Mews plan gets massive thumbs down by public

By Will Davies

THE RULING party on the town council, the Henley Residents’ Group (HRG), has criticised the proposed redevelopment of Market Place Mews, claiming the plans are ‘not in the best interests of Henley’.

The developer, London and Henley Properties, is making a renewed attempt to get the go-ahead for the £5 million scheme after it was rejected by South Oxfordshire District Council (SODC) last year. And for two hours in the Market Place last Saturday, the public was given the chance to view a scale model of what the controversial redevelopment would look like if developers were to gain planning permission.

Over 500 people viewed the exhibition, and of the 106 people who registered their views, 26 per cent voted for the scheme against 74 per cent opposing it, the latter citing over-development, traffic and parking as their primary fears.Residents were given until Wednesday to air their views to the district council.

Developers claim the second plan is smaller than the original, and would regenerate land that is ‘largely overgrown gardens, undefined space and private car parking places’. If it gets the thumbs up, the mews could have 14 new apartments and a public space for alfresco dining, and would bring ‘day-round life’ to a central part of Henley.

But members of the HRG have branded it ‘too large and too high’, and say the quality of the buildings is poor and ‘do not enhance or preserve the conservation area’. HRG chairman Ian Reissmann said: “We think the district council should ask the developer to think again, and come up with a plan for the area which meets the needs of the town and is properly sympathetic to the nature of the conservation area in the middle of our town.”

Cllr. Barry Wood does not subscribe to the views of his party. He agrees with the revised plans, which he feels will encourage investment and development in the town. He refutes his party’s claims that the current shops and small businesses will be driven out by ‘the same chains that dominate so many other towns and cities in the UK’. He said: “The shops will not be big enough for multinational companies. They will be interesting feature shops. We are not trying to build a mini-Reading but an alternative shopping experience.”

He is, however, more sympathetic with HRG’s concerns over the height of the development, believing it is ‘just about acceptable’, but ‘two storeys would have been preferable to three’. London and Henley Properties also proposes no affordable housing for the site — a particular scruple for HRG which has weighed heavy on the conscience of Cllr. Wood.

He added: “The apartments will all be two or three bedroomed and will cost around £300,000 to £400,000. It is a great shame there will be no affordable housing.”

With or without Cllr. Wood, HRG says it will be supporting the case for the plans to be rejected by both the town council and SODC.

The town council will make a recommendation on the plans this coming Tuesday (October 16th), before they are passed to SODC, with a result likely around the end of November.