Unpopular Shanly flats plan next to Strande Park up for decision

A plan for 20 homes on land next to the troubled mobile park home site, Strande Park, is set to be decided next week.

In a major meeting for Cookham this year, these plans by Shanly Homes will be decided at an RBWM Maidenhead development panel next Thursday – alongside the 200-home plan for Lower Mount Farm/Cannondown Lane.

The application site comprises an allocated site (AL38) for housing under the adopted Borough Local Plan (BLP).

Officers have recommended the plans for approval, much against the wishes of Strande Park neighbours, who have long felt the plans threatened their safety and chipped away at their amenities.

When proposals were first mooted, Strande Park residents – many of whom are older or disabled – said that historical flooding proved there were no safe evacuation routes, likely to be exacerbated by further development in the area.

Plans for the Shanly development also threatened their visitor parking and access to Strande Park's recreational spaces, they felt.

The proposals were entered first in 2022 and in the face of strong community objections, revised plans in June this year (22/00343/OUT).

Changes included the reduction of 25 homes down to 20, plans for a larger area of public open space and changes to the roads within and accessing the site.

A whopping 175 members of the public objected to this application.

Prior fears were reiterated – as well as concerns over the existing drainage and sewage systems, exacerbating flood risks.

Residents have long been stressing that these are at capacity, with frequent pump failures at the Lightlands Lane pumping station.

They also raised strong concerns over the roads; Lightlands Lane, Bass Mead, and Strande Lane are narrow, with limited passing space, blind corners, and heavy use by pedestrians, cyclists and horse riders, residents wrote.

Flood concerns have been constant since day one – but officers said a more detailed risk assessment deems a lower risk than previously thought, one council officers deem acceptable.

Overall, the planning team believe the harm generated by the proposal ‘does not significantly outweigh the benefits.’

In its favour is the delivery of eight affordable housing units, given ‘significant weight’.

Also, the overall provision of 20 homes is ‘important’ for RBWM’s efforts to achieve a five-year land supply – ie, space for enough homes to meet its housing targets.

If RBWM cannot do so it is vulnerable at appeal. Should a developer challenge any rejection, the inspector will take seriously the fact the RBWM is not meeting its targets.

Appeals can be costly and are best avoided – so RBWM's justification for refusal must be sound.

"The splitting of the host site from the Park Home is unfortunate to the Park home users. However, no breach of planning law has taken place,” officers wrote.

"Officers have sympathy with the concerns raised about residential amenity and appearance of the application site... [but] this does not comprise a satisfactory reason to withhold permission."

Cookham Parish Council is against this application and intends to object ‘very strongly’ at the meeting next Thursday, December 19 – especially regarding ‘major concern’ over flooding.