The developer’s appeal to go ahead with its “Eagle Quarter” plans for the Kennet Centre is due to be heard in October 2023.
West Berkshire Council will be defending its decision to refuse the high-rise development, and also represented will be Newbury Town Council and The Newbury Society. This is a first for us, but we consider this development to be so harmful that it is important for our voice to be heard.
The development includes five- and six-storey buildings on Newbury’s town centre streets, with two towers in the centre rising to ten storeys (including a storey in the roof). In total, the plans are for 367 flats, plus either a large office building or additional 91 retirement flats. The plans were refused by West Berkshire Council in November 2022.
The closing date for submissions to the planning inspector was July 17, 2023, so there is little that members of the public can do at the moment. Our petition against the appeal collected 2,138 signatures in less than three weeks, and these have been submitted to the inspector, together with online comments. Although the target for the petition was to collect as many signatures as possible before the July 17 deadline, we are keeping it open until October, so anyone who wishes to add their name can do so at: https://www.change.org/p/stop-