®Planning appeal decision
209-211 West Wycombe Road, High Wycombe , Buckinghamshire , HP12 3AW
Planning appeal 3349125 at 209-211 West Wycombe Road, High Wycombe , Buckinghamshire , HP12 3AW (Buckinghamshire Council - Wycombe Area *) was dismissed on 27 May 2025 by Inspector Shearing C, by written representations. The main issue, as the Inspector framed it: Whether the proposal would be suitably located, having regard to flood risk.
demolition of existing buildings and erection of a single block comprising 10 x 2 and 2 x 1 bed apartments with cycle and bin stores, with associated landscaping, car parking and widening of existing access, without complying with conditions attached to planning permission ref 16/07637/FUL dated 9 March 2018
- Appeal type
- minor · Planning Appeal
- Procedure
- Written Representations
- Development
- residential · Minor Dwellings
- Inspector
- Shearing C
- Postcode
- HP12 3AW
Main issues, as the Inspector framed them
- Whether the proposal would be suitably located, having regard to flood risk
- Effects on biodiversity, with particular regard to the habitats adjacent to the River Wye and whether the proposal would achieve appropriate biodiversity net gain
- The effects of the proposal on the character and appearance of the area
What decided it
The proposal failed to satisfy the sequential test for flood risk as the appellant had not adequately demonstrated that reasonably available sites in areas with lower flood risk did not exist.
The benefits of three new homes, economic benefits from construction and future occupancy, and the reinstatement of the Mill Race were ascribed moderate weight, but were insufficient to outweigh the significant and long-lasting harms arising from flood risk, inadequate biodiversity buffer, and failure to deliver appropriate biodiversity net gain, which conflicted with the development plan and the Framework.
What the Inspector cited
- Development plan policies
- Policy DM39Policy DM15Policy DM11Policy DM13Policy DM34Policy CP10Policy DM14Policy CP9Policy DM35
- National Planning Policy Framework
- Paragraph 11Paragraph 125
- Judgments
- Holborn Studios Ltd v The Council of the London Borough of Hackney [2017] EWHC 2823 (Admin); John Leslie Finney v Welsh Ministers & Carmarthernshire County Council; Energiekontor (UK) Limited; Fiske v Test Valley BC & Woodington Solar Limited
How the Inspector dealt with each one is set out in the app, in order: the development plan, national policy, housing land supply, other considerations and the planning balance, beside the letter.
See how each was appliedThe decision letter
Town Planner Pro holds this letter. The Appeals plan opens it and every other letter we hold, all of them searchable, with the main issues and what decided each case picked out. We do not show letters on the free site because they carry people’s names and addresses.
With an account
What an account adds to this decision
More decisions in Buckinghamshire Council - Wycombe Area
The authority’s record since 2016 · every decision in 2025
- Notice upheld12 June 20263362995165 Amersham Road, High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire, HP13 5AE
- Dismissed11 June 20263377185Land West of Hammersley Lane, Tylers Green, Bucks, HP10 8HF
- Notice varied and upheld1 June 20263356208St Regis Park, Bassetsbury Lane, High Wycombe, HP11 1RB
- Notice upheld19 May 20263366795165 Micklefield Road, High Wycombe, HP13 7HA
- Notice upheld19 May 20263364950Land at Polaris Chartered Certified Accountants (Royal British Legion), Queensmead Road, Loudwater, Buckinghamshire, HP10 9TZ
The main issues, what decided it, the planning balance and the policies and judgments listed as cited are read from the published letter by Town Planner Pro and are our summary, not the Inspector’s words; the letter itself is the record. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Research, not advice.