A DEVELOPER has submitted an outline planning application to build up to 245 homes in Tadley two months after the land was removed from the borough council's draft local plan.

As previously reported, Bewley Homes had been actively pursuing an allocation for a plot of land in Skates Lane, in Tadley, to build houses.

The proposal faced significant opposition, with a campaign group being formed to voice concerns about the proposal.

In December, Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council announced that Skates Lane had been removed from the draft local plan.

READ MORE: Developer plans to submit application for 245 houses despite local plan setback

Bewley, which believes there was no adequate reason to remove the site from the draft plan, has now submitted an outline planning application to build houses on this land.

The developer has however decided to reduce the number of houses in the proposal from 260 to 245.

The application also proposes to build a convenience store, vehicular access from Aldermaston Road (A340), and other infrastructure.

Andy Morris, head of strategic land at Bewley Homes, said: “We have submitted an outline planning application for 245 units on land at Skates Lane in Tadley to Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council.

“Bewley Homes has been promoting this scheme through the early stages of the local plan consultation and engaged with the policy team at Basingstoke & Deane Borough Council to ensure that any issues around the site's suitability were all dealt with at an early stage.  This resulted in a draft allocation for the Local Plan which is ‘available, achievable and deliverable’ within the local plan timeframe. 

“We cannot understand or agree with the council’s decision to remove the scheme from the latest consultation version of the Plan, without consideration of the overriding needs for homes in the second largest settlement in the borough.  One of the greatest challenges for Tadley is the need to secure a housing allocation which is not subject to constraints, including the protection zone around AWE and we believe we have demonstrated that fully.

“We believe planning approval on this site would be good news in light of the urgent need for housing, especially affordable housing including social rented homes. We believe it’s unwise to overlook Tadley as a suitable location for a housing allocation and it is unfair to many local businesses who rely on a local workforce who can access decent accommodation.

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“To ensure full transparency through the submission of the supporting documentation on the application the general public can now view our comprehensive plans on the council’s planning portal and can make up their own minds regarding its suitability.”

The application was submitted on Thursday, February 15.

It has so far received more than 20 public comments from neighbours - all objecting to the plans.