Bishops Green development will have 'severe impact' on West Berkshire roads

West Berkshire Council has sent off a stiff objection to plans for an extra 42 homes on its border at Bishops Green – saying it will have severe impact on roads and the rural character of the district.

The council has been asked to give its views on the proposal, which already has 350 homes, by Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council, which is the planning authority for the application.

It says the proposal sits in open countryside and sits in what it describes as an unsustainable location – meaning people will have to use their cars – thus adding to traffic on the roads.

It says the proposal will urbanise a rural district and would mean homes being built on horse paddocks and green fields.

It also sits in a flood zone, so West Berkshire is asking that the development doesn’t create flooding elsewhere.

Part of the village of Bishops Green is in West Berkshire and the site of the development is over the border on Ecchinswell Road.

The council says the residents of the development would use services in Newbury and Thatcham – which are nearer than Basingstoke.

The village is approximately 6.9km from Newbury, and roughly 20km from Basingstoke.

“We have already come to the conclusion that traffic could have some severe impact on the A339 Bishops Green roundabout,” wrote Paul Goddard, West Berkshire Council’s highways director.

“We need to know the cumulative impact of these developments.”