Council reject ‘cramped and harmful’ home plan at pumping station

The three-bed house proposal to replace the pumping station by 20 Chazey Road, in Caversham, were rejected on Friday, January 29.

Reading Borough Council (RBC) planning officers said the new site would be “overdeveloped and would appear harmful to the character of the surrounding area”.

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Officers said: “Due to the small size of the site, it is considered that the proposed house would appear cramped within the plot and would have an uncharacteristic relationship with the existing built form and spaces within Chazey Road.

They added that the design “does not make a positive contribution to the character of the area as it fails to integrate with the adjacent dwellings”.

The northern and eastern boundaries of the site adjoins woodland, which has some protection in the council’s planning laws.

PICTURED: The site by woodland

Officers said the proposed house would cut into the area of woodland where it adjoins Chazey Road, potentially undermining the integrity of the woodland in a way that the small sub-station building does not.

They said the new house would obscure and interrupt views of the woodland when viewed from the street.

The Warren and District Residents Association (WADRA) strongly objected to the plans.

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Alistair McLean, a committee member of WADRA, said: “The proposed dwelling is not in keeping with the other established properties in this locality and is therefore aesthetically unacceptable

“The proposed building line is in front of the adjacent property and much closer to Chazey Road.

“This location is subject to periodical flooding and as the proposal includes a lower ground floor, is likely to be affected by such flooding.

“The plot size is too small for a three-bedroom, three-bathroom dwelling.

“WADRA therefore consider this application should be refused in its entirety.”