Almost 200 people object to plans to demolish historic house

Neighbours 'distraught' at thought of losing home that belonged to war hero

NEARLY 200 Cold Ash residents have objected to plans to demolish a historic house that was home to one of the village’s most treasured characters.

Woodland Leaves, on Cold Ash Hill, was occupied by war hero, memoirist and cello and fine furniture maker Alec McCurdy and his wife Jean, a keen hobby artist and poet, for more than half-a-century.

The distinctive slate sign on the gateway, carved by Mr McCurdy in the 1970s, is a familiar landmark to motorists, as is the striking early 20th-century house and workshop.

The beneficiaries of Mr AKC McCurdy submitted plans in July to bulldoze the property and replace it with three modern detached homes.

Neighbours have said they are “distraught” at the prospect of losing the house and its history.

Neighbour and archaeologist Dr Catherine Barnett said: “It’s an attractive, characterful house, full of Alec’s woodworking creations and surrounded by semi-tamed wild areas.

“It’s an important local landmark, for what it represents as much as the house itself, and forms an important part of the setting of our historic village and houses.

“The potential for impact from development on buried archaeology of all periods in the wider, previously undisturbed, plot is as yet unquantified and of great concern.”

Villager Simon Joyce, who grew up on The Ridge in Cold Ash, said:“It has stood as a building of significant character in the village for all of my adolescent and adult life.

“It’s setting in the village is a wonderful reminder of a time when quality and craftsmanship were valued above the consumerist driven needs of today’s throwaway society.”

Objections have included concerns from both residents and West Berkshire Council’s highways department over the plot’s access, which they say is sited at a dangerous point of the hill.

The site’s inclusion on the West Berkshire Historic Environment Record, its location within 35m of the grade II-listed Bay Cottage and the impact on a key wildlife corridor have also been flagged.

The plans have also attracted objections for their visual impact, particularly as the plot sits directly opposite the village’s two pubs.

The applicants have said their scheme would provide new housing to meet an identified need, along with removing an existing sub-standard access to improve highway safety on to Cold Ash Hill.

They add that the scheme would “provide a positive frontage to Cold Ash Hill that enhances the character and appearance of the area”.

Flood defences are also proposed, which the applicants said would allow for biodiversity enhancements.

Documents state: “The proposed development represents a small infill development within the settlement boundary of Cold Ash, which will make the most efficient use of previously developed land.

“The site is in a very sustainable location, and within walking distance of a variety of local services and facilitates including public transport connections, in this designated ‘service village’.”

As well as wanting to preserve the character house, villagers also fear the plans will open up Mrs McCurdy’s wildflower meadow for development.

Developers have stated their intent to build up to 50 homes at the site in a letter written to Cold Ash Parish Council in 2018.

The council did not choose to include the meadow in the Neighbourhood Development Plan.

Planning agent Pegasus Group said that the beneficiaries were seeking to allocate residential development on the wider site through the emerging Cold Ash Neighbourhood Plan and West Berkshire Council Local Plan.

Neighbour Joanne Zarazel said: “I can see from my window all the deer, pheasants, bats, mice and bees that live there and have nowhere else to go.”

The current plans have met with unanimous objection from Cold Ash Parish Council.