®Planning appeal decision
Land Adjacent to Newell Hall , Warfield Street, Warfield, Bracknell, RG42 6BB
outline application for the erection of a 45no. bedroom care home (details of access submitted)
- Authority
- Bracknell Forest Borough Council
- Appeal type
- major · Planning Appeal
- Procedure
- Inquiry
- Development
- community-institutional · Other Major Developments
- Inspector
- Norman R
Main issues, as the Inspector framed them
- The principle of the proposed care home and whether the location is appropriate, with particular regard to the open countryside and need
- The effect of the proposed development on the character and appearance of the surrounding landscape
- Whether the proposed development would preserve or enhance the setting of the nearby listed buildings
- The effect of the development on the woodland and the impact of the loss of the trees both within the site and the adjacent surroundings
What decided it
The combined harms to landscape character, the setting of the listed Newell Hall, and the loss of trees/woodland outweighed the public benefits of the care home in the ordinary planning balance.
The significant weight given to the provision of 45 care home bedspaces and other economic/social benefits did not outweigh the less-than-substantial heritage harm (mid-point), landscape/character harm and loss of trees, so the ordinary balance tipped against the proposal and the tilted balance was not engaged
Framework references: 11, 199, 202
Plan policies cited: Policy EN8, Policy H5, Policy CS2, Policy CS9, Policy CS16, Policy EN1, Policy EN20, Policy CS1, Policy CS7, Policy SA9, Policy CS15
Judgments cited: Bloor Homes v SSCLG [2014] EWHC 754 (Admin); Suffolk Coastal v Hopkins Homes [2017] UKSC 37; Wavendon v SSHCLG [2019] EWHC 1524; Oxton Farm v Harrogate BC [2020] EWCA Civ 805; Peel v SSHCLG [2020] EWCA Civ 1175; Tewkesbury Borough Council v Secretary of State for Communities, Housing and Local Government v R Keene & Sons, Robert Hitchins Limited [2019] EWHC 1775 (Admin); City & Country Bramshill Limited v Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government and Hart District Council and Historic England and The National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty [2021] EWCA Civ 320; British Railways Board v Secretary of State for the Environment; Satnam Millenium Ltd v Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government [2019] EWHC 2631 (Admin)
The main issues and the deciding factor are read from the published letter by Town Planner Pro; the letter itself is the record. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Research, not advice.