We are pleased to announce that Croudace Homes Ltd have recently been granted
consent, at appeal, for a detailed planning application for 81 dwellings (including 40%
affordable homes), open space, sustainable drainage system, landscaping and biodiversity
enhancement at land west of Trowes Lane and north of Charlton Lane, Swallowfield.
The planning application had been recommended for approval by Wokingham Council’s
Planning Officer but unfortunately Members chose to go against that advice and refused the
application.
The development had been laid out in a sensitive way and responded to the settlement
pattern of the village and the wider countryside in an entirely appropriate manner. The
design of the new homes also reflected the vernacular of the village and provided a range of
properties from 1 bedroom apartments to 4 bedroom houses.
The Planning Inspector acknowledged that the effect on the landscape would be largely
confined to the site itself and that the containment provided by the boundary vegetation and
neighbouring woodland would largely screen the development in views from the wider
landscape. He concluded that ‘the impact on the character and appearance of the
countryside outside the immediate southern environs of the village would therefore be
minimal’.
CSA provided landscape and ecological advice on the planning application and were able to
demonstrate that the development would result in a biodiversity net gain on the site, greater
than that required by policy. We also provided an expert witness at the Public Inquiry who
gave evidence on the predicted landscape effects and the impact on the character of the
village. Ecology was not contested.