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The Wrong Solution
West Berkshire Council is planning to build 2,000 homes on greenfield land (Sandleford) by Newbury College.
We believe that this is the wrong solution for Newbury's future housing needs.
There are other options, and it is clear that West Berkshire Council has not properly considered them.
Rather, it seems that West Berkshire Council decided several years ago that Sandleford was their preferred solution, and has been working backwards from that position ever since.
When the facts change, I change my mind. What do you do?
- John Maynard Keynes
But West Berkshire Council seems to be blind to this, and worse, has forgotten what happened in Thatcham in the 1970's and 1980's when road after road of new houses were built with no infrastructure. The result was endless traffic problems for years.
West Berkshire Council is ignoring the lessons of the past and pressing ahead with plans to repeat the mistakes of Thatcham, this time in south Newbury.
Fortunately, the Planning Inspector (who in effect has the final say) has seen some possible flaws in the Council's approach and has directed the Council to re-submit the documents that justify their choice of Sandleford as the primary housing site in West Berkshire for the next 30 years.
The revised documents have been approved by the Council and were consulted on last year. The consultation closed on 16th December 2011.
There was a Full Council meeting on 14th February 2012, which approved the policy CS4 that will lead to the building of the houses, despite the best efforts of the opposition, the SNTS Campaign, and local residents.
But all is not lost: the independent Planning Inspector resumes his Public Hearings into the Council's Core Strategy (which includes policy CS4) on 15th May.
We will be there to contiinue the fight and to try to convince the Inspector of the flaws in the Council's arguments. It's a public hearing, so anyone can come to watch.