Ascot Kings Ride set to add 22 homes to the green belt

Developers already have permission to build 16 homes as part of a 59-house settlement but now builders want to add another six on land north of Kings Ride in the green belt.

This comes against angry objections from four neighbours and the Kings Ride Residents Association concerned about the impact the new buildings will have on the countryside.

The Residents Association commented: “This is again a classic example of the developer continuing to push the boundaries of planning rules.

“The original application approved was for 38 dwellings. A subsequent application increased this to 59 dwellings.

“This cannot but have an impact on the rural nature of the green belt in which this development takes place.”

Winkfield Parish Council chiefs also commented on the plans, telling BFC officials they “strongly opposed” to the development.

The comment read: “The proposal is overdevelopment of the site which causes further loss of green space in close proximity to a special protection area and places an unsustainable burden on local infrastructure.

“The proposal is of further detriment to the area due to its proximity to a known dangerous junction.”

Three large office buildings occupied the 9.2-hectare site but are being knocked down to make way for the new development.

BFC planning bosses say the scheme, therefore, does not represent inappropriate development in the countryside because the site was already built-upon before plans for housing emerged.

Refusing the plans would be hard to defend if developers appealed the rejection, officers claimed in a planning report, because other parts of the housing scheme have already been granted permission.

Officers have recommended the scheme goes ahead with the six extra homes proposed, but councillors will have the final say at a planning meeting on Thursday, March 19.