Parish council object to 25 Shanly homes at Fifield Polo Club

Bray Parish Council recommended refusal to a plan for 25 two-storey homes in the greenbelt of Oakley Green last week.

The application by Shanly Homes is for Fifield Polo Club on Oakley Green Road – to demolish existing stables, commercial buildings, and six residential flats and built the homes.

这个计划是四两间卧室的房子,12三个-beds and nine four-bed homes. Eight of these would be affordable.

The proposals are intended to replace ‘unsightly buildings' with a smaller built area, lowering the visual impact on the greenbelt compared to what is currently there.

But two residents spoke against the application at the Monday meeting.

They voiced concerns over the proximity of listed buildings; the possibility of increased surface water incidents in a flood risk zone; and ‘serious concerns’ over plans for sewage management.

Councillors echoed these concerns.

The road ‘floods regularly’ and the cricket ground ‘is often waterlogged, making play impossible,’ they noted.

At such times, the local ditches are ‘completely saturated’ and could not take any additional run-off of flood or surface water from this application site.

The flooding issue in particular ‘could have serious consequences for the cricket club and grade-ll listed Fifield Farm Cottage.’

It has no foundations and ‘is particularly susceptible to any additional flood or surface water’.

Councillors were also concerned about vibrations during the construction ‘which could cause long term harm’ to Farm Cottage.

They felt the application did not meet the ‘very special circumstances’ threshold to justify building on the greenbelt.

They also did not recognise the proposal as ‘infilling’ because the cricket ground next to the application site ‘has no residential component.’

Additionally, the majority of the existing buildings in the area are single storey – and two-storey houses ‘will cause a reduction in the openness of the greenbelt,’ the parish council felt.

As such, councillors voted unanimously against the proposals.

A spokesperson for Shanly Homes said:

“It is disappointing that Bray Parish Council have made a recommendation for refusal for our planning application.

“We accept that in the past the road has been subject to flooding however this was due to the culvert beneath Oakley Green Road being blocked. In recent years the blockage has been cleared and the issue resolved.

“There does remain an old, poorly constructed, culvert between the cricket pitch and the polo club which causes the ‘waterlogging’ of the cricket pitch – our proposals allow for a new ditch which would overcome this issue and prevent future flooding, which is detailed in the flood risk report.

“The ditches on the polo club land are well-maintained and have not been subject to any flooding.

“Whilst the existing site is developed and largely covered with impermeable surfaces which hinder drainage, our planning proposal involves a detailed sustainable drainage strategy including storage to attenuate surface water run-off.

“This will reduce surface water run-off from the site alleviating any flood risk to the local ditches and cricket club.

“Fifield Farm Cottage is situated on higher ground therefore, in addition to the above reduction in surface water run-off, will not be subject to any adverse flood risk or drainage impact.

“Furthermore, the current owners of Fifield House Farm have confirmed that during their 40 years of ownership it has never been subject to flooding.

“We can also confirm that there will be no vibrations during the construction phase that would be within close enough proximity of Fifield Farm Cottage to cause any short or long-term harm.

“Additionally, our sympathetic landscaping plan proposed would greatly enhance the vista around Fifield Farm Cottage, being far more in-keeping than the current car sales business.

“Regarding the ‘very special circumstances’ our proposal is within an area of Previously Developed Land (PDL). Some of the existing buildings may be classified as ‘single storey’ however they are actually very high and by demolishing and replacing them with standard two-storey housing the aesthetic and openness of the area will be vastly improved.”

To see all documents, enter reference 23/01717 in the Windsor and Maidenhead planning portal.