6:48pm Friday 3rd September 2010
THE proposed extension to the Compleat Angler in Marlow is neither realistic nor modest.
The proposal is to increase the number of guest rooms by almost 50 per cent and to extend the floorspace of the hotel by 1,799 square metres, or 37 per cent.
The proposal even includes a basement when the site is included in Flood Zone 3 – the area that is deemed riskiest by the Environment Agency for river floods. The site flooded in 2003 (see photo above – note overflow parking sign!).
The Town and Country Planning (Flooding) (England) Direction 2007 defines major development as a development where the new floorspace to be provided is 1,000 square metres or more, or the site area is 1 hectare or more. The developers, who propose to demolish existing staff accommodation for over 60 people, claim that this major development in the flood plain should be treated as a minor extension, thus avoiding a proper risk assessment. The proposal offends against numerous other saved policies in the Windsor and Maidenhead Local Plan such as the Green Belt policies. It should be rejected out of hand.
Mike Post, Bisham Road, Marlow
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