Care home planning appeal in Wokingham
May 3, 2023
Anne Williams and Douglas Scott appeared for Wokingham Borough Council in a two-day planning appeal (2 and 3 May 2023), whereby the appellant sought permission to construct an 80-bed dementia care home. Neil Cameron K.C. acted for the appellant.
The appeal concerned three primary issues – the effect of the proposed development on: 1) the character of the surrounding area; 2) climate change and sustainability; and 3) trees and the immediate landscape. In addition, the recent appeal decision of Hurst (APP/X0360/W/22/3309202) on “the bigger picture” of past oversupply was considered.
On the first issue, the Council’s position was that the proposed development would be an incongruous and monolithic addition to an area characterised by its openness. On the second issue, the Council maintained that the proposed scheme’s plan to build a basement on site would cause unnecessary greenhouse gas emissions, primarily owing to excessive vehicle movements. In relation to the third issue, the Council submitted that the proposed development negatively impacted on the immediate landscape of the area and would result in the inappropriate removal of trees inside a Woodland TPO.
Appeal number: APP/X0360/W/22/3313232.
