Changes to Barkham post office plans approved

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A parish councillor has been granted permission to tinker with plans to revamp Barkham post office after requesting changes to the blueprints.

Councillor Pam Stubbs, chairman of Barkham Parish Council and postmistress at the facility in Bearwood Road, had asked members of the planning committee at Wokingham Borough Council to consider access changes to the approved development in The Lilacs.

Cllr Stubbs saw a protracted planning wrangle end in victory last year when she was granted permission to create a new shop unit with an accompanying three-bedroomed and four-bedroomed home with a garage at the site.

However, recent changes to planning legislation allowed the applicant to suggest changes to the development without the need to fully reapply for planning permission.

This resulted in Cllr Stubbs requesting for the access point in The Lilacs to be split in two and have the garage relocated to another area of the site.

Members of the council’s committee, who discussed the application last Wednesday, had mixed views on the changes, with Cllr Stephen Conway suggesting the garage would have an undesirable effect on the front of the development if moved.

He said: “I propose we refuse this because I really do believe it represents a great visual intrusion on the built form on the frontage and across the site.

“I would invite the applicant to come back with a scheme which addresses these problems.”

Cllr Conway’s suggestion, however, was not backed by fellow members because they felt the design was satisfactory and the application was approved.