A DISUSED garden centre could make way for more than a dozen new homes in Binfield after a controversial previous proposal was thrown out.
Developers have submitted plans to build 20 houses at the site of the former Wyevale Garden Centre on Forest Road, just off Tilehurst Lane.
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Few details about the application exist currently, but this comes after Bracknell Forest Council (BFC) planning bosses chucked out an unpopular plan for 29 homes on the same land in May 2019.
(Picture above: designs for the previous application)
More than 240 locals objected to the original housing plans but so far only one resident has voiced their concern about the new designs.
The Binfield resident commented: “To build along the whole of Tilehurst Lane with little consideration for village boundaries and [the] green belt, plus the growing danger of flooding, there must be a line drawn -- or is there a plan to create the "city of Bracknell"?
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“Seriously, given the amount of flooding across the county this year and the growing recognition for the need [of] "green" water soak-away land, and the proximity to the small river, this must be turned down.”
BFC bosses turned down the 29-homes plan because they feared the development would harm the countryside, they had concerns about the lack of a plan to stop flooding, and because they worried there would an ‘unacceptable’ increase of pressure on local facilities.
Applicant Spitfire Bespoke Homes appealed BFC’s refusal of the original application at the start of the year.
The Planning Inspectorate has not yet made a decision on the appeal.
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Despite this, Spitfire has lodged a new proposal for fewer houses.
An agent for the developers commented on the new plans: “This is the redevelopment of a vacant brownfield site in a sustainable location at a relatively low density and what is proposed will be a significant improvement on what is currently on site.
“The physical access arrangements are already in place with a right turn lane and traffic generation will be less for the proposed scheme than for when the garden centre was in use.”
A decision on the new plans is pending.
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