®Planning appeal decision
Land west of Kingfisher Grove, Three Mile Cross, Reading, Berkshire, RG7 1LZ
an outline planning application for the proposed erection of 49 affordable dwellings, with new publicly accessible open space and access (access to be considered)
- Authority
- Wokingham Borough Council
- Appeal type
- major · Planning Appeal
- Procedure
- Inquiry
- Development
- residential · Major dwellings
- Inspector
- Rollings G
Main issues, as the Inspector framed them
- Whether the proposed development can be safely accommodated with regard to the proximity of the Atomic Weapons Establishment (AWE) site at Burghfield
- The effect of the proposal on the landscape character and appearance of the area
- Whether the proposed development would provide appropriate accessibility for future occupiers
What decided it
The absence of a five-year housing land supply engaged the tilted balance, meaning the significant benefits of the wholly affordable housing scheme outweighed the identified landscape and accessibility harms.
The significant weight given to affordable housing delivery and the NPPF paragraph 11 presumption, together with moderate weight for other benefits, outweighed the significant harm from poor accessibility and moderate harm from landscape impact, such that adverse impacts did not significantly and demonstrably outweigh the benefits when assessed against the Framework as a whole.
Framework references: 11, 57, 64, 95, 180
Plan policies cited: Policy TB04, Policy CP1, Policy CP2, Policy CP3, Policy CP5, Policy CP6, Policy CP7, Policy CP8, Policy CP9, Policy CP11, Policy CP17, Policy CC01, Policy CC02, Policy CC03, Policy TB08, Policy TB21, Neighbourhood Plan Policy 1, Neighbourhood Plan Policy 2, Neighbourhood Plan Policy 4
Judgments cited: Crest Nicholson v West Berkshire Council [2021] EWHC 289 (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.