®Planning appeal decision
Land Adjacent to Blagrove Lane, Wokingham , RG41 4AX
an outline application, with all matters reserved except for access, for the proposed erection of up to 350 dwellings (Use Class C3) and care home (Use Class C2), with new accesses onto Barkham Road and Blagrove Lane, landscaping and onsite SANG, following demolition of outbuildings and agricultural buildings
- Authority
- Wokingham Borough Council
- Appeal type
- major · Planning Appeal
- Procedure
- Inquiry
- Development
- residential · Major dwellings
- Inspector
- McGlone A
Main issues, as the Inspector framed them
- whether the proposal would accord with the spatial strategy in the development plan
- whether the proposed development would cause the coalescence of Wokingham and Barkham
- the effect of the proposed development on the character and appearance of the area, including on the surrounding landscape and Bottle Copse Local Wildlife Site
- the effect of the proposed development on the Thames Basin Heath Special Protection Area
- whether the proposed development would make adequate provision for affordable housing, the care home, on and off-site highway works, sustainable travel infrastructure, public open space and allotment facilities, local employment skills, and the NHS
What decided it
The severe five-year housing land supply shortfall (1.7 years) meant the most important development plan policies were out of date, and the substantial weight attached to the resulting market and affordable housing benefits outweighed the identified moderate/significant harms.
The moderate harm to the spatial strategy and character/appearance, the significant harm from coalescence and loss of green infrastructure, and the less than substantial (low end) heritage harm were outweighed by the substantial weight given to market and affordable housing delivery, the care home, economic benefits and biodiversity net gain, such that the adverse impacts did not significantly and demonstrably outweigh the benefits.
Framework references: 135, 187, 193, 139, 110, 58, 182
Plan policies cited: CS Policy CP17, MDD Policy CC02, CS Policy CP11, CS Policy CP9, MDD Policy TB21, MDD Policy CC03, CS Policy CP1, CS Policy CP3, CS Policy CP5, CS Policy CP2, CS Policy CP6, CS Policy CP7, CS Policy CP8, CS Policy CP10, CS Policy CP21, MDD Policy TB5, MDD Policy TB8, MDD Policy TB12, MDD Policy TB23, MDD Policy TB24, MDD Policy CC01, saved SEP Policy NRM6
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.