Latest plans for Sun in the Wood in Cold Ash parish withdrawn

Councillors said hybrid scheme for Ashmore Green building was a 'deterioration' from prior scheme

PLANS to build a house on the car park of the former Sun in the Wood pub have been withdrawn.

Applicants Mr and Mrs Morrison submitted a hybrid application to change the use of the pub to a home and to build a house and garage on the former car park.

The application followed West Berkshire Council approving a separate scheme to convert the Ashmore Green pub into a home weeks before the new plans were submitted.

Planning agent Pegasus Group said that building the property and garage in the north eastern part of the car park would be a more efficient use of the site.

They added that drainage and ecology would be improved through increasing permeable surfaces and by creating natural habitats, and that the setting of the Sun in the Wood would be enhanced.

The building is situated in Cold Ash parish but falls outside the settlement boundaries of Cold Ash and Ashmore Green.

Cold Ash Parish Council raised no objections to converting the pub saying “it could be a lot worse” and that the application was sensible.

However, parish councillors objected to the hybrid scheme, saying it was a “deterioration from the previous application”.

They objected to building on the car park as it would be additional development outside the settlement boundary, and in a rural location.

The Sun in the Wood closed in 2018 and a report said that reopening the pub would not be a viable option.

West Berkshire Council said that converting the pub would not harm the rural economy or impact on the character and appearance of the rural area.