A long-running dispute over illegal development at Twin Paddocks, Brimpton Common has taken another turn.
Hardstanding and a mobile home were put on the land without planning permission in 2024. Local residents, backed by the parish council, say the work wrecks the rural character, creates safety risks on the narrow lanes and amounts to premature, illegal development.
West Berkshire Council has issued an update after the 12-month compliance period linked to an enforcement notice — upheld by the Planning Inspectorate in March 2025 — expired.
The enforcement notice requires the end of residential use on the site and the removal of structures, hardstanding and other operational development. The compliance period ended on March 46, and the council has received a new planning application for the site.
The council says the new proposal is materially different from the one dismissed at appeal. Under national planning law it must validate and assess any fresh application that is substantively different, even while enforcement action continues.
The application is being validated and will appear on the council’s online planning portal once complete, at which point residents can comment. The enforcement notice remains fully in force and does not lapse because an application has been submitted. Officers are reviewing the level of non-compliance and will decide next steps in line with national guidance.
Denise Gaines (Lib Dem, Hungerford and Kintbury), West Berkshire’s executive member for planning and housing, said: “We understand the level of local interest in this site.
“While national legislation requires us to assess the new planning application on its individual merits, this does not affect our ongoing enforcement work.
“We continue to monitor the site closely and will update residents once the application is validated and available for public viewing.”
In March 2024 police were called after one person blocked another from moving a caravan onto land they said they owned. The landowner, Mr J Slater, submitted a planning application in December to convert a paddock between Brimpton Lane and Blacknest Lane into a gypsy/traveller camp with a mobile home, a touring caravan and one dayroom; that application was refused and the new proposal is still being processed.
Niki Hinman, Local Democracy Reporter
