Hoardings around a house in Caversham that has been unoccupied for years have been allowed to stay despite misgivings from the council.
The house in Albert Road occupies a sizeable plot with generous garden space at the junction of Chelford Way in Caversham Heights.
At some point in the 1990s it was converted into three flats.
The house is currently unoccupied, with hoardings seen around it from Street View imagery in November 2022.
The owning company Widbrook Developments submitted a retrospective application to Reading Borough Council to install the hoardings in May 2023.
This was justified on health and safety grounds to deter intruders, as the company wanted to demolish and replace the house.
However, the application was rejected by the council’s planning department
Widbrook Developments appealed against this decision to the government’s planning inspectorate.
Appointed inspector Emma Pickernell sided with the company, arguing that the impact of the hoardings would be limited.
She wrote: “The appellant has indicated that the hoarding is proposed as a temporary structure and has suggested a condition limiting the retention of the hoarding to a period of 18 months.
“The visual effects of the fence would not be diminished in the short term, and I recognise that it has already been in place for a considerable time.
“However, allowing the proposal on a temporary basis would ensure that it would not be a permanent feature and would give certainty that it would be removed in due course.”
Ultimately, she judged that the overall harm would be limited by the condition only allowing the hoardings to stay up for 19 months.
The result of the appeal was mentioned in a report to the council’s planning applications committee on April 29.
Mark Worringham, the council’s planning policy manager, wrote: “This is a disappointing decision.
“However, the appeal allowed the hoarding to remain only on a temporary basis until August 2027, with the inspector accepting that the proposal does result in harm to the character and appearance of the area contrary to the policies of the Local Plan.
“However, the inspector concluded that there would be significant benefit in terms of public safety through preventing the public from entering the site and harming themselves, and the security of the site.”
You can see the application approved on appeal by typing reference PL/23/0663 into the council’s portal.
Widbrook Developments won permission to convert the house into two semi-detached homes and create a new entrance porch from the council in August last year.
You can view that application by typing reference PL/25/0425 into the planning portal.
An earlier plan to demolish and replace it with a new home was rejected.
