Silver Birches, Highlands Avenue, Barkham, RG41 4SP

change of use from residential curtilage to parking for A1 recycling centre

Authority: Wokingham Borough Council
Appeal type: minor · Planning Appeal
Procedure: Written Representations
Development: employment-industrial · Change of use
Inspector: Tucker A

Main issues, as the Inspector framed them

Whether the site is suitably located for the development with regard to local planning policy
Its effect on the character and appearance of the area
Its effect on the living conditions of the occupiers of the dwelling known as Silver Birches

What decided it

The established presence of the recycling business as an important local facility, combined with the modest and visually contained nature of the parking extension, outweighed policy conflicts and justified allowing the appeal subject to protective conditions.

Plan policies cited: Policy CP1, Policy CP3, Policy CP6, Policy CP11, Policy CC01, Policy CC02, Policy TB06, Policy TB21, NR10, NR11, NR20, R15

Read the decision letter on the Inspectorate’s site

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What an account adds

Draw a red line around your site and the appraisal follows.
- Heritage. Listed buildings by grade and distance, conservation areas, scheduled monuments, registered parks and gardens, heritage at risk.
- Landscape and environment. Green belt, national parks and national landscapes, SSSIs, ancient woodland, SPA, SAC and Ramsar sites, nutrient catchments.
- Flooding. Flood zones 2 and 3, surface water, and both again with climate change.
- Transport. The 800 metre station catchment and service frequency, bus stops with their weekday frequency, the cycle network, and the Framework’s transport tests measured for the site.
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