Council told to build 1,300 more homes than planned

Councillor Denise Gaines said the homes had been proposed "with great reluctance"

About 1,300 more new homes than previously planned could be built in a Berkshire town after a council was told it had allocated too few in a key plan.

West Berkshire Council wanted to scrap its Local Plan, which outlines where development will take place until 2041, but was told it must keep and change it instead.

A government-appointed planning inspector told the council a site in north-east Thatcham could be used for up to 2,500 homes, rather than the 1,500 originally planned.

The authority’s deputy leader Denise Gaines said this combined with adding homes to meet a shortfall across four other sites - including two in Thatcham - was a “very bitter pill to swallow”.

About 1,300 more homes will have to be built in Thatcham than first planned

All councils need to have a Local Plan and review it every five years in an effort to make sure it has enough housing, available land and infrastructure.

The inspector told the council there was a shortfall of about 850 homes against a requirement to build at least 9,270 new homes in west Berkshire until 2041.

The council has suggested that there are:

• About 225 new homes on land near Henwick Park in Thatcham

• About 45 homes near the Regency Park Hotel in Thatcham

• About 138 homes on land in Pincents Lane in Tilehurst

• About 25 homes north of Pangbourne Hill in Pangbourne

Those sites were consulted on when the authority proposed its Local Plan but were not initially taken forward.

Councillor Gaines said the council proposed those sites again “with great reluctance but have been left with no choice because the government would very probably take over the plan process if we failed to engage at this time”.

She added: “We believe that these decisions should be taken by your local council rather than at Westminster, but it is a very bitter pill to swallow.”

She said engaging with the inspector and suggesting the sites meant the council could “continue to speak on behalf of local residents and doing what needs to be done in their interests”.

Barry Dickens, chairman of Bucklebury Parish Council, said the largest proposed Thatcham site would be "unsustainable" for so many homes.

"What is being planned here is to bolt a small town the size of Hungerford to the north-east of Thatcham," he added.