Derelict Lock-up Garage Block, Land between 7/8 and 9/10 Tanhouse Lane, Wokingham, RG41 2RL

the construction of 2No. 2 bedroom flats and 2 No. 1 bedroom flats over carports and parking

Authority: Wokingham Borough Council
Appeal type: minor · Planning Appeal
Procedure: Written Representations
Development: residential · Minor Dwellings
Inspector: Ellis G

Main issues, as the Inspector framed them

the effect of the development on the character and appearance of the area
the effect of the development on flood risk
the effect of the development on protected species and biodiversity

What decided it

The failure to satisfy the sequential test for flood risk, combined with unresolved impacts on character and appearance and protected species, meant the proposal could not be considered sustainable development and did not accord with the development plan.

The benefits of brownfield reuse and housing contribution were outweighed by the harm to character and appearance, the failure to satisfy the sequential flood risk test, and unresolved biodiversity impacts; the tilted balance did not apply due to footnote 7 of paragraph 11 of the Framework.

Framework references: 11, 124, 168, 173

Plan policies cited: CP1, CP3, CP7, CC01, CC09, CC10, CC03, TB23

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.

The judgement stays yours. The tool gathers the material and dates it.