Sonning & Sonning Eye Society: Planning & Environmental Panel

Introducing the Planning & Environment Panel
Active members are currently:
John & Rachel Argent	Pearson Road	tel:	07867 808383
Alastair Driver	Garde Road	tel:	969 2698
John Edmonds	Sonning Lane	tel:	969 0017
Bob Hine	Glebe Lane	tel:	969 8653
Nick Marks	Sonning Eye	tel:	969 2264
Maureen Meer	Charvil Lane	tel:	969 1317
Brian O’Callaghan (Chairman)	Pearson Road	tel:	969 2132
Gary Robinson	Charvil Lane	tel:	969 0748
Allan Williams	West Drive	tel:	969 6609
Meeting August 30th
Summary of Minutes and other news POUND LANE EMBANKMENT SAVED! An appeal against a refusal to build a house in the rear garden of ‘Greendown’ (Pearson Road and Pound Lane) and partly demolish the roadside trees and embankment in Pound Lane by Mr. & Mrs. Gubba was dismissed by Her Majesty’s Planning Inspectorate. This has been a lengthy campaign by your Planning Panel, and not least our Parish Council, to defend and preserve our vital Sonning Conservation Area and this part of Sonning in particular. Having threatened with legal action by Mr. Gubba’s advisors should the local authority, or anyone else, attempt to reinstate and re-plant Pound Lane’s embankment, we now look forward to this important part of Sonning being restored to its former glory. Already a letter has gone to Wokingham’s Highways Department head, Mark Moon, to remind him of his duty to now carry out this work which we are confident he will initiate with all haste. MP Theresa May who had previously sought to have the work started will again be in support of our cause and will be writing to WDC. DOWER HOUSE A previous application to reposition a proposed orangery with surrounding hard standing covering a swathe of the garden of a listed building for three car parking spaces was dismissed on appeal. The current duplicate application for one car less is also opposed by your Planning Panel and SPC in the face of a recommendation for APPROVAL by Wokingham’s officers! A site visit by Development Control Committee councillors is set for September 4th at 8.00am. We have prepared a very short bullet point briefing sheet which has been delivered to the visiting councillors together with a copy of the recent appeal decision and a similar sheet of notes from Sonning Parish Council. WDC’s Development Control Committee will consider the current application on September 6th. We will be speaking against the application as will Sonning Parish Council’s representative Pam Glasspool. We will naturally take the opportunity of reminding those present of the inspector’s decision on the previous appeal. Watch this space. SUNRISE SENIOR LIVING Their application to demolish two substantial houses fronting the A4 adjoining Readingensian’s Rugby Club has been refused on broadly ‘infrastructure’ grounds by WDC. AUGUST FIELD Plans to build four detatched and two semi-detached houses and demolish the ‘August Field’ bungalow have been submitted to WDC. The development would not only produce the fairly typical new to look old style in fairly cramped confines but involve the destruction of a great deal of greenerey and established trees fronting Charvil Lane to created a large two-way entrance/exit. Your Planning Panel intends to present a detailed objection to this development which it considers would in no way enhance or improve the Sonning Conservation Area in which it is located. POUND LANE – DUFFIED ROAD & 5-7 WEST DRIVE Allan Williams brought us firmly up to date with developments on both sites, the former now being reduced, he understands, from 33 to 15 dwellings. 5-7 is equally contentious and again demonstrates that Sonning and its environs are a lucrative target for developers. RIVER BANK SIGNS In spite of renewed reminders to WDC planning and enforcement the two large signs erected by The Great House and two more further east remain in place even though WDC’s Mark Cupit, head of planning, assured us that they had been erected without permission. Persistence pays off, which is why we are reminding WDC again about these unwelcome objects.