'Harmful' nine-flat plan in Ascot refused by council

'Harmful' plans to build nine new flats in Ascot have been refused by the Royal Borough, with concerns raised the new apartments would lead to overdevelopment.

Developer Woolf Bond Planning wanted to build a two-storey apartment block containing two three-bedroom and five two-bedroom apartments in Brockenhurst Road.

The existing site comprises a residential building with four flats - known as the Frith, with applicants wanting to demolish this structure as part of their plans.

Developers said that the proposed building would be 'articulated in a manner that respects the existing street scene and reflects the local architecture'.

First and second floor apartments would have benefitted from external balconies and ground floor apartments with their own private amenity space.

"This proposal would make the best and most efficient use of the site whilst balancing its impact with the local environment and has been designed to be consistent with the character and appearance of the surrounding residential area," the applicants said. 

However, in a decision notice issued on August 12, Royal Borough planning officers disagreed, fearing 'overdevelopment' should the plans be given the green light.

"The development fails to respect the existing scale and design of existing development within the immediate vicinity and thus would be harmful to the established character of the area," they wrote.

"[It] also fails to respect the site context and extremely low built density character of the area in a wider context. The development would increase the density of the site and lead to an overdevelopment."

They added that there is 'insufficient high quality communal amenity space for future occupants' of the flats, which would be 'shaded by trees' and 'not easily accessible'.

The Royal Borough also said that the plans do not meet its sustainability and climate change targets, while the plans were also objected to by Sunningdale and Ascot Parish Council, which said the proposal was not 'in keeping with the townscape'.

To view the application in more detail, search for reference, search for reference 22/01187/FULL on the council's planning portal.