RBWM council wins battle against homes beside ‘iconic’ Holyport landmark

Plans for two homes on a greenbelt paddock in a conservation area next to Holyport Village Green have been thrown out by a planning inspector.

The pair of three-bedroom semi-detached homes, proposed by Neil Burgess, would have been built in Holyport Street and next to the village war memorial.

They would also lie within the Holyport Conservation Area, a boundary that exists to protect the character of the village and restricts development in and around it.

In his decision notice, planning inspector J J Evans ruled that the homes would cause ‘substantial harm’ to the character and appearance of the conservation area.

The Royal Borough refused Mr Burgess’ application in 2023, considering the homes to be inappropriate development within Holyport Conservation Area and the greenbelt.

Bray Parish Council also objected to the plans, fearing harm to the conservation area and the setting of non-designated heritage assets (NHDAs) in the area.

NHDAs within the conservation area boundary include the village war memorial and a red telephone box by the green.

Mr Burgess, however, appealed the decision to the Planning Inspectorate – a Government authority that resolves planning disputes.

An appeal statement in favour of the homes said the design was ‘sympathetic’ and ‘very much in keeping with those [properties] immediately adjacent’.

It said the horse paddock was in a ‘poor’ condition, of ‘low’ significance, and the homes would have no ‘adverse impact on the character of the locality’.

Considering the appeal, Mr Evans said ‘the scale and extent of the development, in the context of the greenbelt, would be limited’.

However, in the context of the conservation area, Mr Evans viewed the homes would be detrimental.

“The green is a social and community hub to the village, as denoted by the high-quality nature of the buildings around it,” he said.

“The cluster of the village pond, the phone box and the war memorial reflects the social and functional community importance of the green within the village.”

He said the ‘iconic red cast iron’ phone box and war memorial, ‘despite their modest form’, create an ‘attractive functional social point’.

In his decision notice, Mr Evans said the plan would cause ‘substantial harm to the character and appearance of the area [and] to the conservation area’.

He added there would be ‘modest harm’ to the designated heritage assets of the phone box and the war memorial’.

Mr Evans did consider the ‘modest benefits’ in favour of the plans which included the delivery of new homes towards RBWM’s housing shortfall and the economic benefits of the construction.

But he added, ‘nevertheless, these modest benefits neither individually nor cumulatively would outweigh the substantial harm to the character and appearance of the area’.

These harms, he said, gave ‘a strong reason for refusing the scheme’.

Mr Evans also ruled against a bid for the Royal Borough to pay Mr Burgess’ legal costs for the appeal, finding the council had not been ‘unreasonable’ in its refusal.