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A decision has been made on a controversial project to build 75 homes on the outskirts of a village in Berkshire.
Charvil is a commuter village situated along the A4 between Maidenhead and Reading, with housing extended north and south of the road.
Housebuilders have plans to expand the village, which comes under Wokingham Borough Council’s jurisdiction.
A plan surfaced a few years ago to build 75 homes near a new development called Canberra Lake Way and opposite The Charvil Piggott Primary School.
Outline plans submitted by Hicks Developments were approved in December 2024.
The site was subsequently sold to the developer Bellway Homes, which submitted detailed plans to move the project forward a year later.
But neighbours submitted 197 objections to those plans, particularly regarding the lack of a proper buffer zone for homes in Canberra Lake Way, the density of the housing, and claims that the plans failed to provide better infrastructure, specifically footpath and cycle routes for future occupants.
Councillor Leon Cook (Conservative, Thames) therefore asked for the detailed plans to be decided at a Wokingham Borough Council planning committee meeting, which took place on August 12.
The meeting featured several public speakers.
Representing Charvil Parish Council, Alan Simpson suggested that the development to be redesigned to take neighbours’ concerns into account.
He said: “In five years’ time, residents won’t remember this debate, they will just know whether they can walk their children to school safely, whether teenagers have somewhere to be have somewhere to go and be social and active and whether they can enjoy safe walking and cycling.”
Speaking afterwards, Mike Cordric argued that the new homes were being positioned too close to those in Canberra Lake Way, urging the committee to delay its decision.
He said: “Bellway deliver maximum profit for their shareholders by constantly pushing the boundary of what you’ll let them get away with.
“Push back against their excesses.”
An agent from Imperium planning argued a series of adjustments in negotiation with neighbours to answer their concerns.
It was mentioned that residents in Canberra Lake Way were promised a buffer between their homes and the new development at the outline planning stage, which some argued had been forfeited in the detailed application.
Cllr Wayne Smith (Conservative, Thames) said: “I can understand for those people at Canberra Lake Way this must be very, very, very difficult because they bought something and now it’s turning out to be a nightmare.”
Planning officer Kieran Neumann stated Bellway Homes had worked with the officers to mitigate the impacts, and that it is preferable for new developments to be close to those that already exist.
He also recommended the plan for approval as it would provide 40 per cent affordable housing.
Of those, 10 two-bed, 12 three-bed, six four-bed and two five-bed houses will all be made affordable, with 21 of these being available at social rent levels, seven designated as ‘First Homes’, with two being shared ownership.
The remaining 26 four-bedroom and 19 five-bedroom houses will be sold at market rate.
Ultimately, the detailed scheme was approved with two councillors abstaining from the vote.
You can view the application by typing reference 253071 into the council’s planning portal.
