Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council offices (Photo: Sean Dillow) Residents across the borough are preparing to go to the polls in all out borough council elections. Unlike usual elections in Basingstoke, all 60 councillors will be resigning their seats, with most going back to the polls seeking re-election. This is because of a number of changes, which include shifts in the boundaries of the individual wards, and the reduction in the number of councillors from 60 to 54. This will mean familiar faces will be saying goodbye to the council chamber come the first meeting in May. In total, 17 serving councillors have decided to stand down in May, with several decades of experience between them.
A LEADING developer has expressed its disappointment after its much-needed plans for Tadley were refused by the borough council on an issue surrounding affordable housing. McCarthy Stone submitted plans in October 2018 that would see the Reading Warehouses building and 48 New Road, Tadley, redeveloped with 42 one- and two-bedroom retirement living apartments for private sale, together with landscaped gardens and on-site car parking. The plans also included a new retail space, with five affordable apartments above. Reacting to the application’s refusal, the developer’s division managing director said the company is ‘extremely disappointed’ and thinks the decision is ‘irrational’ and indicates a ‘lack of understanding’.