Newbury Old Town Plan Submitted to Replace Kennet Shopping Centre

A new plan appeared at the same time as an appeal. The appeal challenges the council’s rejection; the council blocked “Eagle Quarter” earlier. It was a large apartment complex with shops.

Lochailort is the developer, and they faced criticism for the rejected plan. People wanted Newbury to keep its unique charm, not wanting it to become like other towns.

Lochailort believes their rejected plan is worthy. A director, Hugo Haig, spoke about the appeal, saying the plan followed planning rules. He mentioned people liked the rejected plan and were sad it did not move forward.

He is now promoting a different plan, called Old Town, which has been in development for two years. The Old Town plan removes the shops and replaces them with mews houses and streets.

Haig is pleased with the positive feedback. People who saw the Old Town exhibit liked it, and the public was excited about the Old Town proposals. They discussed night-time security in detail.

Electronic gates will control pedestrian access at night. Many security cameras will be installed, watched 24/7, and regular security patrols will occur during the night.

The security measures aim to deter problems. The location is near pubs and leisure areas. They submitted the Old Town application today, but the council has not yet set a discussion date.