Poll suggests Newbury approves of developer Lochailort’s new ‘Old Town’ Kennet Shopping centre redevelopment plans

Newbury is largely in favour of the ‘Old Town’ Kennet Shopping centre redevelopment plans, according to a newburytoday poll.

We asked our readers “Do you approve of the Old Town redevelopment plans for the Kennet Shopping centre site?” in a week-long poll on a previous story about the proposal.

68 per cent of those who voted in the poll said they approved of the plans, while only 12 per cent disapproved.

20 per cent still hadn’t quite made up their minds and voted “I don’t know”.

READ MORE: Newbury reacts to ‘Old Town’, developer Lochailort’s new Kennet Shopping centre redevelopment plans

Developer Lochailort’s Old Town plans ditch the controversial high-rise flats of its previous ‘Eagle Quarter’ proposal and replace them with Georgian-style mews houses, fewer commercial units and several lanes connecting them all to the town centre.

A planning application for the new plans was submitted to West Berkshire Council last week.

It went in at the same time that an appeal against the council’s decision to block Eagle Quarter—with its hundreds of buy to rent flats in multi-storey blocks and a shopping street—was lodged.

READ MORE: Old Town: Application goes in for mews house scheme to replace Kennet Shopping centre