Plans for 55 homes rejected

PLANS for 55 homes on the site of the former Wyevale garden centre near Shiplake have been rejected.

Beechcroft Developments bought the 1.84 hectare site off the A4155 Reading-Henley road in 2021 with outline planning permission for 40 homes.

But it wanted to have more properties with a range of one- and two-bedroom flats and two- and three-bedroom houses.

South Oxfordshire District Council, the planning authority, rejected the application on multiple grounds, including:

• The proposed affordable housing would not meet the needs of the district since it was heavily weighted towards small flats which would not be suitable for families.

• It was impossible to assess whether the development would enhance biodiversity or if any impacts could be avoided or mitigated without an biodiversity assessment.

• The health and longevity of trees protected by a preservation order would be threatened since the drainage of the proposed development would be within their root areas.

• The scale and height of the buildings would result in dense development, which would be harmful to the local landscape and not in keeping with its character.

• The scheme did not incorporate enough quality amenity space and open space for recreation.

• There was not enough evidence to demonstrate that the proposed development would adequately reduce carbon emissions.

• The plans failed to demonstrate an appropriate drainage strategy for the site or to secure the infrastructure necessary to meet the needs of the development.

Harpsden and Shiplake Parish Councils, Henley Town Council, the Chiltern Society, the Henley Society and 74 local residents had objected.

A spokeswoman for Beechcroft Developments said: “As the current reserved matters application for 40 units, which includes 24 private homes and 16 affordable housing units, has not yet been approved, we are unable to confirm which scheme we are likely to build.

“Clearly, if the reserved matters application were to be refused, we would need to decide whether to advance one or both the schemes to appeal.”