Town planners have signaled that enough is enough, and West Berkshire Council is poised to throw out a scheme by legendary local developer Sir John Norgate’s son to flatten two houses and build 14 flats opposite St Bartholomew’s School.

The plans by Mark Norgate’s firm Donnington New Homes go before councillors next week, but officials branded the design “overly fussy” and said it would harm the Victorian character of the area.

Donnington New Homes has developed a taste for snapping up period homes with large gardens, and redeveloping at a higher density, but has succeeded with schemes in Monks Lane, Stuart Road, and further up the Andover Road.

But significantly, the council agreed with Newbury Town Council and more than 1000 local signatures that “the continuing evolution of the Andover Road has been accelerated to an unacceptable degree over recent years, which in turn is diminishing its inherent character to its overall detriment.”