The building of two houses on a quiet cul-de-sac has been refused by Slough Borough Council.

Shorne Tilbey Associates Limited applied to build two three-bedroom houses on Autumn Close, Cippenham. Access for cars would be granted through Berrington Mews. These were to be semi-detached covering an area of around 150 square metres.

This would have included a drive and associated parking area.

Autumn Close is a residential cul-de-sac, and the proposed site for the area would be surrounded by other houses on the street.

They would have been situated at the end of the cul-de-sac, meaning the added car parking spaces would not ‘be detrimental to highway safety’.

Consultations from flood risk assessments, highways and environmental assessments all found no issues with the proposed development.

But the plans were refused by Slough Borough Council for a number of reasons. Given the relative underdevelopment of the location, the council said that it would ‘significantly erode the existing sense of space in the area’ and would be evident for neighbouring properties.

The proposals for gardens would be dominated by trees and vegetation, meaning that outdoor spaces would be ‘gloomy’ and would fail to provide a useable outdoor space.

The council also said that the ‘poor design’ would result in a ‘significant increase in noise and disturbance’ for neighbours, particularly due to the parking spaces involved in the proposal.

The proposal was met with strong opposition from neighbours, with Slough Borough Council receiving nine letters of objection.

One wrote in their rejection that the new houses would be ‘detrimental to our well being and enjoyment of the estate and our property, located in a quiet, narrow cul-de-sac’.

They also wrote that the surrounding roads were not suitable for the constant driving of large construction vans.

Another resident wrote: “Currently, Berrington Mews is a relatively narrow road, and it already faces challenges of becoming impassable when delivery vans, tradespeople and other house visitors park their vehicles.

“Adding two more houses through this development would only exacerbate this issue.”

They added that the potential driveway along Berrington Mews would have a detrimental impact on children playing in the area as well as ‘exacerbating existing congestion issues’.

In the council decision, a planning officer noted that developers had not applied for pre-application advice despite the authority dealing with the proposal in a ‘proactive manner’.

The officer wrote that overall, the development ‘does not improve the economic, social an environmental conditions of the area’.