Oakley Green, Fifield and District Community Association Ltd
Coningsby Lane appeal granted
Rod Lord - 27.11.2009
 show PHOTO - Site of new entrance

The planning Inspector has approved the Wayside Stables planning appeal for the new access off Coningsby Lane, Fifield.

He has made comments on several points raised by residents and users of Coningsby Lane including flooding. In particular he has what appears to be a rather strange take on what was the sole justification for the application - Road Safety. He also dismisses all comparisons with the very similar application in the rather busier Paley Street which was rejected by RBWM planning.

One telling sentence in this document sums up his opinion of all the efforts of residents and users of Coningsby Lane, dismissing the petition of over 120 signatures and the many letters from individuals.

"I conclude that the points raised by third parties carry limited weight, whether singly or in combination, and are not such as to warrant dismissal of the appeal."

We were under the impression that the function of the Planning Inspector is to consider all aspects of a case, including the decision of the Parish Council, the impact on and opinions of local residents, and the Borough Planning Panel who rejected it by 10:0 with only one abstention. We were obviously wrong.

So having just managed to get the temporary opening closed and new hedge planted we must prepare ourselves for it to all be ripped out again and the verge and ditch covered by 20 foot of concrete.

When the decisions of both our local elected bodies and the expressed wishes of more than 120 local people are counted as "of limited weight" against the whim of a single individual we cannot help but wonder if we actually do live in a democracy as we all suppose.

The document containing the Inspector's decision and reasoning is available via the button below.

  view the Appeal Decision document - PDF - 101 Kb