West Berkshire Council wants to spend £5.3m to remodel Newbury Wharf

West Berkshire Council has plans to spend £5.3m on remodelling The Wharf in Newbury.

The plan is to lose the parking area and turn it into an open space for events in a bid to make it a ‘stronger destination’.

It is also planning to continue with its Peace Garden Project on the green space next to the Wharf public toilets.

The delivery of this project is subject to planning consent and public consultation.

So far it has just under £800,000 earmarked.

The Newbury Town Centre Masterplan hopes to create a cultural and leisure destination at The Wharf.

The district council wants it to be a waterfront leisure, events, and social space.

More public seating, accessible green space, improved public toilets and new cafés are on the cards.

It said restaurants can complement the library and museum, creating an enhanced cultural and leisure destination for Newbury.

The council’s masterplan states that Victoria Park and The Wharf stand out as the most significant areas of publicly accessible space.

Market Place and St Nicolas Church are notable spaces of smaller scale, it says.

At a recent Newbury Business Improvement District (BID) meeting – dubbed Talk of the Town – these plans came under question from stakeholders and town business owners who asked why this funding wasn’t being concentrated more into the high street and Market Place.

Concern was also drawn to the current loitering at the Peace Garden in The Wharf.

The district council, however, believes that its plans will change the crowds in these areas creating a more family space.

It was also said that the projected £5.3m figure isn’t set in stone and funds could be reduced.

Relocation of the taxi rank will be subject to detailed feasibility work and appropriate consultation.

Concerns were also raised, in the meeting, with pedestrianisation of the town centre – which has since been put on hold by West Berkshire Council.

The council was intending to run a trial scheme with pedestrianisation in place from 10am until midnight each day from August 14.

Businesses asked for commercial vehicle access but their calls were not met with guarantees.

No.96 operations director Neville Glanville said he worried about the effect this order would have on his independent business.

He said: “My vehicle is not a commercial vehicle, I am an independent.

“The town centre thrives off independent businesses, that’s what West Berkshire claims makes it different.”

Sushi Maki owner Arif Goksel, who receives fresh fish deliveries to his restaurant in the mornings, added: “You can’t carry fish down the street.

“I would love to have open space but I need to get stock and I need to move rubbish.

“The suppliers are not always on time so we cannot guarantee they’ll be on time.”

The council deferred the trial that evening after the meeting, with its reason being that other “essential roadworks” taking place in the town centre over the coming months will put “extra pressure on the road system”.