On 1st October the PC Chair and Vice Chair met with the WBC Portfolio Holder, Cllr Gaines, and planning officers as members of the masterplanning consultative panel. We learned that there was work in train on the landscape work, agreeing the parameters for highways modelling and education provision aspects.

The PC has contributed work we commissioned to inform the Landscape and Visual Impact assessment and highways studies. We have forwarded our recommendations for viewpoints for the landscape work. It was agreed the outputs from the workstreams would be shared with Thatcham Town Council and the PCs as they became available. Once the draft masterplan had been completed there would be a 6 week consultation with TTC, the PCs and general public. A timetable of activities through to the adoption of the masterplan would be issued shortly.

It was again made clear to us that WBC was not going to rush this masterplanning process but ensure it was correct, appropriate and evidence based.

Barry Dickens

Chair BPC