Wait for homes decision goes on
AN eagerly-awaited decision on plans for 265 new homes in Tilehurst will not be made for at least another month.
West Berkshire Council said it was aiming to make a decision on the planning application “at the end of March or beginning of April”, but developer U+I Pincents Lane Ltd wants more time.
Plans to build the homes and a GP surgery on a patch of green space just off Pincents Lane have proved to be extremely controversial, as more than 2,100 objections have been lodged since 2019.
But more than 230 people have written letters of support, many claiming this project will provide affordable homes that are desperately needed in the area.
A council spokeswoman said: “The applicant has requested additional time, until the end of April, to consider the responses to the recent consultation on the proposed amendments.
“Once the application has been scheduled for an Eastern Area Planning Committee date all those who have commented on the application will be notified in advance of the meeting.”
According to the latest plans, the developer wants to build 265 homes – 106 of them affordable, as they will be shared-ownership or offered “below-market rent”.
The company has also promised to provide £1m for infrastructure, create a 22acre public park and plant enough trees to form a 20metre wide ‘woodland buffer’ between Tilehurst and the new housing estate.
It says 30 of the new homes will be designed for older people and a new “network of footpaths and cycleways” will be created.