Controversial plans to build new homes in Shinfield have been approved, despite being slammed by residents as ‘cramped and overbearing’. 

Nine letters of objection had been lodged against the application, with neighbours expressing concerns about overdevelopment, the impact on wildlife, loss of privacy and road safety concerns.  

Shinfield Parish Council had also raised concerns about drainage, tree retention, and access to the site should development of the six properties next to Lane End House on Shinfield Road go ahead.

Due to the number of objections, the plan was brought before Wokingham Borough Council’s planning committee yesterday evening, where it was subsequently approved by a majority of councillors. 

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Representative for Shinfield South, Cllr Jim Frewin, had also been asked to bring the application before the committee by Shinfield Parish Council who he said are “extremely frustrated” by Wokingham’s planning approach. 

“This is the fourth application for this site, another example of how developers simply repeatedly apply with the knowledge that finally Wokingham will eventually approve,” he told the committee. 

Cllr Frewin said one parish councillor had asked him what the point of a neighbourhood plan is if they are repeatedly ignored by Wokingham. 

Resident of Bookers Hill, James Potter, called the development “cramped and overbearing”, while suggesting that the “benefit does not outweigh the impact” on the local community, wildlife and character of the area. 

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Wokingham Borough Council’s planning officer responded that the neighbourhood plans are part of the “material planning considerations” and, along with the Adopted Local Plan, act as a “starting point”. 

However, the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) requires the local authority to outline a five-year supply of specific sites to meet housing needs.

As the borough is falling short of this, an application must be balanced against whether any harmful impacts outweigh the benefits. Due to the shortfall, the council’s Local Plan is considered to be out of date and, therefore, holds less weight in this balance.

“It has social, it has economic, it has environmental benefits. It also has aspects of development which are less than desirable, as every development does,” the officer explained. 

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“However, those less than desirable impacts are not in this instance considered significant to outweigh those benefits.” 

Vice chair of the committee, Cllr Andrew Mickleburgh, said he had “considerable sympathy” for people in Shinfield who are affected by the neighbourhood plan, but the committee would ignore the NPPF consideration “at our peril”. 

“If we refuse this application, we would have to demonstrate unequivocally that adverse impacts significantly and demonstrably outweighed potential benefits and I am struggling to see how we can do this,” he added. 

Following approval, the site will see the construction of three four-bedroom and one three-bedroom detached homes, as well as two three-bedroom semi-detached houses – each with private parking and a garden area.