A police station in Buckinghamshire cannot be bulldozed to make way for ‘poorly designed’ new homes, planners have said.
Crossan Homes applied to Buckinghamshire Council in August for permission to demolish the former Princes Risborough Police Station on Longwick Road, which closed in 2022.
But the council has now refused the London-based developer’s proposals, which included building a terrace of two two-bedroom and two-three bedroom homes – four in total.
In a decision notice, officers said: “The poor overall design and appearance of the proposed building, with crown roof form would result in a form of development that would fail to integrate well into its surroundings.”
Officers claimed that the proposed homes of between two and two and a half stories, would have been ‘to the detriment of the character, appearance and local distinctiveness of the immediate locality’.
Their second reason for refusal was that the ‘block-like’ building proposed, which ‘lacks visual interest’ at the front, would have blocked the sunlight to the adjacent Peel Court.
However, in its application for permission, Crossan Homes argued that its new development would have replaced the existing ‘ungainly’ former police buildings, which the company said were ‘of little architectural merit’.
Its plans read: “These buildings will be replaced with a terrace of four dwellings set within a significantly enhanced landscaped setting which in turn will assist enhance the contribution the site makes within the context of the local and wider street scene.”
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