‘No option’ in approving Coley Farm homes plans
Councillors vote in favour of developer’s ‘improvement’ on extant consent
PLANS to build 75 homes in “the worst site in the Newbury area” have been approved.
West Berkshire councillors voted in favour of Donnington New Homes (DNH) building at Coley Farm, off Stoney Lane in Newbury Clay Hill ward, last Wednesday.
The 3.5-hectare development site lies in Cold Ash parish and the parish council had objected to the scheme, along with 86 other objectors.
The district council identified Coley Farm as a preferred housing site in 2015 and plans were approved in 2017.
No work has commenced, though, and the permission was due to expire this year, but it was extended because of the coronavirus pandemic.
With the outline application as a fallback, DNH submitted a full application for the site, which the council said was an improvement on the plans approved three years ago.
At the time, the council’s western area planning committee refused the plans over the traffic impact.
As a result, the scheme was decided by the district planning
committee – where it was approved by the casting vote of chairwoman Hilary Cole (Con, Chieveley and Cold Ash).
Opposing the scheme once again, local residents said the site was “awkwardly placed” with “significant gradients” in and around the area.
“We also know from our own measurements that many of the developer’s distances are underestimates,” they said.
“It will therefore be hard work to travel on foot or bicycle to and from local facilities and no one is going to carry serious shopping that way. Car use will be the norm, thereby adding to the local congestion.”
They added that the council declared a climate emergency, but there was nothing sustainable in the scheme other than a marginal
improvement in insulation.
“If you think this proposal looks dated you would be right; it is 10 years out of date and will not be something to be proud of in the future,” they said.
Furthermore, the gradient and impermeable clay made flooding of Manor Park below Coley Farm a real possibility.
Existing public open space has been included in the development site, which the council said would result in a lower density scheme.
DNH argued that its scheme was a preferred housing site and it had now applied for a higher quality development than the one approved three years ago.
However, planning agent Kerry Pfleger said the developer had a reserved matters application for the extant scheme ready to submit should the new scheme be refused.
Proposing approval, Howard Woollaston (Con, Lambourn) said: “It seems to me we need to be pragmatic.
“We have an extant planning consent.
“We know that if we don’t pass this one it’s going to have what is regarded generally I think as an inferior scheme.
“The other alternative is we refuse it and we will probably lose on appeal.
“I think we have no option – if we were starting from fresh we might take a different view.”
Tony Vickers (Lib Dem, Wash Common) said: “I think this is the very worst site in the Newbury settlement area in the whole DPD [development plan document] and I would never have voted for it.
“This particular site was wrong to include in the DPD and it should never have been brought forward for this number of houses and I will not change my views on that, but we are where we are.”
The application was approved by six votes to three.
Thirty of the homes (40 per cent) will be affordable, pepperpotted throughout the site.
Two flood attenuation ponds are proposed.
One access point will come from Stoney Lane, which will be widened to a minimum of 5.5m and a Traffic Regulation Order (TRO) to reduce the speed limit to 30mph.
Hedgerow will be required to be cut back, with a new footpath accommodated within the council-owned existing public open space.
An energy statement committing to achieve a minimum of a 10per-cent improvement in emissions over Building Regulations was also submitted.
Councillors asked that this be made a condition for approval, along with a footpath through the open space to connect the development.