New plans for block of flats drawn up

NEW plans for a block of five flats in Henley have been drawn up.

Ray Hudson already has planning permission for a three-bedroom house on land in Harcourt Close.

But in June South Oxfordshire District Council, the planning authority, refused him permission for a three-storey block with five flats.

The application had been recommended for approval by council officers but residents and town councillors spoke against it.

Stefan Gawrysiak, who is a town and district councillor, said the block would be “gross overdevelopment” of the site.

The Henley Society, a conservation body, said it would be out of character with the area.

The council’s decision notice said the occupiers of the flats would suffer a “substandard quality of living environment” due to the lack of “private outdoor amenity space” and shading of both internal and external living spaces.

In his latest application, Mr Hudson says he sought professional advice and was advised that there was “a strong likelihood” that he would win an appeal but he wanted to agree a development that the council would support.

He has reduced the size of the flats and the overall footprint of the building. There would be one three-bedroom flat, three two-bedroom flats and one one-bedroom flat. The previous application proposed two flats with three bedrooms and two with two bedrooms as well as the solo.

The building would still be across three levels in an
L-shape but has been moved further away from the rear boundary with homes in Deanfield Road.

The application says this is to allow access to a communal outdoor space, which was not part of the previous proposals.

A planning statement, submitted by AM2 Planning of Wargrave, says: “While the scale of the proposed development might be greater than that of the existing dwellings in Harcourt Close, this does not detract from the character of the area.

“Some councillors and neighbours commented that apartments in this location were inappropriate because there are no others nearby.

“While such an objection is not considered to be justified, it is also not correct. There are examples of apartments having been introduced within properties in Haywards Close and Deanfield Road.

“While it is recognised that the site lies within a residential area, to suggest that any future development needs to be of a specific type of residential property is neither justified nor required.”

The statement says the flats would be in keeping with the character of the area and would provide flats that were needed.

Permission for the three-bedroom house was received in 2012. In 2019, Mr Hudson sought pre-application advice for six flats in September 2019 and the district council said that would be overdevelopment.

A public consultation on the latest application runs until September 30 and the council is due to make a decision by October 29.