Sandleford - the WRONG solution

Frequently Asked Questions

Where is Sandleford?
Do you have any Pictures of Sandleford?
Why do we need so many new houses?
What do the plans look like?
Wasn’t there a plan to build on Sandleford Park years ago?
What is the logic for building here instead of anywhere else?
Are there any other places to build the houses?
How can I make my views known?
How can I access the 2021 appeal documents?

Where is Sandleford?

Sandleford Park is just to the south of Newbury, Berkshire, UK. To see a satellite photo in Google Maps, click here.

It covers a huge area roughly speaking bordered by Monks Lane in the north, Wash Common in the west, Greenham Common in the east, and the HAmpshire border in the south.

In 1870-72, John Marius Wilson's Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales described Sandleford like this:

SANDLEFORD-PRIORY, an extra-parochial tract in Newbury district, Berks; on the river Enbourn, 2 miles S of Newbury. Real property, £775; of which £10 are in fisheries. Pop., 49. Houses, 9. An Augustinian priory was founded here in 1200, by Geoffrey, Earl of Perche; and was unexed, in 1480, to the Collegiate church of Windsor. A modern mansion, called Sandleford Priory, was the residence of Mrs. Montague, of literary celebrity; includes a dining-room, formed out of the chapel of the ancient priory; and is now the seat of Lord Rokeby.

Why do we need so many new houses?

More and more people want to live in their own home in West Berkshire, for lots of different reasons.

Some are the children of West Berkshire families who leave home and want a home of their own, on their own.

Some people are moving into the area because they work here.

People get married much later in life than used to be the case, and more and more couples separate, so there is more demand for homes from single people than ever before.

People are living longer, and staying in their own homes for longer, where previous generations may have moved into a care home.

All of these factors, and others, add up to the need for more housing in West Berkshire (and, indeed, in most other parts of the country, for the same reasons).

What do the plans look like?

Click here to see a map of the proposals (opens in new tab/window): the DARK BLUE areas are where the houses will go. The DARK GREEN areas show the ancient woodland that will be surrounded by houses.

Do you have any Pictures of Sandleford?

Yes, here are pictures courtesy of Alastair Jarman

Wasn’t there a plan to build on Sandleford Park years ago?

There was. There have been several planning applications over the years.

Some were made before 1,500 new houses were approved on Newbury Racecourse.
Some were made before The Chase (next to the Racecourse) was approved and built in 2002.
Some were made before the hundreds of houses along Pinchington Lane was approved and built.

But that was then and this is now. When early plans were made Greenham was half the size it is today. And decisions today need to be made based on the facts today.

What is the logic for building here instead of anywhere else?

A good question. We don't have the answer.

But we are not being unrealistic, we know that houses have to be built in West Berkshire. However, if you look at the detail of alternative sites, the Sandleford option just doesn't make sense (except perhaps to those landowners who have a great deal to gain by it...).

Each site has gone through a detailed Sustainability Appraisal - basically a checklist of various issues - and has been scored on each in order to carry out a supposedly objective assessment.

We think the scoring of the Sandleford site is skewed, to put it mildly - we think the Council had already decided that Sandleford was the answer and then made the scores fit accordingly. We have yet to meet a Councillor who knows why the scoring system was changed after the initial 'beauty contest' in which Sandleford came out as the Ugly Sister - the planners just say they know best!!

The key site scoring document is Appendix 8 to Appendix A, which is buried deep within the Council's revised SA/SEA (Sustainability Appraisal and Strategic Environmental Assessment - but I'm sure you already knew that!).

We have revised this bit of the SA/SEA (often just called the SA for short) using the original scoring system, to present what we think is a much more objective assessment of the two major sites that the Council has looked at - and as you will see, Sandleford is a long way behind. It is really difficult to understand why West Berkshire Council is so firmly convinces that Sandleford is the only answer.

It may or may not be relevant, but it is certainly interesting to note that none of the Executive Councillors at West Berkshire Council who made the decisions live in Newbury so they will not be affected personally...