Issue - meetings

Recommendation: Conditional approval

Proposal: Full application for the proposed erection of 3No business units within the business park with additional vehicle parking and ancillary works.

Applicant: Winkworth

The Committee considered a report about this application, set out in agenda pages 309 to 344.

The Committee were advised that updates contained within the Supplementary Planning Agenda included clarification that the application had been listed by Councillor Stuart Munro due to the impact of the development on the countryside and the increased level of activity on the site having further adverse effects on traffic levels and highway safety.

Ian Fullerton, Swallowfield Parish Council, spoke in objection to the application. Ian stated that there had been an increase in intensity on the site over the past years, and whilst the Parish Council supports the applicants contribution to the rural economy and local employment, there comes a point when the growing intensity of this otherwise beneficial development became unsustainable for the local community whilst being a threat to the safety of neighbouring residents. The Parish Council’s primary concern related to the proximity of the site to Lamb’s Lane Primary School, which was situated a short distance from the entry to the site. The school felt that existing traffic levels were already excessive, and there was already anxiety amongst parents with regards to the risks to their children. Ian stated that the school operated from the morning till early evening, and the catchment area for the school meant that many pupils and parents used pavements immediately opposite the site entrance to walk children to and from school. In addition, there were two houses directly opposite the site entrance which had been misrepresented within the original application. With the risk of accident a real possibility, the Parish Council felt that traffic levels needed to be reduced on Back Lane, and not increased even marginally. Ian queried when incremental growth of the site would end, and stated that the Parish Council strongly opposed the application.

Roderic Vaughan, resident, spoke in objection to the application. Roderic stated that the business park was established in 1998, and 35 subsequent planning applications had since been submitted. Over this time, the site had expanded by eight-hundred percent from 0.5 hectares to 8 hectares, with the site operating 24/7 and 365 days per year. Roderic added that the entrance to the business park was situated just 50m from the junction on Back Lane and a similar distance to Lambs Lane primary school, with two residential properties located directly opposite the site entrance which had been ignored in this planning application. The business park was located within the rural parish of Swallowfield and was not located within a designated area for major development. Roderic stated that expansion in this sensitive area had continued despite Wokingham Borough Council (WBC) stating in 2012 that there was only scope for limited further development. In 2016 it was stated that development was fully developed when a proposal to build towards Lambs Lane to the west was refused at appeal. Roderic  ...  view the full minutes text for item 15