A public consultation on the planned North East Thatcham development of 2,500 homes will be run by consultants hired and paid for by the developers, West Berkshire Council has confirmed.
Denise Gaines, executive portfolio holder for planning and housing, said the consultants would be instructed by the council and that the council will check they have the right skills. “The public engagement exercise will be carried out as a collaborative exercise with the developers and the council supported by specialist consultants who have experience of this type of engagement work,” she said. The council says the brief is being finalised and that town, parish and local people will be contacted about the process in the coming weeks.
Councillors were also asked why detailed traffic modelling has been delayed until the main planning application. Stuart Gourley, Executive Portfolio Holder: Environment and Highways, said: “The main work was done on this prior to North East Thatcham being allocated as a development site,” and: “It was a key part of the local plan review,” he said. The council described it as normal practice for such data to be submitted with the main application.
The scheme would extend from Cox's Lane in the east at Colthrop almost to Lawrence's Lane in the west in Thatcham, spreading most of the way up the slopes between Thatcham and Upper Bucklebury. Bucklebury Parish Council says it is the equivalent of bolting a new town the size of Hungerford onto the side of Thatcham.
The development is supported by West Berkshire Council as part of its Local Plan for 2020 to 2037. Objections centre largely on roads: they are already busy and likely to be inadequate, with an existing "rat run" through Bradfield Southend and Upper Bucklebury. Cars from the proposed new homes would add to that route and to the route through Cold Ash to the A34 and the M4. Thatcham station is too far to walk for many and has very limited parking.
The scheme is being promoted by a consortium rather than a single developer. Key parties involved include Catesby Estates (selected to promote the land and entering an agreement for the site in February 2022), A2Dominion, Donnington New Homes, Ptarmigan Land and The Wasing Estate.
Niki Hinman, Local Democracy Reporter
