Land to the West of New Road , Ruscombe, Twyford, Berkshire, RG10 9LN

erection of a two storey building to form a 66 no. bedroom care home for older people with parking, access, landscaping and associated ground works, following demolition of the existing buildings/structures

Authority: Wokingham Borough Council
Appeal type: major · Planning Appeal
Procedure: Written Representations
Development: community-institutional · Major dwellings
Inspector: Burnham T

Main issues, as the Inspector framed them

The effect of the proposal on the character and appearance of the area with particular regard to the effect of the proposal on the street scene

What decided it

The significant harm to character and appearance caused by the building's bulk, mass, height and poor articulation, which conflicts with development plan policies and the National Design Guide, outweighs the benefits of housing delivery and site remediation even in the context of a shortfall in five-year housing land supply.

The significant benefits of housing delivery (37 dwelling equivalents), site remediation and employment creation were outweighed by the substantial harm to character and appearance and conflicts with design policies in the development plan and National Design Guide

Framework references: 11, 139

Plan policies cited: CP1, CP3, Borough Design Guide R7, Borough Design Guide R11

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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