North East Thatcham Masterplan — Consultation Form Responses

Submitted 11 May 2026 Link: https://nethatcham.co.uk/have-your-say/

General

Q1. Having seen the emerging proposals, what aspects do you feel are most positive?

The stated commitment to approximately 50% green infrastructure across the site is welcome, as is the proposal for a community park on the higher ground to the north. The three-neighbourhood structure (Dunston Park, Siege Cross and Colthrop Village) shows some sensitivity to the existing landscape. The acknowledgement that active travel connections to the town centre and station are needed is the right starting point, even if the proposals need to go much further.

Q2. What aspects of the proposals would you like to see developed or reconsidered?

Several aspects need significant development before the masterplan can be considered credible:

The 50% green infrastructure commitment should be made a binding requirement in the SPD, not left as an aspiration. Without this, housing numbers will squeeze out green space as individual planning applications come forward.

The proposals make no mention of a southbound road and active travel crossing of the railway and canal. This is the single biggest transport gap — every journey south from the development currently routes back through Thatcham town centre. Network Rail has already stated support for a crossing and the council’s own transport evidence acknowledges the level crossing will be under increased pressure.

The consultation does not address whether existing infrastructure (sewage treatment, GP capacity, rail capacity etc) can absorb a 25% increase in Thatcham’s population. Thatcham Medical Practice told the council in a formal examination submission that the proposed satellite surgery is not financially viable. These are not minor concerns and the masterplan should address them directly.

The phasing schedule must be binding and public, clearly linking each housing phase to specific infrastructure being operational. Without this, the development will be built by increment with infrastructure deferred indefinitely.

Housing

Q3. How important is it to you that the development includes affordable housing? Answer: Very important

Q4. What type of housing do you feel is most needed in the Thatcham area? (Select all that apply) Selected: Affordable homes for rent, Affordable homes for purchase, Other

Other: All homes regardless of tenure should meet the Nationally Described Space Standards and be tenure-blind in design, meaning affordable homes should be indistinguishable in external appearance and quality from market homes.

Education

Q5. The local plan allocation for NE Thatcham includes provision for new primary schools and land for a secondary school. How important is this aspect to you? Answer: Very important

Q6. What matters most to you when thinking about where a new secondary school should be located within the development? (Select all that apply) Selected: Accessibility on foot and by cycle from across the site, Accessibility from existing Thatcham, Shared use of sports facilities by the wider community outside school hours, Integration with the local neighbourhood and community uses, Safe and direct access routes for students, Other

Other: The school must be delivered early in the phasing programme, before the development generates significant secondary-age demand. Kennet School is currently consulting on reducing its intake from 300 to 270 pupils per year due to falling local birth rates. 2,500 new family homes will reverse that trend rapidly and the SPD must specify a binding occupation trigger linked to school delivery.

Transport and Access

Q7. How would you currently travel in and out of Thatcham? (Select all that apply) Selected: On foot, By cycle, By car, By public transport, Other

Other: I commute by train from Thatcham station. GWR’s own performance data shows 61.5% on-time performance and the Berks and Hants line recorded three full closures in a single quarter in 2024. The station has approximately 55 car parking spaces. The development will add significant additional rail demand and a formal Rail Capacity Assessment from GWR and Network Rail should be a requirement before any rail-dependent phases are occupied.

Q8. Which transport improvements do you feel are most important as part of this development? (Select up to three) Selected: Walking routes connecting the site to Thatcham town centre, New and improved road access points, Other

Other: A new road and active travel crossing of the railway and Kennet and Avon Canal to provide a direct southbound connection from the development. Currently all southbound journeys route back through Thatcham town centre. Network Rail has confirmed support for a crossing and the council’s own transport evidence acknowledges the level crossing will be under increased pressure from this development.

Q9. Are there specific public rights of way or existing routes that you feel should be protected or enhanced as part of the development?

All public rights of way and permissive footpaths across the site should be preserved, enhanced and where possible extended to connect with the wider footpath network, including routes toward Upper Bucklebury, Cold Ash and the North Wessex Downs National Landscape. The existing informal access across the site that residents currently enjoy for recreation and wellbeing should be formalised and protected rather than lost to development. New routes should meet LTN 1/20 standards where they serve as active travel connections, with physical separation from motor traffic on busy routes.

Green Infrastructure and Community Parkland

Q10. The local plan allocation for NE Thatcham includes provision for community parkland and green infrastructure. How important is this aspect of the masterplan in your opinion? Answer: Very important

Q11. What would you most like to see within the community parkland and green infrastructure? (Select all that apply) Selected: All options

Other: The 50% green infrastructure commitment must be made a binding requirement in the SPD, not left as an aspiration. Without this, housing numbers will erode green space as individual planning applications come forward phase by phase. A minimum 30% tree canopy cover target should be set across the whole site and maintained in perpetuity. Ancient woodland buffers of not less than 50 metres should be required, and no ancient or veteran trees should be removed — an independent arboricultural survey should inform the layout before it is finalised.

Q12. How important is it that the green buffer along the northern edge of the site provides a clear separation between the development and the surrounding countryside and villages? Answer: Very important

Healthcare and Community Facilities

Q13. How important is it to you that a GP surgery is included within the development? Answer: Very important

Q14. Where do you feel the GP surgery should ideally be located within the development? Answer: Within the main local centre, close to shops and services

Q15. Beyond healthcare and education, which community facilities are most important to you? (Select up to three) Selected: Library or learning hub, Cafe or social spaces, Other

Other: The local centre must have a binding minimum commercial and community floorspace with required uses specified in the SPD and a delivery trigger linked to early housing phases. Thatcham already has an example of a local centre that falls short of what a large residential area needs; the SPD must ensure this development does not repeat that pattern.

Q16. Are there facilities or services currently lacking in your area that this development could help to provide?

Thatcham has a structural employment gap that this development could help address if handled correctly. The council’s own commissioned evidence shows the town’s office market is approximately one twelfth the size of Newbury’s and that residents commute out in large numbers to Reading and London. The development should deliver meaningful employment space, not just small retail units, phased alongside housing so that jobs arrive with residents rather than years later.

A proper local centre with a binding mix of uses including workspace, community facilities and retail would address the current absence of any genuinely functional neighbourhood hub in the newer parts of Thatcham.

A southbound road and active travel crossing of the railway and canal would provide a connection that Thatcham has never had and that a town of this size should have, directly linking the town to the A339 and reducing dependence on the A4 corridor for all southbound journeys.

Final Thoughts

Q17. In your view, what would make north east Thatcham a successful and sustainable community?

A successful North East Thatcham would be a place where residents can meet daily needs within a short walk or cycle, with a genuine local centre, real employment opportunities and frequent public transport from day one. It would be a place that makes Thatcham better, not just bigger: with streets designed for people rather than cars, homes built to the Future Homes Standard, meaningful green space that is protected in perpetuity and not eroded phase by phase and infrastructure that arrives before residents rather than years after.

Most importantly, it would be a development that is honest about what Thatcham needs: more local jobs, better transport connections to the south, GP and school capacity that keeps pace with population growth, and a sewage network that can actually cope. None of these are aspirations; they are the minimum conditions for a sustainable community.

Q18. Do you have any further comments or suggestions?

I want to register a concern about this consultation process itself. The questions in this form focus on sentiment and preferences but do not ask about rail capacity, highway impacts, sewage infrastructure, employment provision or the occupation triggers that would ensure infrastructure arrives alongside housing. A consultation that does not ask these questions will not produce responses about them, and the summary report presented to councillors will reflect only what was asked.

I have submitted a detailed written response directly to the council’s planning policy team covering these issues, grounded in the council’s own commissioned evidence. I would ask that full written submissions are made available to elected members alongside this consultation summary, so that the SPD process is informed by the complete picture.