Plans for up to 111 new homes in Arborfield have been refused by Wokingham borough council.
Agents for property developers Dandara Southern and Elstree Land had applied for outline permission for the land north of Reading Road
In its application it noted that only the principle of development, and the means of access from Reading Road were to be determined.
Appearance, landscaping, layout and scale were reserved for subsequent determination.
In refusing the application last week, council officers noted the location of this unplanned development on a greenfield site in the countryside is unacceptable in principle due to the countryside location outside of settlement boundaries.
“It’s appreciable detachment from any recognised settlement limits, and the resulting quantum of development that would be substantially out of scale with the immediate locality.
“The proposed location and quantum of development would result in a development with a scale, character and density that is out of keeping with character and appearance of the area and countryside, resulting in a harmful detrimental impact on
the locality.
“The proposed development will have a detrimental impact on the landscape and character and appearance of the area by reason of the loss of fields, paddocks and green infrastructure in the countryside, and the erection of a large housing development that is out of keeping with the locality.
“The application site is within an unsustainable location that would not encourage a modal shift towards sustainable modes of transport, by reason of the countryside location outside of settlement limits, distances to facilities and services and poor quality of the local walking environment.”
It also noted the absence of adequate provision for affordable housing, adequate contributions to develop local employment skills, and contributions to sport and recreational facilities.
During the consultation period, Arborfield and Newland parish council strongly objected to the application.
It said: “The application is a speculative proposed development out of keeping with the locality and development of a greenfield site outside the settlement boundary.
“The development offers nothing in the way of additional infrastructure or benefit to the local community and brings additional issues to the village locality with respect to traffic volumes and stresses on current services.
“This planning application tries to circumvent, through timing, the implementation of the new Local Plan Update which is currently in process.”
A significant number of local residents also objected to the plans.
