Residents of a village in Berkshire have staged a protest against a plan for 350 homes being ‘imposed’ on them by a neighbouring council.
Residents of Mortimer, a village of about 3,800 south of Reading in West Berkshire, staged a protest on Tuesday, January 7 against plans for 350 homes at West End Farm — a site just over the borough boundary in Basingstoke & Deane.
Mortimer has pubs, cafés, local shops and its own train station, and sits near the Silchester Roman ruins and Stratfield Saye House, the historic home of the Dukes of Wellington.
Villagers, local councillors and community groups confronted officers from Basingstoke & Deane when they visited for a briefing, saying the scheme would be heavily dependent on Berkshire services, roads and infrastructure despite being outside the borough.
Opponents argue a cross‑border planning loophole means Mortimer would take the traffic, extra demand for schools and GP services, and strain on utilities, while council tax and community infrastructure levy money would go to Hampshire councils rather than to West Berkshire.
It is unclear whether any funding would be paid to Stratfield Mortimer Parish Council or West Berkshire Council to mitigate those pressures.
The parish council says the proposal breaches its adopted neighbourhood plan, enabling multi‑storey housing and densities “incompatible” with Mortimer’s character. Councillor David Kilshaw, vice‑chair of the parish council, said: “Mortimer is being asked to absorb all the impact of a development it did not plan, did not agree to, and will not receive a penny to support. This is not cooperation — it is exploitation of a cross-border technicality that leaves our parish financially burdened and democratically bypassed.”
Basingstoke & Deane is updating its Local Plan, which sets out sites for new housing; West End Farm is promoted as policy SPS.5.15 and lies south‑west of Mortimer on four fields immediately south of West End Road.
A consultation on the draft plan is live and closes at 5pm on Friday, January 23. You can make a representation online.
Basingstoke & Deane Borough Council is controlled by a minority coalition of the Liberal Democrats and the Independent Forum, while West Berkshire Council is controlled by the Liberal Democrats.
James Aldridge, Local Democracy Reporter
