Sandleford row erupts again following letter to Wash Common residents

This comes despite the fact that West Berkshire Council has not yet made a formal decision as to whether Warren Road will be used as an all-access route into Sandleford.
The letter was dated May 20, 2014 and signed by Mark Norgate, the owner of New Warren Farm and Donnington New Homes, which would be the company responsible for building up to 500 houses on New Warren Farm as part of the development.
In the letter, Mr Norgate says: “I would be interested in coming to talk to you about whether or not you would be interested in selling us some land from your title to assist us with the delivery of access to Sandleford Park development.
“The sale of one’s principal private residence is not subject to any tax. You may therefore find yourself in a position where you could make a healthy tax-free profit, over and above your house’s market value, if you choose to transact with us.”
It goes on to say: “I appreciate that you may have been very much against the development at Sandleford Park, but the question as to whether or not it will happen has now been answered.
“As such, I would like to come and discuss with you the ways in which you could benefit from the development happening, as opposed to being a financial victim of it.”
Mr Norgate also says that he had held discussions with West Berkshire Council, which told him that Warren Road would need to be widened.
He added that as a result, he and the council had agreed to ask homeowners in Warren Road if they wanted to sell enough land to accommodate the new road.
The council’s portfolio holder for planning, Hilary Cole, said that she wasn’t able to confirm or deny whether discussions took place, as they usually occurred between developers and council officers rather than councillors.
However, she added that it wasn’t uncommon for developers to hold pre-planning discussions with a local authority.
Regarding the letter sent to Wash Common residents, Newbury Town Council leader and West Berkshire councillor Julian Swift-Hook said: “It is certainly news to me that a developer becomes responsible for investigating West Berkshire planning policy.
“A lot of questions need to be answered.”
Mr Norgate recently submitted a separate planning application to make ‘improvements’ to Warren Road – where Donnington New Homes is based – including building a pedestrian footway along the entire length of the road.
He insisted that the application was “not linked with any application which may be forthcoming over Sandleford Park”, but admitted that the road design “would serve as a suitable bus link, along with an all-traffic purpose to serve an identifiable number of dwellings.”
When approached by the Newbury Weekly News, Mr Norgate said: “I don’t know why everyone is getting their knickers in a twist about this and I have no idea why there is such a huge interest in this application. All this application is asking for is to add a pavement along Warren Road to make it safer.”
“It is the lowest form of journalism to ask me to comment on a letter that was sent in private to a resident and I’m not interested in answering your questions about it.”