Demolition of garages to make way for housing approved in Chesham despite town council objection

Paradigm Housing Group applied for permission to demolish existing garages and build four homes across two sites, with two houses on each site, at land to the rear of Five Acres and Trapps Lane, Chesham.

The application went before a Buckinghamshire Council planning committee, where councillors approved the officer’s recommendation.

The recommendation was to defer and delegate the application to the director of planning, growth and sustainability to grant planning permission, subject to conditions.

Cllr Dominique MacFarlane, of Chesham Town Council, spoke out against the plans. “While Chesham Town Council generally supports the principle of brownfield and garage site regeneration. Under policy CHESH1 of our adopted Chesham neighbourhood plan, that support is strictly conditional”, Cllr MacFarlane explained.

“This proposal, we believe, fails fundamentally on those counts. Residents counting cars on Sunday evenings have confirmed exactly that reality, recording up to 13 cars parked on the garage forecourts alone.

“[The roads] are narrow, heavily constrained and already at breaking point. To wipe out 25 garages based on a survey that your own officers reject is an unacceptable risk to highways safety and a direct violation of local plan.”

Cllr MacFarlane said the scheme was a severe threat to surrounding infrastructure, as it would force up to 13 displaced vehicles into an already “congested network”.

Julie Stewart of the Waterside Community Association, said the plan raised real concerns for the access of emergency vehicles. She said: “The number of cars parked on Five Acres has reduced the road to a single lane. Visibility is often compromised and navigating local streets has become increasingly dangerous.

“Cars parked close to the junction of Five Acres and Pheasant Rise can make it impossible to see what is coming down the hill. There are real concerns for access of emergency vehicles.”

Martyn Jones is the executive director for development and regeneration at SettleParadigm. He said the proposal is not about buildings, it’s about people.

He said: “Today more than 4,000 households in Buckinghamshire are waiting for an affordable home. The proposal is located within an established community in a highly sustainable location.

“As has been said, this application has been for the authority for some time. Indeed, I spoke at the planning committee over five years ago when it was deferred. We have listened carefully to the concerns expressed by local residents and members throughout the process.

“We provided substantial additional evidence, made a number of amendments to ensure that all matters raised have been comprehensively addressed.”

Cllr Martin Tett who sits on the planning committee said overall there is gain in modern standard parking in the area. Mr Tett said: “I’m not convinced that we’re losing much in the way of parking that’s of a modern standard.

“I completely do not want to add to the problems in this area, but it does feel to me that it ticks the brown, not green box.”