Villagers angry as plan for 79 new homes is approved
White Waltham: Residents voice strong opposition to 79-home plan
Controversial plans to build 79 homes on a former RAF barracks in White Waltham are one step closer to fruition after outline planning permission was granted by councillors.
At a Royal Borough Development Management Panel held on Zoom on Wednesday, November 18, councillors voted to approve outline plans to build 79 two, three, four and five-bedroom houses on Grove Park Industrial Estate, in Waltham Road.
The application sought to demolish the majority of buildings on the site, many of which are home to small and mediumsized businesses, leaving only three offices standing. The plans also include building a new nursery to replace the one that is already on the site, and four affordable homes.
Councillors approved the outline application but a further planning application will have to be submitted to determine the appearance of the site.
The plans have received
strong opposition from residents from the White Waltham area, as well as the parish council. In total, 131 letters of objection were sent to the Royal Borough regarding the application.
Some of the major concerns included the loss of businesses and overdevelopment of a site in the greenbelt.
Speaking at the meeting, Charles Donald, representing the White Waltham Village Association, took issue with how the application had been brought to panel at short notice.
He said: “We only received notice of this meeting on Tuesday, November 10, just seven days ago.
“We believe calling this meeting at such short notice, when England is locked down for COVID19, is inconsistent with the high standards of democratic process that we are sure you’d wish to demonstrate.
“The village association does not object to some houses being built on this site, but it objects to the proposed density within the greenbelt.”
Councillors on the panel spoke in favour of the plans.
Councillor Geoff Hill (TBF, Oldfield) said: “The thing I like the most about this, particularly post-COVID, is it’s for two and three-bed houses and its not for blocks of flats.
“We don’t need flats in White Waltham but houses would be extremely desirable.”
Councillor David Hilton (Con, Ascot and Sunninghill), was also in favour of the plans, but did have some concerns.
He said: “The Hurley and Waltham Neighbourhood Plan states that there should be twostorey dwellings and we can see from the proposals that have been made they are going to be 12 metres high, it calls them two-and-a-half storey dwellings, I call them three.”
In a statement after the meeting, a spokeswoman for developer Sorbon Estates said: “Nearly 40 per cent of the commercial floorspace at Grove Park, in the form of the largest four office buildings along with their parking, will remain on the estate.
“The buildings at Grove Park earmarked for development are older buildings, mainly wartime, prefabricated, temporary buildings.”
Linda Jones, a parish councillor and White Waltham resident who spoke at the meeting in objection of the plans, said afterwards: “These days, anyone can argue for or against anything by selecting a piece of data, a clause from a policy or a sentence from a report.
“It is the cumulative consequences of all aspects of the proposal that will have a significant negative impact across the area.
“Once the character of an area is destroyed, businesses made homeless, employment lost, and the daily commute made even more miserable by congestion you cannot turn the clock back.”