Does this development affect you?

The basketball court which forms one of the boundary walls of the site is frequently used by the residents of Drake Court. Noise from the court is distant enough for current dwellings but will create tensions with residents of the new development who will share a wall with the court

The parking analysis carried out at night on 16th and 17th June 2020 assumes all parking spaces could be filled without adversely affecting traffic flow. This is clearly not the case on Ewelme Rd. The bends at the top and bottom of Ewelme and the junction with Woodcombe are already hazardous when vehicles are parked in those locations.

Five carless family homes implies frequent deliveries. Emergency vehicle only access means all deliveries, however large or heavy are expected to be carried on foot 50-100m from the pavement on Woodcombe Crescent. Delivery vehicles will take up space at the junction for longer, creating hazards.

The new dwellings will have windows and balconies which overlook several gardens in their entirety, with much shorter sightlines to bedrooms and bathrooms than currently exist. several surrounding loft conversions have been omitted.

The design has full wood cladding which requires regular care to retain its original look. Left to weather it turns grey and begins to look shabby in less than 10 years. Eventually it will rot. This example is from a nearby 2008 development on Capitol Walk.

The shadow study submitted in the plans was limited to 10am and 2pm. Evening shadows in gardens on Devonshire Road are likely to affect garden use at that time of day as the building elevation is going to be more than double the height of the present buildings.

The design employs down lighting to achieve sufficient exterior lighting of walkways but no assessment is given of how much of this or lights from the new buildings will be incident on their surroundings, including gardens and rear windows at night. There is no lighting at present.

The surrounding buildings vary in style/period but all have tiled roofs and brick or rendered exteriors; features not referenced in this design. This is the only image of the design in the context of the surroundings included in the application.

There is a complete absence of engineering detail in the application about proposed soak aways, sewage connections, anticipated peak flow rates and minimum absorption rates. The ground here has very low absorption rates and these houses are at a much lower level than the sewer on Woodcombe Crescent.

Drawings imply a wholly reconstructed boundary wall but no details are given of how these will look from the gardens with which they will form a boundary. Construction is in "buff colour bricks" but no external wall heights or profiles are given.

With most gardens having no independent boundary walls and the site being dismantlement to below ground level (and absent for an extended period) no details are given on how much this will inhibit use of gardens and open space during construction or leave properties unprotected.

With access to the site limited to small vehicles, skips and building material deliveries will be deposited on the pavement on Woodcombe Crescent creating disruption to traffic at the corner with Ewelme Road, a busy through road. Air pollution from dust and vehicles will reduce air quality at the houses flanking the entrance.