Alternative shopping centre plan set to be decided

The other application for the shopping centre was dismissed last month

An alternative plan to redevelop an ageing shopping centre could be decided by councillors next week.

Developer Lochailort Investments saw its high-rise Eagle Quarter application for a retail and residential project for about 420 homes at Newbury's Kennet Centre dismissed by a planning inspector last month.

The alternative Old Town plan, which includes 317 homes, is set to be decided by West Berkshire Council's Western Area planning committee on Wednesday.

The authority's planning officers have said the plan should go ahead, subject to Lochailort agreeing funds it would pay to mitigate the development within six months.

The Kennet shopping centre was built in the 1970s and is in a state of decline, according to the applicant.

Plans to revamp it were rejected by West Berkshire Council in November 2022 and in January.

The homes in the Old Town plan are proposed to be a mixture of private sale and Build to Rent.

The application also proposes the provision of five new commercial units fronting Bartholomew Street and Market Place, in addition to two reconfigured units.

Nando's, Kung Fu and the Vue cinema would remain in place.