Headline: Sandford Farm - reasons to be refused
 



Woodley Town Council

The Oakwood Centre

Headley Road

Woodley

Berks. RG5 4JZ

Tel: 0118 969 0356










Jonathan Bishop

Case Officer

PO Box 157

Wokingham Borough Council

Shute End

Wokingham RG40 1WR







Dear Mr Bishop




Planning Application O/2008/1282 – Sandford Farm




Woodley Town Council Plans Committee has resolved to recommend that Planning Application No. O/2008/1282 – Sandford Farm be refused for the following reasons:




Planning Context

The number of dwellings proposed is significantly more and exceeds the number in WDLP policy WH4.

The proposal will emit pollutants into the wider environment contrary to the emerging Local Development Core Strategy CP1.

The residential care home is contrary to policy WH15.

Original permissions for gravel extraction and waste disposal included conditions to return the site to agricultural land.

The site is Greenfield and is recovering and is not a brown field site

There is insufficient information in the application. For example:

regarding contamination – Health risk cannot be assessed;

size of industrial plant carrying out the remediation;

impact of dewatering of the adjacent area (previous applications contained proposals for a low permeability membrane);

serious risk of flooding;

impact on the Landscape Value of the Loddon Valley;

Method Statement - how the quality aspects will be controlled and communicated;

mitigation plans in respect of national and county important fauna, birds and reptiles.

The phased approach is not appropriate. The site should be completely remediated before any residents are allowed to move in. Permission should not be granted for dwellings within 250m of a landfill. There may be little of no commitment to subsequent phases.

The proposed remediation process has not been tried and tested in the UK and the trial results presented in the application were inconclusive.

The potential of a failure of the project would place tremendous strain on Wokingham Borough Council resources in taking over the site.

The outline planning permission for a training centre (Oracle Proposal) has lapsed.

Impact on the environment and bio-diversity is contrary to the emerging Local Development Core Strategy policy CP7.




Access

There is a single access point and an accident at the Mohawk Way roundabout would:

isolate all the houses;

no access for emergency vehicles;

care home would be inaccessible;

no access to public transport.

The site is unsustainable in respect to public transport. There are no guarantees that the proposed bus route extensions, the Readibus arrangements or shuttle bus service would be achieved. Woodley Town Council insist that these must be committed before outline planning permission should even be considered.

The proposal would produce an unsustainable number of cars leaving and returning to Woodley in the peak periods. The model split of traffic movements is very different to the lapsed Oracle Proposal.

Woodley Town Council would recommend that an independent traffic survey be undertaken at an appropriate time.




Scale

No details have been provided about the scale of the Remediation Industrial Plant (size and operation). This industrial facility will be on site for a minimum of two years. The scale and method statements should be included in the outline permission, so that the impact on Environmental Health in relation to noise, vibration and air quality and general exposure to the contamination can be assessed.

The density of development, the height of the properties, the scale and overall character of the proposal represents overdevelopment of the site and is not appropriate in this location on the edge of Woodley.

Some of the proposed properties will be 3½ storeys. Woodley Town Council consider this to be too high for this location.




Conditions

Should Wokingham Borough Council Planning Committee be minded to approve this application Woodley Town Council would recommend the following conditions are included:




1. Resurface Mohawk Way with low noise surface.

2. Improve the exit from the Bader Way to the A329 interchange by the introduction of a second lane for left filter traffic.

3. Introduction of a cycle path to Winnersh Triangle and Woodley Town Centre.

4. Pedestrian crossings on all approaches to Sandford roundabout.

5. Restricted hours of working for the remediation plant.




Yours sincerely













Joy Smith

Senior Committee Officer