The application 23/02142/MINMAJ (click here and use this reference to see the documents) for “The installation and operation of an asphalt plant and associated ancillary development at Land Adjacent To M4 Membury Airfield Lambourn Woodlands” was validated by West Berkshire Council on 4 October 2023 and refused by WBC’s Western Area Planning Committee on 19 March 2025, the resulting decision notice being issued on 21 March. This decision was appealed by the applicants and the appeal hearing was heard in October 2025 – six months later the Planning Inspector finally delivered his verdict…

On 26 March, the Inspector announced that the appeal into the ashpalt plant in Membury would be allowed. The appeal case, which has the snappy name of APP/W0340/W/25/3367152, led to a hundred-point judgement. The last of these summed matters up by saying that “I find the appeal scheme to comply with the development plan, and there are no material considerations that individually or cumulatively indicate that a decision should be made other than in accordance with it. Accordingly, the appeal is allowed.”

“No compelling evidence”

The local racing industry may be despondent about this but I think there are some grounds for optimism. In clause 62, the Inspector said that “there is no suitably compelling evidence before me to find that the appeal proposal would have adverse effects on the health or performance of racehorses.”Others, however, disagree: that was certainly the view taken by the Western Area Planning Committee when it refused the application. None the less, this is what the Inspector has concluded.

Perhaps as concerning to the local racing industry is the possible reputational damage. The inspector recognised this when he observed, also in clause 62, that “even if the proposal would not harm equine health, the perception of harm is still capable of undermining Lambourn’s horse-racing industry. For example, perceptions of environmental risk may lead to reputational damage to Lambourn as a centre of excellence and resultant decline through the area becoming unattractive to owners or trainers.”

In the subsequent clauses he suggests that for various reasons this view might be an over-pessimistic one. What PR value other racing areas will seek to extract from this is up to them: however, the Inspector did make the point that one of Lambourn’s main rivals, Newmarket, has its own asphalt plant which has seemingly not caused the industry there any problem.

Disappointed but also reassured

“Whilst the racing industry is disappointed with the result,” Will Riggall, the Head of Operations at the Lambourn branch of the Jockey Club Estates told us on 31 March, “we are reassured that the needs of the HRI were taking into consideration at great length by the the Inspector and have been reassured that that there will be no adverse impacts to racehorse training industry.

“We continue to work closely with WBC Planning and Economic development teams to safeguard the industry from development that may be harmful, to ensure it’s long term health and prosperity.”

The planning committee took a view on these complex and technical issues and came to one conclusion. The Inspector has come to a different one. Unless anyone wants to mount a judicial review, and can raise the money, and can provide compelling anough grounds for it to be even accepted, then that is the last word on the matter.

“Clearly I am disappointed at the Inspector’s decision,” Lambourn Ward Member Howard Woollaston told us on 2 April. “With due respect to him I do not believe that he fully understood the evidence provided by experts on the potential harm to equine athletes.

”In my view, the racing industry and the Woodlanders Protection Group put up a considered argument against this application which has no benefit to Lambourn apart from the possibility of five jobs. Obviously the majority of racing yards are in Upper Lambourn and Lambourn where there is no impact, but there are yards within the risk area as well as some potential Olympic eventers.”

The matter of costs has not been decided. Given the long time that the Inspector spent mulling his decision – the hearing was in October – and the length of his judgment, both of which suggest that he saw the matter was finely balanced, it’s reasonable to suppose that each side will bear its own legal costs.

Roads, money and development creep

Another point that was considered – indeed it’s one that appears in almost every planning objection – was the impact on the local roads. Despite the fact that there will be over sixty vehicle movements a day at the site at its present capacity – it could be expanded, which would require a separate application – the Inspector said in clause 44 that he was “satisfied that the appeal scheme would not give rise to any significant adverse effects on the highway network, whether in terms of capacity or safety.” Again, others disagree.

He also referred to the fact that there are cases of the unauthorised use of Membury Services as an access route to or from the M4. If National Highways or the police decide to enforce this, with access only being available to those with passes, the traffic on the B4000 would increase, perhaps substantially.

There are also concerns about development creep at Membury. This certainly provides employment though I’m not sure how much of this is in the parish.

Nor does Lambourn receive any financial benefit from the estate: CIL (which the parish council gets 15% of, rising to 25% when its NDP is adopted) is not charged on commercial developments and it gets no share of the business rates. WBC doesnlt get much of a share either as it now only retains 13% of the business rates it collects. Most of the money from the industrial estate therefore effectively gets shipped down the M4 towards London.

One crumb of comfort for the local community is that the next time you see a pothole being fixed on the B4000 or a stretch of the M4 being resurfaced, there’s a possibility that the asphalt was locally produced. A more important one is that the Inspector did not feel that the plant would cause a risk to horses – any more than, it seems, does the one at Newmarket…

Brian Quinn
brian@pennypost.org.uk

Photo. credit: Adobe Stock Images.