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Plans to redevelop Newbury’s Kennet Shopping Centre thrown back at developers
Plans to demolish Newbury’s ageing Kennet Shopping Centre and replace it with a mixed-use scheme of Build to Rent flats and commercial units have been thrown back at developers.
On Wednesday, councillors on West Berkshire Council’s planning committee rejected plans to build 427 flats and 3,000 sq ft of retail, restaurant and co-working space on the site.
Planning officers had recommended that the plans for what would be known as the Eagle Quarter – named after the 19th century Eagle Iron Works – be approved.
Urban developer Lochailort first announced plans to redevelop the site in 2000, and planning applications have been refused several times.
In a bid for approval, the height of the apartment buildings has been reduced from 11 storeys to a maximum of eight, and it has been confirmed that the multi-screen cinema would remain in place and improved as part of the development process.
Planners were also critical about the lack of car parking provision, and the lack of affordable housing. The council’s own planning rules say that 30 per cent of the flats – 128 units – should be affordable.
Lochailort says affordable housing is too expensive on the site. Monthly rentals will range between £1,200 for a one-bed, to £2,000 for a three-bed flat – which would be at the higher end of current market values.
Lochailort – which developed the Thames Quarter scheme next to Reading railway station – also says that many tenants will not need a car – they are already in the town centre close to local facilities and if they need to commute to Reading or London for work the train station is a few minutes’ walk away.
But most of the objections centred around the visual impact of the red brick apartment blocks, which would tower over the historic town centre.
For decades from the mid 1970s, the Kennet Centre was Newbury’s key shopping centre. At its mid-1980s height it contained 55 shopping units. But it has suffered decline in recent years, exacerbated by the construction of the circa 2010 Parkway shopping centre, which has 50 retail units and 147 apartments.
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Read more05.01.2024