Land to the rear of The Hollies Nursing Home, Reading Road, Burghfield Common, RG7 3LZ

the erection of 32 dwellings including affordable housing, parking and landscaping, with access via Regis Manor Road

Authority: West Berkshire District Council
Appeal type: major · Planning Appeal
Procedure: Inquiry
Development: residential · Major dwellings
Inspector: Cridland R

Main issues, as the Inspector framed them

the effect of the proposed development on the safety and wellbeing of future residents of the proposed development, and the wider public, with regard to the proximity of the Atomic Weapons Establishment site at Burghfield (AWE B)
the effect of the proposed development on the future capability and capacity of AWE B to operate effectively

What decided it

The site's allocation for housing in the adopted development plan, combined with the very limited and remote likelihood of harm to AWE B's operational capability, outweighed the identified conflicts with the development plan and the Framework.

The benefits of housing delivery (including affordable housing) and the site's plan-led allocation outweighed the very limited harm to AWE B's operational capability and the localised harm to character and appearance from tree loss.

Framework references: 101, 97, 193, 226, 11, 57

Plan policies cited: ADPP1, ADPP6, CS6, CS8, CS14, CS18, CS19, HSA16, SP4

Read the decision letter on the Inspectorate’s site

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.

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.

Then the development plan position, the housing land supply as an Inspector last accepted it, and every appeal decided around the site with its letter.

Every English appeal since 2016, with the letter behind it wherever the Inspectorate published one. Searched by meaning as well as by words, with the key case law counted live across the letters.

Casework that chases the deadlines. Applications, appeals and conditions with their statutory dates.

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