RBWM loses appeal against Ascot development

Windsor and Maidenhead council has lost an appeal against a developer wanting to put replace an apartment building with a bigger one in Ascot.

Apricot Properties Ltd applied for permission to demolish Courtleigh Manor House in Lady Margaret Road, Sunningdale.

The site is a 0.24ha site with a 2.5 storey building, Courtleigh Manor, containing five flats. With it is Courtleigh House, a separate two-story family home.

This new apartment block will be three storeys high and will increase the number of flats there to 10.

The existing driveway on Lady Margaret Road will be widened from 4.3m to 4.8m to provide two-way traffic.

It is proposed that the secondary access which currently exists on Charters Road will be closed to vehicles.

The plan includes creating 15 resident parking spaces in a basement car park, with two visitor spaces above ground, making a total of 17 parking spaces.

There were three objection letters from members of the public, one from The Society for the Protection of Ascot & Environs, and one from Sunningdale Parish council.

The general thrust of the objections is that the proposal wouldn’t match the character of the area. Moreover, there were concerns about the increased size of the building.

Sunningdale Parish Council wrote: “It is immediately obvious [from the pictures] that this apartment block completely dominates the street scene.”

The Windsor and Ascot Development Management Committee agreed with this and refused permission, against officer recommendations.

But the decision has been overturned on appeal by planning inspector, E Catcheside.

Though the proposed block would have a larger footprint, extending closer to the boundaries of Lady Margaret Road and Charters Road, given the size of the whole site it would be set back from the road, at a similar depth to nearby buildings.

The inspector thus felt there would be sufficient separation distance between it and neighbours to ensure there is no overlooking or loss of daylight.

Furthermore, the variety of architectural details are based on an ‘Arts and Crafts’ design, which is identified as being ‘a distinctive building style within the Leafy Residential Suburbs townscape type,’ ie, that its character would match the surrounding area.

The inspector was also satisfied that the applicant had addressed another concern, namely that the site’s proximity Thames Basin Heaths Special Protection Area.

Parties have agreed a financial sum towards Suitable Alternative Natural Greenspace and the inspector was ‘satisfied [this] would enable the delivery of mitigation sufficient to address the level of harm likely to be caused.’