Chalet plans submitted for Hambridge Lake

41 holiday and leisure apartments could be built

PLANS to build 41 holiday chalets around a lake off Hambridge Road in Newbury have been submitted.

The proposals have been put forward by Pegasus Group, which said that the chalets would be for recreational and holiday use only.

The group adds that the chalets and clubhouse will form a retreat for angling use on Hambridge Lake.

Pegasus said that the development, comprising 33 two-bed chalets and eight one-bed chalets, would create 10 equivalent full-time jobs.

The approximate gross area of the proposed site is 3.1377 hectares off Hambridge Lake at the junction of the A4 and Hambridge Road.

Access will come off Hambridge Road opposite Two Rivers Way, while 50 car parking spaces and three cycle spaces are also proposed.

Pegasus said that the car parking would allow for at least one space per chalet at full occupancy, leaving nine spaces available for staff and other visitors.

Three spaces for have been designated for disabled access.

The site also includes 48 proposed fishing stations along the perimeter of the lake.

Pegasus said that as the site lies in a biodiversity opportunity area, “priority was given to minimising the footprint of the development on the existing landscaping and to minimise the impact of parking and infrastructure as much as possible whilst still creating a feasible development”.

It adds that the site is in “a very sustainable location with many amenities local to the site and has excellent transport links to Newbury town centre”.

And wanting to build a sustainable development, Pegasus said that thermal efficiency would be maximised through a ‘fabric first’ approach and all accommodation would improve on current building regulations.

“It is also envisaged that a high-efficiency heating system will be utilised throughout all the proposed development,” it adds.

To view and comment on the application, enter 19/02916/OUTMAJ into West Berkshire Council’s planning website.

The site is a few miles away from 40 chalets on land south of Lower Farm, Hambridge Lane.

The chalets at The Sanctuary were operated by Dream Lodge, which entered administration earlier this year.

Dream Lodge Group’s Essex-based parent company, Walsham Chalet Park, called in administrators following “a period of financial pressure”.

Exclusive Luxury Lodges purchased the company for about £11.2m in February, allowing the firm to repay its £7.8m bank debt.