®Planning appeal decision
Land to the West of New Road , Ruscombe, Twyford, Berkshire, RG10 9LN
Planning appeal 3358120 at Land to the West of New Road , Ruscombe, Twyford, Berkshire, RG10 9LN (Wokingham Borough Council) was dismissed on 20 August 2025 by Inspector Burnham T, by written representations. The main issue, as the Inspector framed it: 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.
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
- Postcode
- RG10 9LN
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
What the Inspector cited
- Development plan policies
- CP1CP3Borough Design Guide R7Borough Design Guide R11
- National Planning Policy Framework
- Paragraph 11Paragraph 139
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
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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.