Wokingham borough council’s record on losing planning appeals has been revealed, with hundreds of homes being approved after initially being refused.
Those who submit planning applications are allowed to appeal against the decision of a council to the planning inspectorate within the ministry of housing, communities and local government.
According to a recent report, most of the appeals for major applications submitted to Wokingham Borough Council have been allowed.
Of the seven major applications that have been appealed, five have been allowed by a government-appointed planning inspector.
The largest recent example was the approval on appeal of an outline application by David Wilson Homes for 230 homes north of Bath Road in Twyford.
Housebuilder Taylor Wimpey also won its appeal for an outline plan to build 234 homes near the Oak Tree School in Winnersh, while housebuilder Boyer won its appeal to build 81 homes in Swallowfield, and Helmsley Land won its appeal for 23 homes and a new car parking for St Nicholas Primary School in Hurst.
A plan to replace the Oak Dale house in Crowthorne with a 60-bed Barchester care home was also allowed.
The two appeals the council won were for a detailed application for a project to build 32 homes to the rear of 240 Nine Mile Ride in Finchampstead, and a plan for two new buildings for a forestry business in Swallowfield.
The results of these appeals feature in a report on major appeal decisions submitted to the borough council. The record covers the assessment period from July 1, 2022, to June 30, 2024, a two-year period, allowing for appeals decided up to March 31 of this year. Of those, 76 major applications submitted during that period, five had appeals allowed, amounting to 6.5% of those plans.
The report was written by Brian Conlon, the council’s operational lead development manager, who presented it to the council’s planning committee. He pointed out that there are pending appeals to be decided that may change the council’s performance record.
Mr Conlon said: “There are a number of major appeals in the pipeline, the decisions are due to be received by the planning inspectorate, so that 6.5% could increase or decrease.”
No members chose to comment on the report at the meeting on Wednesday, May 16.
Two pending appeals are due to be determined. These are the Berkeley Strategic Land plan for up to 350 homes, a care home and open green space in Barkham (222306) and an environmental impact assessment application for 148 homes in Three Mile Cross (233038).
The most recent planning inspectorate decision was the dismissal of an appeal to redevelop Ashdown Farm in Hurst (241617), which was decided on April 22.
