'It will RUIN our green space' Villagers hit out at proposed warehouse plans

Residents of Theale have spoken out against a new planning application which looks to build two new warehouse units in their village.

Tom Pritchard, who has lived in the area for four years, said that many of his neighbours are on the same page - they do not want the warehouses to be built.

The planning application was put in last February for the piece of land between Bath Road and Theale High Street.

"People have been trying to develop this area for a few years," Mr Pritchard said. "It came to our attention as residents as the company involved was actually advertising the unit space before the planning application had been approved."

The application has still not been approved and the developers are going through consultations.

They recently updated their application with a number of new elements, and in the process allegedly missed most of the concerns from residents.

"We all had a lot of objections," Mr Pritchard said. "Most of them were concerns of traffic, loss of green space, privacy and losing the feel of the village."

The updated application claims that few residential properties overlook the site and that there is enough greenery to block it from view.

Mr Pritchard refutes this entirely, stating that the claims are untrue especially with regard to the greenery which will disappear in the winter.

"They also talk about a power pylon there and that the visual and scene quality of the site is not high, and won't interfere with the look of Theale. That is ridiculous," he continued.

The developer of the site is a company called Panattoni UK Developments Ltd who have outlined how the site is in close proximity to Junction 12 of the M4 motorway, and given the site’s accessibility, is an attractive location for logistics operators.

They also have stated that as a part of the detailed design process careful consideration will be given to providing a high quality design and appearance of the new buildings for the elevations fronting High Street, and the corner of Hoad Way.

"Most of us as residents are concerned about the traffic on the roundabout between Arlington business park and the M4 Junction 12," Mr Pritchard said.

"It's already incredibly congested as it is in rush hour. No body wants to lose the green space, and there are a bunch of similar units down by Theale train station which are sitting empty. Why can't they just use them?"

The agent for this application has been contacted for a comment, this article will be updated as soon as they respond.