Colthrop Village, Thatcham

We have been promoting the Colthrop Village development as an alternative to the North East Thatcham proposal, and we will continue to make our case during the Local Plan examination.  We do not feel that Colthrop Village received appropriate consideration from West Berkshire Council during the preparation of the Local Plan Review, and it is clear that Colthrop Village provides a number of benefits that North East Thatcham simply cannot provide:

SOLVING THE LEVEL CROSSING ISSUE

Colthrop Village is the only strategic development proposed for Thatcham that can deliver a new vehicle, pedestrian and cycle bridge to replace the Thatcham level crossing.  It is widely acknowledged that a new bridge is the only way to solve the level crossing issue, and we can deliver the bridge in both financial and landownership terms.  The North East Thatcham proposal can achieve neither.

Indeed, far from resolving the level crossing issue, it is commonly accepted that the North East Thatcham proposal would increase the amount of traffic at the level crossing – a ‘Statement of Common Ground’ agreed between West Berkshire Council and Network Rail in March 2024 explicitly states that, even with mitigation measures, ‘the level of traffic added to the crossing would still be increased’.

The document then goes on to say that ‘NR [Network Rail] would be fully supportive of any positive effort to build a bridge that would also bring about the closure of the level crossing’.  While the Colthrop Village proposal includes the bridge desired by Network Rail, the North East Thatcham proposal does not, could not, and will only add to traffic problems at the level crossing.

REDEVELOPING BROWNFIELD LAND

One-quarter of the Colthrop Village site is brownfield land, and the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) seeks to direct new homes onto brownfield / previously developed land.  By contrast, the North East Thatcham site is almost entirely greenfield land, and West Berkshire Council’s allocation of the North East Thatcham site makes no consideration of the benefits of delivering new homes on brownfield / previously developed land.

ENCOURAGING SUSTAINABLE TRAVEL MODES

The proximity of the Colthrop Village site to Thatcham station creates a realistic opportunity for ‘modal shift’ from car to train travel.  As a result, Colthrop Village would have a proportionately smaller impact on traffic levels in Thatcham town centre compared to North East Thatcham, generating fewer vehicle trips.