Thamesfield Retirement Village redevelopment planning application refused

Wokingham Borough Council has refused the planning application for the redevelopment of part of the Thamesfield Retirement Village on the Wargrave Road.

The application was for a part demolition of existing building and replacement with a three-storey extension to provide extra-care units, with associated landscaping, vehicle parking, ancillary structures and alterations to existing basement.  Original plans were submitted in January 2025 and amended plans in September.

In the letter accompanying the revised plans it states, “The roof form is now pitched, and the roofline has been set back. Dormer windows have been introduced which break up the massing of the top floor. The building now reads as being 2 and a half storeys rather than 3 storeys, with accommodation within the roof facilitated by the dormer windows. The roof form is now softer and also references the pitched roof forms elsewhere on the Site. The updated Accurate Visual Representations (AVRs) demonstrate that the amended design presents a softer building edge from views across the river, and from the Remenham Henley Bridge Conservation Area.”

The application was refused by Wokingham BC for “its bulk, scale, height, and proximity to neighbouring dwellings at Remenham Row, would result in an unacceptable level of overlooking and perceived loss of privacy to the front elevations of those properties, together with an unneighbourly overbearing impact and failure to preserve or enhance the character or appearance of the Remenham and Henley Bridge Conservation Area and the Henley on Thames Conservation Area.”