A COUNCIL leader managed to persuade enough councillors to rebel against officer recommendations and approve new homes on greenbelt land.
A slight majority of the Maidenhead development management panel members approved applicant Culden Faw Ltd’s plans to convert the stable barns at Culhams Farm in Black Boy Lane, Hurley, into seven homes and demolish the remaining buildings to erect five detached properties.
The proposal included three two-beds, four three-beds, three four-beds, and two five-bedrooms with 24 car parking spaces and private gardens.
Planning officers urged councillors to refuse the application, believing it will impact the openness of the greenbelt, the lack of sustainable transport, and the lack of a financial legal agreement between the applicant and the council.
But members were split after Royal Borough council leader Andrew Johnson (Con: Hurley & Walthams) and the applicant’s agent urged the panel to approve the scheme.
Speaking at the meeting on Wednesday, November 16, Cllr Johnson said the site is already developed land and there is “very little prospect” of it returning back into active use.
He said: “In my view, this application represents the best practical use for this site and would result in a development that is not only in keeping with the surrounding area but offers a significant visual improvement on what currently exists.”
While not against development at the site in principle, Cllr Geoff Hill (TBFI: Oldfield) felt the homes were “too tall” for the area. “The scheme is a little bit ambitious in terms of height and does represent unnecessarily harm on the greenbelt,” he said.
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Other councillors believed ‘very special circumstances’ that outweigh the harm to the greenbelt do not exist for this proposal.
Members supporting the scheme believe the homes encroaching into the greenbelt will not impinge on the openness of the greenbelt visually as it is already hidden away from view.
Cllr John Baldwin (Lib Dem: Belmont) said: “There has to be a future for this land. We can’t just pretend that there’s going to be some return to some bucolic idyll and its former use will somehow emerge again.
“The owners of rural land should be allowed, within limits, the ability to develop their asset, the same as would be the owners of urban land.
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“It’s clear to me that the argument that the residential development of this area will actually improve the aesthetic is inarguable and, therefore, for me, goes some way to countering the natural and built-in prejudice in developing greenbelt sites.”
Cllrs Mandy Brar (Lib Dem: Cookham & Bisham), Joshua Reynolds (Lib Dem: Furze Platt), Leo Walters (Con: Bray), and Hill voted against approval, while the remaining five councillors voted for.
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