Self-build home plan approved despite concerns it will 'ruin' Holyport

Proposals for a self-build home in Holyport’s greenbelt have been approved, despite a councillor’s concerns that it will ‘ruin’ that part of the village.

The home will be built on greenbelt land near the junction of Holyport Street and Holyport Road, between Green View and Glenside, facing the village green.

Objections were lodged against previous attempts to build two properties on the same site, with the applications ultimately being refused and dismissed at appeal.

A scaled-down plan for one home was also rejected in July last year.

The one-home proposals were resubmitted and went before a Maidenhead development management committee meeting on Thursday (February 26), with councillors backing the proposals.

Seven letters objecting to the plans were received.

Speaking at the Town Hall meeting, Bray Parish Councillor Louvaine Kneen also raised concerns about traffic safety.

Cllr Kneen said: “Since [the last application], traffic, especially HGVs, has dramatically increased in the area, with wildlife from the village pond and local pets run over, accidents, near misses with cyclists and vehicles are regularly occurring.”

Residents have set up a community speed watch for the area around the green to address this, she added.

But Fiona Jones, the applicant’s agent, said concerns about traffic and highway safety are ‘unfounded’, with no objections raised from the highways team.

“Neither the two appealed decisions raised highway concerns, nor have any of the [previous] applications been refused on highway grounds,” she said. 

“This village has had barely any new houses built in the last 40 years and [the proposal] is just going to be providing a really nice family home which is in keeping with the village and would not harm the character or the appearance of the conservation area.”

Planning officers also said that this time around, the public benefits would ‘outweigh the identified harm’, deeming it an ‘appropriate development’ in the greenbelt.

Cllr Kneen recognised that the borough has not met its five-year housing supply target set by the Government.

But she said: “One house – that’s one house – will hardly dramatically reduce this but it will forever impact on Holyport’s conservation area and potentially open the door to further development.”

Councillor Leo Walters (Con, Bray) agreed and said that the home is ‘going to ruin that part of Holyport’.

“Building a house, it’s one house, that’s not going to be a great public benefit and, in any case, it’s not in the Borough Local Plan (BLP) for development. It is greenbelt,” he added.

Cllr Walters put forward a motion to refuse the self-build home and was backed by Cllr Kashmir Singh (Ind, Riverside).

Cllr K Singh asked if the property’s size would be ‘overwhelming’ compared to the other homes around it.

The meeting heard the home would be 212sqm and of ‘modest portions’.

But other councillors thought the home would be ‘an efficient use of land’ with more benefits rather than harms.

Cllr Geoff Hill (Lib Dem, Oldfield) said: “I have to say I quite like it. It is a move forward from the previous design, and the impact is much, much less; it’s significantly less harm, as the officers say.

“To be frank, in this particular spot, there are houses to the right and houses to the left, so I can’t actually see a lot wrong with it.”

Cllr Devon Davies (Lib Dem, Eton and Castle) agreed – and said he considered the home to be a ‘slight gain rather than any harm’ because of the need for more housing in the borough.

A string of 21 conditions must be met, but the self-build home was ultimately approved, with three votes for and two against.