Donnington New Homes reveal plans for 360 new homes on Sandleford, pushing potential number to nearly 1,500
A housing developer has revealed its plans to build up to 360 homes on Sandleford, taking the potential total of new houses to be built on the site to nearly 1,500.
The housing project, proposed by Donnington New Homes, would be located on land south east of Warren Road, with the Wash Common residential street becoming the main entrance into the new development.
This development is separate to the 1,080 home Bloor Homes development on the Sandleford site that was approved by the government last May despite fierce opposition.
Donnington New Homes revealed the new project, dubbed Sandleford Park West, at a public consultation event at Newbury Rugby Club yesterday (Thursday) afternoon.
The 360 home development would contain a provision of affordable housing, the creation of some public open spaces and the retention of Brickklin Copse, an area of woodland within the proposed development site.
Sandleford Park West would also link to the Bloor Homes development via a road on its east side.
Donnington New Homes also outlined plans to create an “improved” Warren Road to better facilitate vehicular access onto the Sandleford site.
The road would be widened to six metres and the speed limit reduced to 20mph. A three-metre wide foot and cycle way would be provided on the north of the road, and a two-metre wide footway on the south side.
A toucan crossing would also be installed on Andover Road to facilitate pedestrian and cycle crossing movements.
A Donnington New Homes spokesperson said that public feedback from the event had been “very positive”, but some residents had raised concerns about the Warren Road access.
West Berkshire councillor David Marsh (Green, Newbury Wash Common) was present at yesterday’s public consultation and he said he was not very happy with what he had seen.
He feared that the development would be a threat to wildlife and lead to a loss of biodiversity and he also worried about Warren Road becoming the main western access point for Sandleford, calling the area a “completely unsustainable site”.
Referring to the nearby schools of Park House and Falkland on the Andover Road, he believed the development would lead to traffic in the area becoming a “complete nightmare”.
