A PETITION calling for a village centre to be built in Arborfield Green has garnered more than 700 signatures.
Homeowners have accused Crest Nicholson, the developer responsible for the site, of “repeatedly failing” on a promise to deliver the facility.
As part of the planning conditions, development of the village centre should have begun after 1,000 properties were built. A figure surpassed in 2019.
The petition also asks the council to restrict Crest Nicholson from submitting any further planning applications in the borough until a formal application has been approved for the village centre and building has commenced.
Cllr Rebecca Margetts, Conservative councillor for Finchampstead South, said this was one of the first issues residents raised with her when she was elected in 2021.
“People are desperate to get this village centre off the ground,” she said.
“For about the last year we have been really pushing with the council to try and get it brought forward and get community engagement to say what is going on with this village centre.
“And all it constantly is, is broken promises. It is unbelievable how many broken promises there are.”
Crest Nicholson had previously committed to a final consultation in September this year with a planning application to be submitted in October, neither of which have happened.
Cllr Margetts said: “For a lot of residents there are huge concerns and questions of ‘will the village centre ever be built?’ ‘Will they now try to build houses instead?’
“The problem is, none of the residents have any faith and they have completely lost trust.”
Cllr Margetts is now calling on the council to “stand up to these developers”.
She added: “Crest Nicholson are making all this money out of selling these properties yet they are not building the facilities they’re meant to have done.”
Cllr Lindsay Ferris, executive member for planning and local plan, and Cllr Clive Jones, the leader of the council, recently met Crest Nicholson’s representatives to discuss the issue and have vowed to keep the pressure up
Cllr Ferris said: “We recognise that Crest Nicholson are in breach of their planning conditions, which required them to provide 25 per cent of the commercial floorspace at the district centre by the time that 1,000 homes were occupied.
“We know this is frustrating for residents who, quite reasonably, expected these amenities to be available by now.
“We share their disappointment that this hasn’t happened and, having given the developer plenty of time to resolve the situation, are now pushing harder for action.”
Cllr Ferris said the national guidelines on planning would deem it “unfair” to penalise the developer for the time being, but the council retains its right to take enforcement action in the future.
He added: “We do have to recognise that this project fell behind, in part, due to reasons beyond Crest’s control – mostly financial viability during and immediately after the coronavirus pandemic.
“Until recently, it couldn’t attract interest from a supermarket to serve as an ‘anchor’ tenant attracting others to the site. This is because of uncertainty caused by covid and Brexit, prompting retailers to focus on existing branches rather than opening new ones.
“The latter would have been particularly risky in this new community, as operators want the certainty of having lots of potential customers nearby. This is becoming less relevant as more planned housing, which we have no choice but to take under current government requirements, is built in the area.”
Cllr Ferris said that officers had been in regular contact with the developer to resolve the breach “informally” as it was seen as the best approach in this economic climate.
“However, as life moves on, we’ve insisted that Crest explain how they will push this forward as quickly as possible,” he said.
“They have shared these details, and please be assured that we’ll keep a close eye on things to keep them to their promises.
“We fully support our residents on this issue, as it’s now time for Crest to provide the facilities that were promised as part of their original planning approval.”
Crest Nicholson has apologised to residents for the delays to the construction and any frustration it may be causing.
A spokesperson for the developer said: “We would like to reassure residents that we remain wholly committed to delivering a vibrant village centre with key retail and community services at Arborfield Green, ensuring these reach a high standard that people can be proud of for years to come.
“Whilst the pandemic did impact appetite and demand from commercial operators to take on new retail floorspace, we are pleased to share that as the development continues to evolve into an established community, we are seeing increased interest from retail operators, with contracts now being negotiated. We expect to share more information on this before the end of the year.”
The spokesperson insisted that the developer and the council are working closely to ensure that plans submitted for the district centre are “responsive to the needs of the local community”.
A second public consultation for the district centre at Arborfield Green is due to take place next month.
According to Crest Nicholson, the plans have been refined and developed following feedback from the community, the council and various stakeholders.
The plans will include a supermarket, shops, a pub and the relocation of the community centre and nurseries.
It will be held at the main hall of the Arborfield Green Community Centre, between 3pm and 8pm on Thursday, December 8.
To view the petition, calling for the centre to be delivered, visit change.org and search “Arborfield Green”.
