Highclere homes plan revealed

Developer expected to submit fresh proposal for 26 new houses before Christmas

A PLAN to build 26 new homes in Highclere will soon be submitted.

Development company JPP Land Ltd is proposing to build the homes on a greenfield site off the A343 – four years after an application by the same company for 50 homes on the site was thrown out by the borough council.

Although JPP Land is yet to submit a formal application, the company has set up a website outlining the development, claiming the project would meet “needs for now and the future” by building efficient, family, smaller and working homes.

Of the 26 homes, four will be onebedroom, eight two-bedroom, nine three-bedroom, one four-bedroom and four five-bedroom – 10 of which will be classed as ‘affordable’.

The homes will be located in the northeast corner of the site, which borders Andover Road and Westridge, with the southwest corner of the site dedicated to a wildflower field and open space.

In a Highclere Parish Council meeting on Tuesday, councillors and a few concerned residents heard from Edward Butler-Ellis and Douglas Bond of JPP Land how the plan was “very different” to what had been put forward previously.

Mr Bond said: “We’ve looked at how we could come up with a better, more sensitive scheme.

“It’s what we believe is a very sensitive and logical infill, and the remainder of the site will be made available as what we call a naturallylandscaped village common, which will be accessible and available to not only the proposed residents but the existing residents of Highclere.

“The scheme is being designed so the impact on the Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) is minimised and we would say largely reduced such that there are significant reasons why the proposal could and should be supported.”

Although councillors elected to wait until an outline planning application is submitted – expected before Christmas – before passing comment, Highclere Society chairman Patrick Hedgeland said he would be against the scheme.

He said: “It’s much more intelligent than before, but it’s still another 10 per cent of the population or more, so it’s quite significant.

“I hope it doesn’t get through personally. We have a much more intelligent group to fight.”

This is the second time JPP Land has attempted to build on the land.

The application in 2016, which would have increased the size of the hamlet by 20 per cent, was thrown out after a comprehensive response by the parish council was submitted to the borough council detailing their objections.

JPP Land has now reviewed its plans and looks set to submit another outline application, half the size.

To view the new proposals, go to https://www.andover-highclere.co.uk/