• 26 June 2025 update

On 25 June, Homes England and its partners conducted its final public consultation exercise regarding the former Pirbright site in Compton. As we’ve many times reported, this has been a long and complex application, the current process dating back to when HE acquired the site in 2016. Since then, an outline application for up to 160 homes was granted in March 2023. Before any work could start, the existing building need to be demolished and the land decontaminated, a project that was completed in late 2024. Since then there’s been a good deal of community engagement while HE conducts a trendering exercise to determine which developer will then take the site forward.

The online presentation, which you can see here, gave a lucid summary of the project to date and what remains to be done. As planning applications only last for three years unless the work is started, HE will, working with its partner LDA, be submitting a new outline application in the next few months. This will be fairly light-touch as regard variations from the original. There’ll be no change to the housing numbers, for instance, but merely a few tweaks “to respond to current legislation and community feedback.”

There will also be some changes to the wildlife area, which will be “opened up” slightly to make it more connected with the rest of the development, enhanced SUDS drainage features in the south and some changes to the access points. The mandatory ten percent biodiversity net gain will be accomplished across the site but will be mainly in the wildlife area. A spokesperson for LDA, which has been working on these and other aspects, said that the engagement with the community had been “really helpful” in shaping the details of this.

A summary of the main variations can be seen from 11′ 10″ on the presentation.

Once the new outline application is submitted and validated, everyone will have a chance to have their say. If the changes are indeed minor than the application may be determined by officers without the need for another session at the Eastern Area Planning Committee, the matter having been thoroughly considered there in March 2023.

It will then be for the developers (whoever they turn out to be) to submit a full (reserved matters) application which will govern the detail of what is built. This will also be an opportunity to tidy up a tecnhical muddle arising from some faulty decision notices that were issued regarding some of the conditions. Compton PC will doubtless be keeping its eye on that.

The Council, and local resident, will also be keen to see what conditions are imposed regarding hours of construction work and the like. However, they can be heartened by the fact that the demolition and decontamination work, though it involved plenty of vehicles, seemed to have caused no serious problems.

“Homes England and its demolition contractor, Cognition, have been excellent at communication, public engagement to seek residents’ views, and dealing with residents’ concerns,” the ward member Carolyne Culver told us on 26 June. “I dearly hope that whichever developer buys the site from Homes England adopts the same positive attitude towards the community.”

• 19 June 2025 update

Homes England continues its local engagement progress with regards to Pirbright site in Compton. This is a complicated, three-stage development and one we’ve been covering closely. Being quite a large scheme in quite a small community, it’s also inevitably going to lead to change. Some may welcome this, others not.

The first stage involved demolition and de-contamination, the latter being no small matter given the site’s previous function. That was completed by Cognition Land + Water at the end of 2024. Stage two, where we are now, involves Homes England (the owners) identifying a developer to sell the site on to, consulting with residents and preparing a new outline planning application, the previous one being in about to lapse. Stage three will start when the developers are appointed and full plans are submitted.

Whoever the developers are, they will (as I’ve mentioned before) be expected to match the high standards of public engagement and communication which Cognition and Homes England have so far displayed. This makes such a difference. Poor communication leaves the field open to those with concerns to fill in the gaps themselves. Their conclusions, on-line or otherwise, will rarely paint a positive picture of what is envisaged.

One thing the developers might also like to consider is the fact that Cognition’s lorry movements during stage one seemed to have caused little or no disruption in East Ilsley, through which vehicles need to pass to reach the A34. However Cognition accomplished this seems worth emulating.

The penultimate public engagement session took place this week. “On Tuesday 17 June,” a Homes England spokesperson told us, “we held an enjoyable workshop session on the wildlife and open space with a group of students from the Downs School, as well as a drop-in event on the proposals attended by around 40 residents. We were grateful to everyone for their feedback on the proposals. For any resident who could not make it, they can view the information boards that were on display by clicking here. More information can also be found on the Homes England Compton website. We’d like to thank everyone who has been involved in the consultation process to date.”

Residents will have a further opportunity to view the proposals on Tuesday 24 June at an online webinar from 6.30 to 7.30pm on Tuesday 24 June on Zoom. Registration needs to be made via this link. A recording of the presentation will be uploaded to the website shortly afterwards, for anyone who can’t make it.

• Photo credit: Homes England.

More information about Newbury and the surrounding villages can be found in Penny Post’s Compton & Downlands Weekly News section, to which a new post is added every Thursday evening. This includes news stories, events, information on voluntary and community groups and updates from the town and parish councils.