More details about Speen covered reservoir development revealed

Speen allotment holders have made a last ditch plea to change the planned no parking zone outside their patch.

Developer David Wilson Homes (DWH) has revealed more details about the three blocks of housing it will build on land at and near the covered reservoir.

The plans mean the allotment holders won’t be able to park – affecting the ‘physical, mental, economic and spiritual’ benefits of them.

The new development will mean Station Road has two bus stops on each side – meaning a 50 metre stretch adjoining the allotments for parking will be lost.

But the council officers told the meeting that the access plans had been approved four years ago along with the outline planning permission for the site.

John Hedland, chairman of the Speen Allotment Association, said the Station Road site and has been there for more than 100 years.

“The issue for us is the parking on Station Road,” he said.

“It will affect the benefits of the allotments, physical and social and even spiritual and economic of those using the plots.

“There are 55 to 60 plots… no parking on Station Road is a huge barrier for our members and this has not been considered as part of the plan.

“We hope this will be reconsidered.

“Because of the two bus stops planned it takes out the parking on the frontage of the allotments.”

Three blocks of housing, one of 93 homes, one of 14 homes off Lambourn Road and another of 11 at Bath Road have been laid out in detail to the western area planning committee of West Berkshire Council.

The majority of the homes will be four- or five-bedroomed houses.

Urbanising effects are considered by the developer to be ‘low impact’.

The homes will be a mixture of maisonettes, flats, bungalows and houses.

Alan Booth, from Speen Parish Council, said: “We have no objection to the housing but we have an objection to the traffic management of having a T-junction as access from and to the site and it is a retrograde step to have a single carriageway road for 93 houses.

“Why can’t there be an access from the roundabout?”

The council’s highways team said talks were ongoing with the developer about the inclusion of a cycleway from Stockcross to Newbury through that section of road.

Concerns were also raised about drainage and flooding risk.

The developer’s engineer addressed the meeting, saying a drainage pond was being constructed on site, to be planted with reeds, which would capture any run off.

Thames Water has given assurance that the sewage system can cope with the build.

DWH said all the houses have private drives and gardens and that existing trees and hedgerows are being maintained.

They referenced the Speen Village Design Statement, saying that the homes would be ‘in keeping’ with Georgian-style front doors.

They have even included chimneys on some of the houses – and confirmed that the chimneys were just for show, to make the new development ‘fit in’ with Speen.

Three public rights of way will be retained and ‘enhanced’.