Plans for retail and leisure complex on hold say developers

T A Saunders Trustees wants to build a 2,879sq m supermarket, 60-bed care home, pub, nursery, five two-bedroom apartments and 465sqm of retail outlets on land north east of Firlands Farm, Hollybush Lane, Burghfield Common.
However, the proposal (pictured) hit a stumbling block in August when the application was deemed invalid by West Berkshire Council because a small piece of highways land near the site was not owned by the developer.
Following this decision representatives of T A Saunders Trustees, Henry Davidson Developments Burghfield Common Limited made a formal challenge to the district council’s core strategy, a planning document that includes proposals to build at least 10,500 new homes in the district by 2026.
Now Henry Davidson Developments has said that plans for Firlands Farm are on hold until the legal challenge is heard by the Administrative Court, part of the Royal Courts of Justice in London.
A spokesman for the developer, Rob Duff, said: “The developer is still considering its position regarding the Firlands application and is seeking advice.
“I wouldn’t expect anything to be heard within the next six months, but it depends on how busy the courts are.”
Meanwhile, the council has asked for more time to reply to the challenge because “key officers” have been away on annual leave, according to a spokeswoman for the council, Peta Stoddart- Crompton.
It is not the first time that a council’s core strategy has been challenged. Recently a judge threw out an appeal against Rochford District Council, Essex and, in Gloucester-shire, Friends of the Earth is currently challenging Forest of Dean District Council.
Spokesman for campaign group, Residents Against Firlands Square (RAFS), Zane Welch said: “It would seem unlikely that a further planning application will be submitted until the court case is concluded and the result may dictate the form that further planning applications take. Whatever the outcome RAFS position remains the same - we are opposed to any development at Firlands Farm. “
Commenting on plans to develop Firlands Farm, West Berkshire environmental campaign group Sunrise issued this statement: “This proposed town centre development is nowhere near the centre of the town – the developers promise things that are not needed, such as yet another supermarket, in a location which makes absolutely no sense.
“This proposal puts financial gain for a few above the countryside that many want to continue to enjoy. It would dramatically change the rural nature of a very wide area.
“Local feelings are running high. Even though the initial planning application was thrown out on a technicality, we remain ready to restate our firm opposition to this antisocial proposal.”