PLANS to redevelop London Road Industrial Estate are about to take a big step forward.
West Berkshire Council is expected to publish a development brief on the project, that has been drawn up by consultants at Avison Young, when it meets on Thursday, November 19.
Once it has been published, the council can look to hire a developer to prepare a detailed planning application for the redevelopment of the Newbury site.
The council says publishing the document “is the first step of many in bringing forward regeneration” of the 27.5 ace site in Newbury.
READ MORE: Council refuses to apologise for £1 million London Road Industrial Estate blunder
It comes after businesses on the site, several Newbury-based organisations and more than 70 people had their say on the brief during a public consultation.
Forty-five people raised concerns about the loss of Newbury Football Club’s old ground, while others raised concerns about homes being built on a flood plain and called for more business units and less office space.
The brief says up to 544 homes, 6,023 sqm of office space and 6,690 sqm of space for other businesses could be built on the site as part of one comprehensive development.
It says the council could construct 280 homes, 3,473 sqm of office space and 5,400 sqm of space for other businesses if it develops the site in phases.
“Both options would be subject to existing businesses being relocated within the site, vacating the site or being relocated elsewhere in the district to enable development,” the brief adds.
It also says the council owns the majority of the estate and is “in a strong position to help and encourage redevelopment” but several businesses have signed long-term leases and this could “curtail its ability to deliver new development”.
Cllr Ross Mackinnon, executive member for finance, has said the council will only use compulsory purchase orders – to obtain property without the consent of the leaseholders – as “an absolute last resort”.
“It is the absolute desire of the council to avoid compulsory purchase orders if at all possible,” he added.
READ MORE: London Road Industrial Estate management ‘extremely poor’
The council has wanted to redevelop the site since 2003.
In 2018 the project suffered a major setback when the Court of Appeal ruled the council had breached EU law by failing to follow the correct procurement process when it appointed St Modwen Plc as the developer.
The council spent over £945,000 on that botched redevelopment project and legal fees.
However, the council insists the redevelopment “remains a viable proposition”.
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