Major works to link roads through new development will take place after council approves the plans. West Berkshire Council has now agreed to allow construction of the new link road at Newbury.

Plans will not include traffic lights, however, after costs fell from £250,000 to £1million. And agreed proposals for the road from Hectors Way to Kings Road, via the new Sterling Estate development, come with strings attached, including more zebra crossings, including one opposite Sainsbury’s.

Locals lobbied the council, saying the loss of parking spaces was “unacceptable”. Resident Nicola Blythe told the meeting that road noise would impact residents and that no consultation had taken place over the loss of parking spaces, resulting in a loss of amenity for them.

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“Are all residents equal when it comes to a good level of equipment, or are some more equal than others?” she asked. So councilors from the Western Region Planning Committee imposed a requirement that council and the developer address the issue as part of the application.

Another condition was to reconsider how Kings Road could be turned into a cul-de-sac. The committee, which met on Wednesday evening (June 8), heard that the bid for the link road was first submitted in 2015 and was described as “a difficult and complex bid”.

The plans are part of the new development of 167 Sterling apartments. This will see a new mini roundabout created at the site entrance at Kings Road, with the stretch of road between the roundabout and the Boundary Road junction turned into a two-way street.

Adrian Abbs (Lib Dem, Wash Common) was the only councilor to vote against the scheme, describing it as “a terrible app for residents”. “I would have hoped someone would come along and offer at least double glazing,” he said. “We’re talking about putting zebra crossings here and there, but we need to provide safe passage through that. I’d rather postpone for further discussion.”

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