Newbury - Proposal to demolish 11 - 17 Mill Lane

[Administrator]

Newbury - Proposal to demolish 11 - 17 Mill Lane

Proposal for 3 blocks of flats to replace them

Houses at 11 -17 Mill Lane Newbury

The Trustees of the Charity of Mrs Mabel Luke are proposing to develop the land and associated housing at 11 -17 Mill Lane Newbury. The houses will be demolished and replaced with 3 blocks of flats on the site.

[Administrator]

This is the text of a letter sent to the current residents of 11-17 Mill Lane:

"The trustees of the Charity are responsible for ensuring, as Mrs Luke outlined when setting it up, that the assets of the Charity are used to their best effect in support of families/individuals in need, hardship, and distress in the town of Newbury and Parish of Greenham.

With this aim firmly in mind, they are looking to develop the unused land and that making up
11-17 Mill Lane. This will support the growing need for affordable housing in Newbury and enable the Charity of Mrs Mabel Luke to live up to the wishes of its founder.

The Charity's professional advisers have looked at the existing dwellings and on their advice the trustees have taken the view that since the buildings have no particular merit and would need extensive re-modelling to fit them for twenty-first century living, it is better to demolish and re-build. Even with a re-modelling, you would need to temporarily move out and neither the Council nor Sovereign Housing are under any obligation to assist.

Further to previous letters, the Charity's architect has now met West Berkshire Council planners and has agreed a way forward for developing the site, subject to planning permission. It is proposed that there will be one new 3-storey block of six flats on the spare land and two blocks (one of two storeys, the other of three storeys = ten flats) on land currently largely occupied by the existing houses. The block on the spare land could be completed before demolition of the existing dwellings.

The trustees of the Charity are inviting you to a personal viewing of the proposed development plans for the site as outlined above, along with neighbouring residents and other interested parties. Trustees and professionals involved in developing the proposals will be present and available to give clarification on any points arising during your viewing. There will be a simple form which people will be encouraged to fill in, giving their comments on the proposals.

The Trustees have, as you know, recently been awarded a grant towards development of up to 16 affordable dwellings for local people on this site. The money has to be spent by April 2018. A planning application will be submitted to West Berkshire Council shortly after this "drop-in", the purpose of which is to obtain the views of those most affected by it. These views will, where possible, be incorporated in the plans to be submitted in due course.

You will need to move out before the scheme can be completed. The Charity will work with the Council and others to help you find alternative accommodation. Work could start on site as early as April 2015 and should be no later than the end of next year. Demolition of 11-17 Mill Lane would need to happen before the end of 2016 but by then the first block of new flats will be complete and it might be possible to move you into one of these.

Finally, this is all dependent on proposals being approved by the Planning Authority and the Charity obtaining funds to complete the work. They expect to be in a position to place a contract by April 2015"