Planning, Parking, Highways & Transport

To approve the Land west of Cannondown Road Stakeholder Masterplan Document as an important material consideration for Development Management purposes.

Cabinet considered the report titled the Lower Mount Farm (Cannondown Road) Stakeholder Masterplan Document.

Councillor Haseler, Cabinet Member for Planning, Parking, Highways & Transport, introduced the report that outlined the Borough Local Plan requirement for the preparation of Stakeholder Masterplan Documents, and he summarised the process and outcome in relation to the Stakeholder Masterplan Document for the land west of Cannondown Road in Cookham.

A working group had been created by the developer, Bellway Homes and the planning agent, Turley, which comprised of members of the local community, elected councillors, council officers and interest groups as well as an urban design advisor working on behalf of the council. Details of this and the public consultation, could be found in greater detail within the report. The main changes to the SMD as a result of the public consultation feedback included:

·       Greater clarity given on biodiversity net gain.

·       The removal of the six villages on site, replacing them with four-character areas.

·       Removal of cul-de-sacs.

Councillor Coppinger, Cabinet Member for Adult Social Care & Maidenhead wished to second the report and said that the requirement for SMD’s to be created within the Borough Local Plan had proved to be one of the most important items included within the plan. He said that the benefit to residents here was substantial and reminded Cabinet that it was not a planning application, but instead a view on what should be included within the application at a later stage.

Councillor Johnson, Chair & Leader of the Council, then invited the first public speaker to address Cabinet.

Jon Herbert addressed Cabinet as a chartered planner who had been asked to speak on behalf of Cookham Parish Council as a registered public speaker. He was given three minutes to address Cabinet virtually.

The Chair thanked Mr Herbert for his comments and invited the second public speaker to address Cabinet.

Paul Strzelecki addressed Cabinet in-person as a registered public speaker. He was also given three minutes to do so.

The Chair thanked Mr Strzelecki for his comments and then invite the two Ward Councillors for Bisham & Cookham to address Cabinet as non-cabinet members.

Councillor Clark said that residents did not fee las though the public consultation was wide enough and stated that this was evident with only 60 persons having subscribed on the website. He did however say that he was attending with an open mind and endorsed some of the points raised within the report, such as infrastructure being covered by Section 106 agreements. He did not however that issues such as school places and increased traffic had not been covered by this and were not addressed in a meeting with the developer either. He had also asked the developer if these homes could indeed be prioritised for Cookham families first. He ended his submission by stating that many questions remained unanswered on the finer details.

Councillor Brar asked Cabinet to reject this SMD as there had been no displays or notification of the public consultation at all. She said that the impact on local schools would be very negative and that Holy Trinity School for example could only be accessed via vehicle. Therefore, the increases in traffic would be quite severe. She then said that an article in a recent newspaper stated that the Leader of the Council had said that not as many homes were required in the borough, as had been requested by the Government. She asked if this was one of the sites that would be removed from the Borough Local Plan if this was the case.

The Chair replied by saying that his comments were not to try and remove sites from the Borough Local Plan, but instead was more around what good placemaking looked like and a focus more on this.

The Cabinet Member for Planning, Parking, Highways & Transport thanked all four speakers for their contributions. He confirmed that the Cookham Parish Council had been involved in the process throughout and that it was their responsibility to notify residents as outlined by Councillor Brar. He said that health targets were being met as outlined within the report and officers were constantly reviewing school places across the borough.

The Chair said that the 40% affordable housing target for the site was an absolute red line and that more affordable housing within the borough was a must. His view along with that of Councillor Clark’s was also that families in Cookham on the waiting list for housing, should be prioritised above all else.

Councillor Stimson, Cabinet Member for Climate Action & Sustainability said that she found it absolutely critical that the SMD ran alongside the sustainability SPD and that in future if any SMD did not meet the sustainability requirements within the SPD, then they would not move forward.

Councillor Haseler proposed officer’s recommendations, and this was seconded by Councillor Coppinger.

RESOLVED UNANIMOUSLY: That Cabinet noted the report and approved the Land west of Cannondown Road Stakeholder Masterplan Document as an important material consideration for Development Management purposes.