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Opposition grows towards Greenham car storage business





Tony Forward voiced his objection to West Berkshire Council’s planning department recently, detailing his opposition to vehicle auctioneer Copart UK Ltd’s plans for an 8.14ha site which would have capacity for more than 4,000 vehicles.
Greenham Parish Council registered its objection to the project last month and Thatcham Town Council also voted to object to the plan.
The town council’s technical consultant, Chris Watts, shared Greenham’s objections of a lack of information on traffic movements and noise, and recommended that a new application to be submitted.
And Mr Forward said in his letter to West Berkshire Council that he wanted to object very strongly to the pre-planning application on the grounds of no acoustic report provided, and an “almost non-existent” and conflicting traffic report.
He said that the pre-planning application, which details 35 traffic movement each day by cars and vans, does not equate to the 55 staff members, together with other visitors to the site.
In his letter Mr Forward also expressed “extreme disappointment” that the applicant had not entered into consultation with Greenham Parish Council, whose parish the proposal falls under, nor Berkshire, Buckinghamshire & Oxfordshire Wildlife Trust or local residents.
New issues of drainage at the site were also raised by the former chairman, who said: “A thorough inspection of the existing drainage is advised as experience shows water from the common is flowing into the sewerage system as can be evidenced near the control tower.
“This means the old air base infrastructure has been compromised.”
Addressing some concerns, the applicant’s agent, Nigel Cant Planning, said last month: “We have now commissioned a traffic impact assessment and statement and this work is to be carried out early in the New Year by Mark Baker Consulting, a highly-experienced traffic expert from Bristol. He is familiar with the highway network in the Newbury area.”
Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council voted not to object to the project recently, but Kingsclere Parish Council clerk Mrs Sheila Thompson raised concerns of the traffic impact on the A339.
She said: “Being on the very edge of our boundary and having any increased development, change of use or additional operations at New Greenham Park can have a real effect on Kingsclere and its residents.”
Copart UK Ltd is yet to respond to requests to comment and the proposal is expected to be determined by West Berkshire Council before March 5.



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