Plans to build three houses just outside Barkham have been rejected as being ‘inappropriate’ for countryside land.
Housing developer Davis Planning Ltd wanted to build the three houses on land in between Barkham and Barkham Manor Farm, just off Barkham Road.
Plans admitted the land is in the countryside but said it is ‘clearly not’ isolated as it is near other buildings.
The plans said: “There are numerous dwellings in the near vicinity including those located within the settlement of Barkham to the east together with the apartments located within the Barkham Manor complex to the west. The site is close to a pub, shop with a post office and bus routes.”
But Wokingham Borough Council planning officers didn’t accept this argument. They said the plans were ‘inappropriate unplanned development outside of and unconnected to any development limits within the countryside’.
They added that the new houses would have a ‘negative and detrimental effect’ on the appearance of the countryside.
Planning officers also said the location was not sustainable for housing.
They said: “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, limited public transport links and poor quality of the walking/cycling environment.”
