PLANS to build 165 new homes in Little Sandhurst are already facing opposition despite only recently being submitted to the council.

Bloor Homes has been setting out proposals for an “attractive, sustainable neighbourhood complementing Little Sandhurst” with access from Wokingham Road for a number of months.

Almost 200 people attended a public exhibition for the plans in September 2018, where residents gave their thoughts on the plans.

Of 54 comments made at the exhibition, a large number claimed they were against the plans with just a handful supporting the proposal.

One said they were not “not happy at all about the development”, whereas another said they were “wholeheartedly in agreement with this proposal”.

But since the application was validated by Bracknell Forest Council at the end of March, seven objection comments have been received.

A Little Sandhurst resident wrote: “The amount of traffic and speed of the traffic along Wokingham Road is bad enough already. There isn’t room for access into an estate along that stretch of road.

“The local schools are full and it would be nice to retain some green along the road. It will not be an improvement to the local area which gets congested enough. The junction that is already there is dangerous enough as it is without creating more problems.”

A Sandhurst resident added: “The existing road infrastructure and public amenities schools – doctors – dentists cannot cope with this. You are closing the gap between Sandhurst and Crowthorne and current new builds are not selling – road infrastructure will not take another 300+ cars at peak times and there is no public transport nor local shops – this application is ridiculous and the council should not be backing it.

Another Sandhurst resident was concerned about the effect this development could have on green spaces.

They wrote: “This is further abuse of our green spaces which are being eroded by development rather than opened up or left to support our threatened wildlife species. Plenty of empty or unused industrial land that can be used instead. This has to stop, the borough’s green spaces are being destroyed.

Of the 165 homes, 41 are proposed to be affordable, which is a ratio of 24.84 per cent – lower than the council’s required total.

Spanning almost 14 hectares, the site is located with Horseshoe Lake to the west and Ambarrow Farm Courtyard is to the north of the site.

It is east of Sandhurst and approximately 1.4km from Sandhurst town centre.

The housing development’s mission statement read: “The new neighbourhood will provide a strong network of open spaces, Supporting Natural Greenspace and pedestrian links connecting the Ambarrow Court and Hill and Horseshoe Lake SANGs.

“The new neighbourhood will assist in meeting the areas housing need, providing a range of quality new homes and opportunities for sustainable travel and living.”

Details for the homes are currently limited – although the 165 new dwellings are all set to be two-storey or two-and-a-half-storey buildings, it is not yet clear how many bedrooms will be in each home.

Alongside the homes, a new 20 space car park is planned but documents have outlined how cars will be parked off-street and on-street, with some homes having garages but no number given on the total number of spaces available at the development.

A play area consisting of balancing beams, stepping logs, climbing rocks, willow tunnels, timber swings, climbing structures and slides is also planned for an area of natural green space to the west of the proposed residential developments.

The application is pending consideration.