The desirability of building a petrol station and a shop at Arborfield was disputed at a local Inquiry held at the Board Room, Wokingham, on Wednesday.

Mr. E. Fitzgibbon, A.M.Inst.C.E., and Inspector of the Ministry of Health who also heard the proceedings for the Ministry of Transport, presided over the inquiry which was relative to an application of Messrs. O. and A. Barker of Whitehall Brickworks, Arborfield, for consent to the erection of 35 houses and the establishment of a general business area including a petrol filling station on land fronting Reading – Eversley Road at Arborfield.

Mr. Charles Bowyer, chartered Surveyor of Messrs. Edward and Charles Bowyer, of Reading, Slough and Bracknell, represented Messrs. Barker and he said that the council now had no objections to the residential layout and the main issue was whether or not the petrol station and a shop could be built. It was proposed, said Mr. Bowyer, to build these on either side of the entrance to the estate road; they would be designed so that they would be of similar appearance.

The council had refused the petrol pump on four grounds. First, that it was proposed to zone the land as residential. Again, site proposed for the petrol station was not good and the erection of such a building would injure the amenities and be a detriment to the locality. The council also, was endeavouring to regulate the distance between filling stations and it was believed that the proposals of Messrs. Barker were inappropriate and would have a detrimental effect on the amenities and on the traffic.

Mr. Bowyer went on to state his client’s case, saying that although this area was tentatively zoned as residential, there was a definite need for a shop at this point which was almost directly opposite one of the entrances to the War Department Barracks. The shop at this point [would] serve the Barracks particularly, but would be for the convenience of the existing residents. The demand for business premises had increased and this was a very convenient site for the shop. The petrol station, he thought, was not too near others in the district. The site was on the main Aldershot to Reading Road and the nearest filling station was at Arborfield Cross and consisted of one pump. There was a filling station at Shinfield, 2 miles away; at Eversley Bridge, 2 miles in the other direction.

Mr. Bowyer emphasised the fact that no planning in this area could be final. With regard to the Ribbon Development Act, he commented on the County Council’s proposal to widen the Reading – Eversley Road to 80 feet with cycle tracks, and though that this proposal supported his client’s claim that a petrol station would be an advantage. There seemed, however, to be no objections on traffic grounds, only on planning. He explained that Messrs. O. and A. Barker were brickmakers and that the petrol station would be built by them and run by them or on their behalf.

Mr. Geoffrey Heath, Deputy Clerk to the Rural District Council who acted for the Council pointed out, when questioning Mr. Bowyer, that there were to be two new petrol pumps added to the filling station at Arborfield Cross. He asked if Mr. Bowyer were not more interested in the filling station and the shop than in the proposed houses, to which Mr. Bowyer replied that there could be no houses until there was an entrance to the estate road. He objected to Mr. Heath’s suggestion that if the petrol station and the shop were built the housing scheme would be dropped. The frontage, he said, had been purchased although it was known that it was tentatively zoned as a residential area.

Mr. Heath asked what demand there had been for houses and shops, to which Mr. Bowyer replied that application for business premises had been made by his clients Messrs. Barker. Mr. Heath suggested that before asking the council to re-zone the land for business purposes Mr. Bowyer must have strong grounds. What were they? He gave the development on that site in the last five years at 2 houses. He suggested that the whole proposal was pure speculation on the supposition that the War Department Depot would increase business. Sound Town Planning, he said, made the grouping of shops necessary. Mr. Bowyer did not agree that this applied to rural areas.

The Old and The New

"Is one shop in a residential area good planning?" asked Mr. Heath. "I think there is nothing more delightful than an English village made before the Planning Act was even thought of" said Mr. Bowyer.

Mr. E. R. Davies who represented the County Council, asked if it were necessary to have a petrol station at the entrance to a cul-de-sac. Mr. Bowyer thought that in this case, where the entrance was on a busy main road, it was. Mr. Davies asked if the houses would sell better if there was a petrol station at the end of the road. He asked who was going to live in the houses and learned that some of Messrs. Barkers’ employees would be the occupants.

Mr. M. F. J. Batting of Messrs. Simmons and Son, of Reading, who appeared on behalf of the adjoining owners, Mr. Gerald Simonds and Mr. Vivian Simonds, said that the adjoining land was zoned as an open space subject to 6 houses. His client then wished to preserve the amenities of the district. Now a corrugated iron town had spread up around and his clients thought that they could not keep to their agreement and they had no objection to the proposed building. The amenities could not be any worse than they were at present, he said.

Mr. Heath, cross questioning, said that the military huts were only temporary to which Mr. Batting replied that War Department land was rarely given back and the huts would be there for many years.

Mr. Heath explained that the site in question was about a mile from Arborfield Cross, which was generally recognised as the centre of the old village. The land was tentatively zoned as residential at 2 houses to the acre and was isolated from concentrated development. It was the council’s intention, said Mr. Heath, to prevent development spreading away from the village and the erection of a shop as proposed was contrary to the council’s Town Planning Scheme. The petrol station too, would injure the amenities. There was very little demand, he said, for a Petrol Station, a shop, or indeed, for houses. In the last five years development all around that area had been very slow and only fifteen houses had been built, two of which were on the site under consideration. He submitted that the proposal was based entirely on speculation. The War Department, he said, would have no use for the shop, for shops would be provided on their own premises.

Mr. P. W. Meekle, chief assistant in the County Town Planning Department, said that the site was not suitable for a business area as it was isolated. Development, he thought, should be directed towards Langley Common from which the War Office land could be much better served. There was already business development there. He knew of no demand for a petrol station or for shops on the site in question. Mr. Davies said that the Council supported the Town Planning Authority. The proposal. he thought, cut across well planned developments.