ASCOT residents are set to legally challenge “money-making” plans to add more “shoddy” flats in their neighbourhood.
Sunningdale locals, who live in Cedar Drive, are to battle it out with developer Cyntra Properties Limited to block them from ripping off the roofs from the two three-storey apartment blocks to add a fourth floor.
In November 2020, the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead gave permission for Cyntra to add a total of nine flats to Beverley Court, which currently has 27 apartments, despite objections made by residents and Sunningdale Parish Council.
The two schemes were granted under ‘permitted development rights,’ which is established national legislation and allows a development to be carried out without the need for a council to grant planning permission.
READ MORE: Ascot locals slam council for approving "shoddy" flats plan
Cyntra did submit prior approval for each block, which looks at matters specified in the legislation, and a council spokesperson said the applications were dealt with in line with the relevant legislation by planning officers, and objections were addressed.
This angered Cedar Drive residents, believing adding a fourth floor will ‘dominate’ the cul-de-sac, overshadow and overlook their properties, and changing the pitched roof into a flat roof will impact the character of the area. They also feared the eight additional car parking spaces are ‘insufficient’ and will lead to road pressure.
The “shoddy” plans were slammed as a “money-making exercise” with one resident saying: “They [Cyntra] just want the cash and walk away. They can leave the rest of the problems to somebody else to deal with.”
Another homeowner told the Local Democracy Reporting Service that they thought they could “stop it dead in the water” as the estate is protected by a covenant, which restricts developers from building additional homes and flats.
Within the document, it states only 27 flats maximum are allowed to be built on the estate. However, Cyntra has varied the covenant to by-pass these restrictions.
This is because landowner St John’s College Cambridge decided not to fight against Cyntra as it didn’t want to fork out legal fees at a land tribunal.
Cedar Drive residents decided to come together and set up a “fighting fund” to be used to hire a legal team and get the development blocked by filing preventative action with the land tribunal and land registry. But costs are mounting up, with campaigners fearing they may not have enough money to keep their battle going.
One resident said: “Cyntra is basically going to force the issue with money because they have lots of money behind them and we haven’t got lots of money behind us.
READ MORE: Windsor & Maidenhead predicting £1.7m blackhole this financial year
“So, they will have the upper hand when it comes to expensive lawyers and the courts because eventually, we just won’t be able to afford to keep taking them to court.”
The developer was accused of “threatening” tenants living on the top floor of the flats with High Court action if they deny Cyntra from being able to use their loft space to start the development.
Cyntra declined to comment but said: “We will not engage with hearsay and dispute these characterisations. Due to ongoing legal proceedings, we will not be commenting further.”
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