A decision is due on a new natural area for a huge park on the outskirts of Bracknell as the plan has been hit by objections and complaints about ‘deforestation’.
Beaufort Park is situated off South Road between Bracknell and Crowthorne.
A controversial plan for 226 homes at Beaufort Park was narrowly approved by councillors in March last year after previous plans were rejected by councillors in 2022 and a government planning inspector in 2023.
As well as homes, the developers, The Hill Group and Southern Housing Group, will provide a nature park, officially known as a suitable area of natural green space (SANG).
A decision on detailed plans for the SANG is set to be made at an upcoming Bracknell Forest Council planning meeting.
According to the council’s adopted Local Plan, the nature park will largely be situated west of the residential development.
It comes amid a clash between two parts of the site: The Evergreens by Taylor Wimpey, where neighbours have moved in, and the larger site possessed by The Hill Group, which has begun work on the site.
The plan for the nature park has been hit with 11 objections from residents of The Evergreens, who have expressed concerns about inadequate buffer zones and the increased environmental pressure of the development.
The neighbours have accused The Hill Group of ‘deforestation’ as preparatory works for the development take place, and a car park of around 24 spaces would attract anti-social behaviour and litter.
Objecting, Kinshuk Rakshith wrote: “I am convinced that the deforestation around the once tranquil Beaufort Park area is reckless and inadequately thought through.
“What the submitted plans are attempting to do is somehow normalise the intense pressure that the 226 additional households will place on an area that is ill-equipped to sustain even a fraction of that number, given the absence of neighbourhood amenities.
“Car parking facilities in an area of relative seclusion encourages unsocial actors and adversely impacts neighbourhood safety, placing demands on policing.
“There is already plenty of space for nature-friendly activity within nearby Buckler’s Park.”
Agreeing, a fellow neighbour Ilhan Oktay Oner wrote: “Building an additional car park at the south of the area will encourage access to the area in addition to local residents, which will result in increased carbon footprint, increased pollution and noise levels and potential anti-social behaviour as observed in the neighbouring Buckler’s Park.”
The detailed plans for the SANG are due to be decided at a planning committee meeting on Thursday, August 14.
You can view the application by typing reference 25/00005/COND into the council’s planning portal.
