Children’s woodland adventure playground and café plans from Benham Estate in Stockcross near Newbury approved

Plans have been approved to build a children’s woodland adventure playground and café just outside Newbury.

The approval will see the creation of a “bespoke and natural playground” on the land of a former sawmill at Shepherds Farm, just northwest of Stockcross on the B4000.

The plans for the facility also include an indoor children’s play barn, a café, toilets and visitor facilities on the site which is owned by Benham Estate.

The entire facility will aim to provide 20 jobs.

The plans for the outdoor recreational facility include several attractions, including treehouse play structures, sunken trampolines, swings, a zip wire, stainless steel slides and a woodland maze, among other things.

The plans state: “Indeed, the site can be seen as the sensitive reuse of a previously developed site, removing the former sawmill use and creating a viable long term use of the existing buildings, for a café and other visitor facilities and a unique and bespoke outdoor recreational facility.

“The scheme will retain the character of these buildings and they are of a scale that would not impact on village facilities.

“The new development is considered to represent a significant environmental improvement when compared to the earlier sawmill use and can be seen as an innovative diversification scheme which will deliver economic, social and environmental benefits and reflect a clear sustainable form of development.

“This is on account of the economic reuse of the site as well as the recreational purpose of the proposals which can be delivered alongside habitat and environmental enhancement.”

Speen Parish Council was in favour of the plans.

It said: “SPC are in full support of this application for the ecological impact and employment opportunities which would be created by the addition of the adventure play scheme and cafe site and it would be good to see the redundant barn building restored so that good use can be made from them and it will be a positive asset to local area and community.”

West Berkshire planners granted planning permission on February 28.