Enquiries from American and London firms about moving to Newbury

Plans to ditch building homes on London Road Industrial Estate in Newbury could lead to hundreds of jobs – according to the council.

West Berkshire’s executive committee rubber stamped the change in policy on Thursday night – and will now look to build commercial space on the site instead of flats.

Market research of businesses showed firms didn’t see the benefit of residential development on the site, with many saying more commercial space was needed to drive growth in the district.

“This is an opportunity to turbo charge the economy,” said Ross Mackinnon (Con, Bradfield), finance portfolio holder.

He said the Faraday Road playing pitch would be fully developed for commercial use, and that the about turn was down to ‘a change in market conditions’.

David Marsh (Green, Wash Common) suggested the council could build social housing on the site.

“I don’t understand why we are not taking the opportunity to do so,” he said.

He was told the site was for job creation, which was countered by Mr Marsh, saying car showrooms take up a huge amount of space and hardly employ anyone.

“I’ve nothing against car showrooms, but they are in the wrong place,” he added.

“We want to see high-quality development to create high-quality jobs. I’d like to see intensive job creation,” said Mr Mackinnon.

Liberal Democrat leader Lee Dillon (Lib Dem, Thatcham North East) argued that the Faraday Road playing pitch – which had been earmarked for flats – could be turned into a commercially viable sports stadium.

“We accepted that the football club site may have been the most attractive place for housing and given it's not needed for residential use, would you entertain West Berkshire Council being the sponsor of a football stadium there, which would be an employment opportunity?”

But the idea was rebutted by the Conservative portfolio holder for finance.

“If you want that land to be a football pitch you are against the redevelopment of this site to create jobs. I don’t know why you continue to keep talking about a football pitch on that site,” said Mr Mackinnon.

Council leader Lynne Doherty (Con, Speen) said there had been more than 400 hits on the economic development website designed to encourage businesses to set up or relocate to the area.

“People as far away as America are looking,” she said. “But the most interest is from London, and the pandemic has made people reassess how they do business and there is a real opportunity here for West Berkshire.”