Designs for town centre not a ‘masterplan’
A THATCHAM town centre masterplan could see the area redeveloped or regenerated.
As reported in the Newbury Weekly News, West Berkshire Council is looking at ways to improve Thatcham town centre in a ‘masterplanning exercise’.
But it seems that masterplan means different things to different people.
At a meeting last week, town mayor John Boyd (Lib Dem, Thatcham Colthrop and Crookham) asked how the town centre masterplan could influence an infrastructure plan for the town when the infrastructure report would be published first.
West Berkshire Council’s planning policy manager Bryan Lyttle said: “In my language it is not a masterplan.
“It is being done by the economic development team and it is not going to be subject to an examination.
“I have no idea what the economic development masterplan is.
“I suspect that it is looking at the town centre like the Newbury town centre plan, but it is not a masterplan for Thatcham.”
Owen Jeffery (Lib Dem, Thatcham Central) questioned what would be delivered in the town centre as part of the 2,500 homes proposed for the town.
He said: “A lot is said that Thatcham needs a better commercial and trade offering, but there doesn’t appear to be any kind of plan shown as to how it’s going to appear, or where it’s going to appear.”
Mr Jeffery said that brownfield land previously identified for development in past design concepts, and which had been included in plans to expand the Kingsland Centre, had since been turned into 92 retirement flats.
He said: “We are now looking at a very, very tight amount of publicly available land in the centre that can be developed and we don’t really have a lot of information about the kinds of things that are planned within the north east consortium development if we are talking about bits that will happen locally to the new housing.”
Mr Lyttle replied: “Quite simply, the whole town centre would be up for redevelopment and regeneration.”
“How can you regenerate something when you have no space,” Mr Jeffery asked.
“You knock it down and rebuild it,” Mr Lyttle said.
“If you have got significant growth going on and there are significant returns a developer will come in, like they have with the Kennet Centre, and they will propose redevelopment of that area.
“They will propose redevelopment of the Broadway and that is what I suspect the economic development team are looking at.
“There is nothing to stop someone coming in and making an offer to buy those leases [at the Kingsland Centre]”.
Mr Jeffery said: “So you want to take an area that is a conservation area with properties that have parts of their buildings dating back to medieval times and demolish them wholesale?”
“I didn’t say that,” Mr Lyttle replied.
“I said there was potential for regeneration opportunity.
“I’m just saying that is the thing that could happen.
“There are no proposals in the Local Plan relating to Thatcham town centre.”