Proposed Housing at West End Farm, Mortimer West End

A Local Plan sets out how much development an area needs and where it should go over a 15-year period. It identifies housing sites, infrastructure, and environmental protections, and guides future planning decisions.

No. The land at West End Farm is a potential site in Basingstoke & Deane’s draft Local Plan. This does not grant planning permission. The proposal will first go through a Regulation 18 consultation and must be tested against evidence on environment, infrastructure, transport and deliverability before any decision is made.

These are the key questions the Local Plan process must answer. Before any large allocation can be confirmed, BDBC must work with:

• Hampshire County Council – schools, highways and transport
• NHS Integrated Care Board – GP and health services
• Utility companies – drainage, water and energy

Site-specific assessments will be required if the site remains in the draft plan.

Mortimer West End is in Hampshire. Catchments typically relate to Silchester C of E Primary School and The Hurst School, Baughurst (secondary). Families can apply to West Berkshire schools (e.g. Mortimer St John’s, St Mary’s, The Willink), but those schools prioritise pupils living in their West Berkshire catchments.

Transport: Free home-to-school transport is decided by Hampshire rules (nearest suitable school and distance/route safety). It is unlikely to be funded to a more distant out-of-county school if a nearer suitable Hampshire school has places.

Councils start with the Government’s standard method for local housing need (a formula based on population and affordability). This is a starting point, not a fixed target. The final housing requirement should reflect deliverability, infrastructure capacity and environmental limits.

BDBC Full Council, advised by planning officers and an independent Planning Inspector, decides which sites appear in the final Local Plan. Any allocated site would still require a planning application with its own consultation and decision.

Any large allocation must be supported by new or improved infrastructure, including school capacity, GP services, road access, public transport and drainage. BDBC’s evidence base must demonstrate these needs can be met and funded — usually via Section 106 and/or CIL.

The site is in Hampshire, within Mortimer West End Parish, bordering Stratfield Mortimer (West Berkshire). Although new homes would adjoin Mortimer, planning and most services fall under Basingstoke & Deane BC and Hampshire County Council.

Before the formal consultation (now)

• Send your views to the BDBC Portfolio Holder for Planning – [email protected]
• Contact BDBC ward councillors: [email protected], [email protected], [email protected]
• Contact a West Berkshire ward councillor – [email protected]
• Contact the parish councils: Mortimer West End PC and Stratfield Mortimer PC
• BDBC Planning Policy Team – to be advised
• Sign and share the community petition.

When the Regulation 18 consultation opens

• Submit an individual response via BDBC’s consultation portal or email. Every response is logged and must be considered.

If the site remains in the draft plan

• Take part in the subsequent Regulation 19 consultation — comments go to the Planning Inspector for the Examination.

• Cllr Nick Carter – West Berkshire (Burghfield & Mortimer Ward) · [email protected] · 07447 557557
• Mortimer West End Parish Council – href="mailto:[email protected]"
• BDBC Planning Policy Team – to be advised

CIL (Community Infrastructure Levy) is a general charge on new floorspace collected by the charging authority (here, BDBC). A portion goes to parishes within BDBC. It does not automatically flow to West Berkshire facilities.

Section 106 is site-specific and can fund mitigation where directly justified (e.g., junction works or proportionate contributions to school/health capacity). Cross-boundary issues are handled through engagement and Statements of Common Ground.

If Mortimer GP surgery cannot absorb demand, any expansion/new provision would be led by the NHS Integrated Care Board and the practice with evidence; S106 may contribute if directly justified. CIL spending is at BDBC’s discretion within its area.

It could help private dental access, but it is not a guaranteed solution for NHS capacity. NHS dentistry depends on NHS commissioning and contracts; a larger private practice does not automatically expand NHS places.

The number starts with the Government’s standard method for local housing need — a starting point, not a fixed target. Where a Local Plan is out of date, the new plan must use the latest method, which often gives higher numbers.

Basingstoke & Deane’s last Local Plan (2016) is outside the five-year window. Because the update has been delayed, the borough must use the newer calculation — generally higher due to updated affordability and population data. Many residents reasonably ask whether faster progress could have locked in a lower figure, as West Berkshire effectively did by moving sooner. The final requirement will be tested by an independent Planning Inspector, who can support a lower number where delivery, infrastructure or environmental limits make the standard figure unrealistic.

The land at West End Farm lies outside the formal Detailed Emergency Planning Zones (DEPZs) set by the Office for Nuclear Regulation (ONR) for AWE Burghfield and AWE Aldermaston. The DEPZ is a single national boundary that spans local authority areas (WBC and BDBC do not have different DEPZs).

However, both councils’ mapping shows an adjacent emergency-planning buffer/consultation area immediately beyond the DEPZ. This buffer is not a ban; it is used to trigger consultation with the ONR and emergency planners on proposals that would significantly increase nearby population.

In practice, ONR would not automatically object, but any planning proposal would be expected to address emergency-planning considerations (e.g., evacuation routes and public information duties). The buffer therefore adds a further reason to treat the site as strategically sensitive at allocation stage.

See the maps & overlays section for visual references.