PLEASE TAKE THE TIME TO READ THIS IMPORTANT DEVELOPMENT AFFECTING OUR VILLAGE –
The Planning Inspector has recently decided to allow a planning appeal submitted by St Leonard’s Parochial Church for the redevelopment of the site. A link to the Inspector’s report is below:
The planning application relates to the development of land in the heart of the Chesham Bois Conservation Area, on Glebe Way near the War Memorial. St. Leonard’s Parochial Church Council wish to demolish the parish centre and the 1980’s ‘New Rectory’ house in order to build a large scale commercial complex that would include:
- two, large halls, (one ‘in-the-round’ and one rectangular in shape)
- a number of meeting rooms and offices and a church-led café;
- a car park for 114 vehicles;
- a new, detached rectory dwelling adjacent to North Road;
- a separate building for a public nursery;
- a detached, prayer room building; and
- a social ‘fire-pit’ in the grounds,
This amounts to a potential capacity of more than 400 people attending a single event. The hours of operation would be from 07.00 to 23.00 every day.
On behalf of the majority of residents known to oppose the scale of the development and to ascertain the position of the council as owner of the Common Land, the Parish Council has resolved to allocate funds from general reserves to obtain legal advice on this matter.