A DEVELOPMENT that would see 25 garages bulldozed to make way for four new properties has been criticised for ‘displacement of neighbouring vehicles’.
Residents have slammed a planning application that proposes new homes on two plots to the rear of Five Acres, Trapps Lane and Pheasant Rise, in Chesham, because it ‘exacerbates’ a lack of local parking.
Paradigm Housing Group seeks conditional permission to tear down the existing garages, and in their place build two pairs of semi-detached homes across two plots, creating four new properties each with two bedrooms, a private garden and three (or more) parking spaces.
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Cllr Jane MacBean called in the application for scrutiny.
There are presently 25 garages split between two plots (19 on one, six on the other), with each accessible by Five Acres. That access point will remain in place under the new development.
It is estimated up to 15 vehicles will be “displaced” due to the loss of the garages, but that there is a ‘sufficient level of on-street parking available nearby’, according to a council report.
The new build will “not result in adverse implications to neighbouring properties and residents,” also according to the document.
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Chesham Town Council objected to the application on grounds of loss of parking and “overlooking”.
“The committee is of the view that the initial parking survey was flawed and should have been undertaken after 6pm when residents had returned from their working environment and parked accordingly,” it said.
“This insufficient parking space will adversely affect the amenity of surrounding properties through roadside parking and, moreover, raises access concerns for emergency vehicles through Trapps Lane.”
More than 45 letters have been received from locals, some suggesting the development will be ‘overcrowded’, while others say the lack of local parking will be ‘exacerbated’.
“The new dwellings will have their own designated parking, but existing residents won’t,” one wrote.
The matter is due for debate during an East Buckinghamshire Area Planning Committee, on Tuesday, January 12.
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