasons, including Mandarin Court, Hambridge Road;Enborne Gate Farm and land to the rear of Russell Road, Newbury.
Others have already been granted planning permission and in some cases work has already been completed.
However, councillors were concerned at the lack of detail over where community facilities and local amenities would be placed within the 43 remaining sites which could potentially still be developed in Newbury.
Anthony Pick (Con, St Johns) said: “Can Newbury College cope with it all or do we need a university?
“Do we need more cultural facilities? A larger theatre?
“Houses, houses, houses - is no-one thinking about how many doctors or schools we need?”
He added that while district council officers were calculating traffic levels for individual sites, these were for isolated sites and the real impact would not be known until it was confirmed what developments would be going ahead.
Kim Hodges (Lib Dem, Northcroft) expressed concern over whether current sewage infrastructure could cope with an influx of new houses, stating that the Thatcham works frequently overflowed into the purpose-built reedbeds in periods of heavy rain.
Eddy Van Der Hoorn, a member of Donnington Valley Action Group, a campaign group set up to fight a proposed 800 home development at Shaw and Donnington, was present at the meeting.
He urged councillors to consider whether rail infrastructure would be able to cope with an influx of commuters if thousands more homes were built in Newbury.
“At 6 o’clock [am] people are queuing up to get into the station, let alone onto the train itself.
“If you come back in the evening at seven/eight o’clock it’s a jungle out there.
“I can’t see any more traffic on that line or to the station itself.”
The SHLAA follows on the back of the council’s core strategy, approved in July 2012, which states that at least 10,500 new homes should be built in the district between 2006 and 2026.
What are your views on the identified sites? Let reporter Ellis Barker know by emailing ellis.barker@newburynews.co.uk
For a full list of the sites that are still being considered, or for details on sites in Thatcham, pick up a copy of this week's Newbury Weekly News.