®Planning appeal decision
West Court Land, Park Lane, Finchampstead, Wokingham, RG40 4QF
Planning appeal 6011060 at West Court Land, Park Lane, Finchampstead, Wokingham, RG40 4QF (Wokingham Borough Council) was dismissed on 2 October 2026, by written representations. The main issue, as the Inspector framed it: The effect of the siting and appearance of the proposal on the character and appearance of the area including its effect on protected trees, and highway safety; and, if any harm would occur, whether this is outweighed by the need for the installation to be sited as proposed taking into account any suitable alternatives.
Installation of replacement electronic communications apparatus comprising slimline lattice mast, 3 no. aerials, 2 no. transmission dishes, 1 no. GPS aerial, radio equipment housing and development ancillary to radio equipment housing
- Authority
- Wokingham Borough Council
- Appeal type
- Planning
- Procedure
- Written
- Development
- telecoms
- Postcode
- RG40 4QF
Main issues, as the Inspector framed them
- The effect of the siting and appearance of the proposal on the character and appearance of the area including its effect on protected trees, and highway safety; and, if any harm would occur, whether this is outweighed by the need for the installation to be sited as proposed taking into account any suitable alternatives
What decided it
The significant adverse impacts on character and appearance, particularly the harm to the SANG's function and the degradation of the protected woodland environment, combined with insufficient evidence that suitable alternative sites had been thoroughly considered, led to the appeal being dismissed.
The substantial weight given to the benefits of maintaining network coverage and the in-principle approval under the GPDO were outweighed by the clear and persuasive evidence of significant adverse impacts on character and appearance, the SANG's strategic ecological function, and protected trees, in the absence of thorough consideration of suitable alternatives.
What the Inspector cited
- Development plan policies
- Policy CP3Policy CP8Policy CP11Policy CC03Policy TB21Saved Policy NRM6
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.