Plans for a new hotel in Swallowfield have been scrapped after concerns were raised that the site could be unsafe for potential occupants.
Wroxton Limited wanted to turn a barn at Glasspool Farm on Part Lane, Risley, into a hotel.
It would have self-contained apartment-style hotel rooms.
But concerns were raised by environmental health officials who said the site is adjacent to a former landfill site.
The Kerba Riseley Filled Ground was filled with industrial waste from 1983 to 1989, making it farmland within the gas consultation zone.
Environmental Health said that as the development will be for residential use, the applicant should have done a gas safety assessment.
Wokingham Borough Council said that in the absence of this assessment, it couldn’t approve the plans.
It also said that a change of use of the building couldn’t take place, as it was clear that ‘operational works’ would have to take place for it to be suitable for guests.
Other concerns were raised by Swallowfield Parish Council, which said that it would produce ‘excessive’ traffic on a single-track lane around the land.
The site has been subject to significant plans for almost a decade – many of which have also been refused.
In 2015, developers applied to change the use of three agricultural buildings on the farm to homes.
Although this was approved, more plans to build homes on the land in 2016 and 2018 were refused.
Proposals to change the barn to flexible use, with some parts converted for housing, were also refused in 2020.
