Speen convenience store plans given green light

Controversial development will go ahead after successful appeal

CONTROVERSIAL plans to build a convenience store yards away from a busy school and pub in Speen are to go ahead after a successful appeal.

West Berkshire Council had previously refused the application by pub operator Punch Taverns for the new shop by The Starting Gate pub, describing it as an “inappropriate development”.

However, that decision has been overruled by a government-appointed planning inspector who granted permission.

In 2014, the council sold the freehold of the site to Punch Taverns – a move that infuriated the headteacher of the adjacent Robert Sandilands Primary School.

More than 500 people – many of them parents of children who attend the school – signed a petition objecting to the plans, claiming it would increase traffic flow around the school, make parking more difficult and have a negative impact on the local shop, Brummel Road Stores.

In his decision to grant planning permission, planning inspector Patrick Whelan said: “While I appreciate the concern of local residents and neighbours, there is no evidence to justify the dismissal of the appeal on the grounds of its impact on existing shops.

“I appreciate that there may be an increase in traffic at the junction of Bath Road and Brummell Road; however the highways authority considers that the junction has sufficient capacity to safely accommodate the additional traffic without adversely affecting traffic flow.

“I note the objection from the headteacher of Robert Sandilands Primary School that the car park to the pub was used informally for dropping-off and collecting children, and the impact the proposal would have on parents’ parking.

“However, the land is not publicly owned, and a significant number of spaces would be retained in the development.”

Mr Whelan said he was “satisfied” that building the proposed store would have “no harmful effect on the flow of traffic or on highway safety”.

For years, parents used the car park of The Starting Gate pub to pick up and drop off their children from school.

However, Punch Taverns, which owns the pub, caused uproar last year when it instructed a contractor to put up signs warning that non-pub customers will be fined £50 for parking there.

Punch Taverns said it cannot allow non-customer use due to not being insured for any incidents that may occur and being in breach of its head lease with West Berkshire Council.

However, the school hit back, with headteacher Richard Blofeld accusing it of a lack of goodwill and compromising the safety of its pupils.

Newbury town councillors had previously unanimously objected to the plans for the store, saying it would increase traffic around an already busy area.

They also expressed concerns about the lack of parking spaces and deliveries causing disruption to local traffic.

There are currently 45 parking spaces outside the pub, but there will only be a total of 28 spaces for both the shop and pub to share now that plans for the store have been approved.

Punch Taverns says it wants to build the store as a way of “securing the pub’s long-term future”, adding that a shop would “enhance competition” in the area and offer people the choice of shopping somewhere different.