Council again blocks plans to turn chicken shelters into yoga studios

The Royal Borough has blocked a set of plans to turn two agricultural outbuildings at a farm in Cookham into indoor recreation studios.

Jerome Challen, director of Challen’s Chicks Farm, was looking to convert the buildings in Winter Hill Road, used as chicken shelters, into a studio for yoga, Pilates and tai chi classes.

Similar proposals for converting the space into flexible commercial use were submitted to the council in 2023 and in July 2025.

The local authority refused both applications, saying there was limited information provided to show that increased vehicle movements generated by the classes would not affect highway safety.

Planning officers also raised concerns about the ‘unacceptable’ risk of surface water flooding.

In another attempt to get planning permission, Mr Challen submitted a revised application in November 2025 addressing the council’s previous concerns.

The cover letter submitted by representatives ET Planning stressed that the site is in flood zone 1 – the lowest flood zone risk area – with drainage design details also included as part of the plans.

A new hardstanding area to the east of the buildings will also be built featuring 12 parking spaces, as well as EV charging points and covered cycle parking.

This led one resident to object, saying cycling in the dark around Cookham Dean’s narrow roads is ‘dangerous’.

Another resident raised concerns over the lack of lighting on Winter Hill Road and the access road, feeling this made traffic confrontations ‘highly likely’.

However, the application's cover letter said there have been 'no recorded collisions' in the last five years at either access to the site, nearby the National Trust car park, or Winter Hill Road and Choke Lane.

Thus, there are no ‘existing safety deficiencies’, the letter said.

On the matter of parking, the application says that classes would be between 7am and 8pm from Monday to Friday, and 9am to 4pm on weekends.

A 15-minute break between each class would ensure participants can leave and free up the parking spaces, which should address highway safety concerns, according to the applicant.

Moreover, there would be no more than three weekday classes and one weekend class lasting between one and 1.5 hours – reducing traffic movements to the site.

Nonetheless, the Cookham Society objected to the scheme, as they felt that customers arriving and leaving would create a ‘significant amount of noise and disturbance’ for neighbours.

One resident agreed, saying noise from classes would be ‘unneighbourly’ and ‘pollute the peace and tranquillity’ between neighbours.

Ultimately, the council rejected the application again – though not for these reasons. Instead, their reasons were much the same as last time.

Planning officers said that the addition of a hardstanding parking area goes beyond what is allowed under Permitted Development Rights (PDRs), which only allow the applicant to carry out interior changes without going through the full planning process.

They also remained unsatisfied that the change would not create an ‘unacceptable’ surface water flood risk, without enough information on appropriate ways to control this.

To view the full plans, search for 25/02897 on the council’s planning portal at publicaccess.rbwm.gov.uk