Councillors in Bracknell will vote this evening, June 15, on a planning application that Warfield residents say could put lives at risk.

Developers Croudace Homes already have permission to build a new 50-home development in a field north of Newhurst Gardens, a quiet cul-de-sac in Warfield.

But now they want to change their approved plans so that the road connecting the two is narrower than the one that Bracknell Forest Council initially accepted.

The plans would also mean pedestrians having to cross back and forth between footpaths along Newhurst Gardens. They add pedestrian crossing points at the entrance to the new development, in Newhurst Gardens, and also on Warfield Street – the main road that Newhurst Gardens joins onto.

Council officers are recommending that councillors on Bracknell Forest’s planning committee approve the changes at a meeting on Thursday, June 15.

Their report says the visibility splays – which measure the field of vision of a driver at a junction –  outlined are “considered acceptable” and within council requirements.

Campaigners on Newhurst Gardens say the new plans would put people at risk – with limited visibility when pulling out onto Warfield Street.

Campaigner Clive Hobbs said: “Since the beginning of this application eight years ago, we have said the access junction of Warfield Street with Newhurst Gardens is dangerous.

“There is very limited visibility when pulling out of Newhurst Gardens onto a busy road with parked cars opposite.”

Mr Hobbs added that the visibility splays provided are insufficient for the speed that cars travel along Warfield Street.

READ MORE: Changes to housing plans could ‘risk lives’ in Warfield

He said: “The council's own highways department asked the applicant to measure the visibility splays at the junction and they recorded visibility of 43m.

“The council says this is adequate for a 30mph speed limit, but government guidelines state the visibility must be measured on the actual wet weather speed of cars in the road, which was measured at up to nearly 36mph which means the visibility splays must be 60m. This means the visibility splays are short by nearly 17m.

“We are not going to allow them to risk people's lives by working with big developers and ignoring the concerns of local people."

The development has already been much-contested, with Croudace Homes first seeking planning permission in 2016.

Councillors refused it permission at a planning committee meeting in March 2017, on the grounds that the location was unsuitable, and it would have an “unacceptable urbanising effect” on the countryside.

But a government inspector overturned the decision at an appeal, ruling that it would cause only “limited harm” to the character of the surrounding area.