Homes England Submit Amended Planning Application - Closing date for comments 28th July 2021

Compton Neighbourhood Development Plan Team have shared the following information with regards to the amended plans submitted for this planning application for the Institute site:

HOMES ENGLAND REVISED PLANNING APPLICATION FOR THE PIRBRIGHT SITE

A message from the Compton Neighbourhood Development Plan (NDP) Team

Homes England have amended their planning application for development of the Pirbright site.

The Compton NDP Report has now also been lodged with West Berkshire Council, the result of a lengthy period of consultation with residents, local businesses and organisations.

Despite some changes to the Homes England application, there are still some major differences between their proposal and the NDP plan. The main ones are: -

New house numbers

The NDP plan, supported by the West Berkshire plan, states that 140 houses are sufficient for the village to absorb. The Homes England plan has reduced their housing proposal to 185 houses from an original 250, but this is still 33% higher than the NDP report recommends. We believe that this would still negatively affect our village in areas such as environment, drainage & infrastructure, road traffic increase, school capacity, local amenities/facilities and overall village environment.

Housing density

Some land has been offered back as green space. Whilst this is helpful, it increases the housing density of the remaining site because of their target of 185 houses.

Reuse of Existing Buildings

The NDP report suggests the re-use of the Institute building adjacent to the cricket pitch for use by the Pre-School and local businesses. It also gives a facility that would make the cricket pitch much more attractive for the community. This is not included in the Homes England plan.

If you commented on the Homes England application last year, these comments will still be taken into account regarding the revised plan. However, if you wish to comment further, or for the first time on any aspect of their revision, you need to do so by Wednesday 28 July 2021.

Anyone who wishes to make comments about this revised application should:

• e-mail planapps@westberks.gov.uk, or
• write to Development and Planning Service, West Berkshire District Council, Council Offices, Market Street, Newbury, Berkshire, RG14 5LD

Remember to quote the reference 20/01336/OUTMAJ

You can find the Homes England revised planning application at www.westberks.gov.uk . Search under planning applications for reference 20/01336/OUTMAJ.

Also, you can find the NDP report at www.comptonndp.org if you would like further information.