Inkpen residents fight off barn development
The contentious plan to put the equestrian manège in the plot at Weavers Lane has gone back and forth between council planners, the Government and the applicant several times in recent years.
Newly scrutinised under of the Government’s controversial National Planning Policy Framework guide - a document which critics argue puts greenfield land at the mercy of developers, council officers recommended approval of the plans and the notice resulted in outcry from the village.
Residents packed into the West Berkshire Council chambers on Wednesday to witness the members of the Western Area Planning Committee decide the fate of the re-jigged plans.
West Berkshire Council planning officer Derek Carnegie said the application was finely balanced but said officers had to come down on the side of approval given it was no longer deemed harmful to the character of the area under new planning laws.
Despite this councillors voted to refuse the application, to the visible delight of those present, and now Mr Canning must decide whether to again appeal to the Government.