Plans for Former British Legion Club Withdrawn

Former British Legion Club, opposite Princess Square (Bracknell - 22/00064/COND)

Bracknell Forest Council looked at a transport plan linked to consent to turn the former British Legion Club at 41 Braccan Walk into an 86-place Storybook Montessori nursery. The plan covered on-site bins, cycle parking, bollards, signage and a travel plan to cut private car use and protect the town-centre fire route, relying on nearby car parks and sustainable travel.

No staff parking was proposed; staff and most visitors were expected to walk, cycle or use public transport, with 30 minutes free parking in Princess Square for quick pick-ups and drops. A developer-funded travel plan co-ordinator would have run surveys, monitored modal split and agreed remedial measures with the council if targets weren't met. The travel plan was later withdrawn.

Shinfield Baptist Church, Fairmead Road, Shinfield (Wokingham 251538)

Wokingham Borough Council has approved plans for partial demolition and replacement of Shinfield Baptist Church and associated buildings, plus an upgraded retained hall, reorganised parking, landscaping and site works. Delivery will be in two phases, with the hall refurbished before the new build starts.

Conditions focus on drainage strategy and detailed SuDS design, phased construction management, parking and cycle provision, and highway safety measures including narrowed access and visibility splays. Further requirements secure landscaping, tree protection, ecological mitigation including bats, obscure glazing to protect neighbours' privacy, and compliance with the statutory biodiversity net gain via off-site units or credits.

Poplar tree at Tesco, Martins Heron (Bracknell PA/2026/0289)

Tesco applied to cut back a protected poplar near the home-delivery department of its Whitton Road store, known as the 'dot com'. They wanted branches reduced to 2-metre growth points above the roof and pruning up to at least 4 metres above the roofline to prevent damage. Works also include removing ivy, cutting back brambles and shrubs and lifting crowns to 3 metres to clear roads and paths. The tree is covered by TPO 1391. Winkfield Parish Council raised no specific objection and the planning officer partly approved and partly refused the application.

Don Beni Restaurant, Winkfield Row - (Bracknell 25/00099/COND)

Sarah Beni sought approval of a Construction Environmental Management Plan and hard landscaping details for the Don Beni Restaurant, following application 24/00159/FUL. The submitted plans were generic and lacked site-specific detail for the tight, awkward back-land site behind an operating restaurant.

The council asked how construction traffic, noise, dust, waste and site access would be controlled and wanted detailed surfacing, parking, paths and boundary plans. From the information supplied the council did not trust that lorries and machinery could get in and out safely, or that noise, dust and contractor parking could be contained, or that the final hard landscaping would meet policy. Bracknell Forest Council refused the application because the details were insufficient to show the scheme could be built without unacceptable harm.

Ted O'Neill, Local Democracy Reporter