Taceham House: new deal on table for Thatcham redevelopment

The housing association has announced a pre-application proposal for the former council temporary accommodation in The Haywards.
It hopes to replace the derelict building with a mixture of 10 one, two and three-bedroom houses and flats.
The news comes after the property owners, West Berkshire Council, admitted that the building was no longer fit for purpose and that a redevelopment was the most sustainable approach.
The executive member for housing Roger Croft (Con, Thatcham South and Crookham), who is also a Thatcham town councillor, said: “Subject to agreement, West Berkshire Council will sell the site to Sovereign, but there’s still negotiations going on.
“I would very much like to see, and am working towards, making sure Taceham House is returned to Thatcham as affordable housing and housing.”
The building has been empty for about five years, but last year the district council decided that it would look at securing a deal to redevelop the site for housing.
The decision followed calls from Thatcham Town Council to ensure that the land, which had been listed as a district council site that was surplus to requirement, was only sold if the deal including affordable housing provision.
Town councillor Gary Johnson (Lib Dem, Thatcham West) who sits on the council’s planning committee, said that Sovereign’s plan would rejuvenate the area.
“It’s overwhelmingly good news. I had seen the block about 18 months ago when I was carrying out monitoring of the roads and I came across this derelict block. I was unhappy about the state of the place.
“I did speak to various residents and they were all under the same impression – to take it down and put something in its place.
“It’s a monstrosity, so they should pull it down and put a bit of character back into that part of town.”
Sovereign spokesman Roy Probert said: “West Berkshire Council approached Sovereign to look at the potential for redeveloping Taceham House, replacing the current block of one-bedroom flats. We have gone [back] with a proposal that would deliver high-quality affordable housing on this site that is appropriate to local needs. We will continue to work closely with West Berkshire Council in taking this proposal forward.”