A scheme to build new flats on a patch of land that has become a ‘dumping ground for abandoned vehicles’ have been thwarted after two councils refused to grant it planning permission.

Property developer Brockenhurst Homes wanted to build the block of ten flats at Milcote on Kings Ride in Ascot after demolishing a large country home there.

The firm argued that allowing the flats to be built on the site would help ‘prevent anti-social behaviour and reduce the perception of crime’ in the area.

But Bracknell Forest Council and the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead both refused to grant it planning permission. Brockenhurst had to apply to both councils because the site lies across the boundaries between the two boroughs.

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The block of flats would have been entirely within Bracknell Forest. But the council said the building would have been inappropriate development on the green belt and refused planning permission last month.

The proposed entrance road into the site would have been within the Royal Borough. Planning officers there said the site had currently become ‘somewhat of a dumping ground for abandoned vehicles which are stored sporadically around the site’.

However they said the plan would have meant removing some significant trees on site and damage others. Councillors on the Royal Borough’s Windsor and Ascot development management committee voted to refuse permission on Thursday, November 7.