Developers cause distress for Colnbrook residents.

As you may have noticed Colnbrook and Poyle has been developed quite a lot over the past few years, there are blocks of flats appearing all through the village. As you may have seen Fox Homes (Cape Corporation) are yet another developer who are knocking down 1 bungalow and garage, and on 7th June 2006 Slough Borough Council granted planning permission for: DEMOLITION OF EXISTING BUNGALOW AND OTHER BUILDINGS AND REDEVELOPMENT TO PROVIDE 24 NO. FLATS IN TWO BLOCKS 3.5 STOREYS AND 4.5 STOREYS HIGH TO ACCOMMODATE 17 X ONE BEDROOM FLATS AND 7 X TWO BEDROOM FLATS TOGETHER WITH ACCESS AND BASEMENT PARKING FOR 33 CARS.

We understand development needs to go ahead, as more housing is required and government targets need to be met, but not at the hands of developers who have no regard for residents that have lived here for many years.

The red hoarding as seen from the Bath road Poyle is around the proposed site. Residents of nearby houses had a shock when they tried to walk the pathway that they had been walking for many years, as Fox Homes had put their hoarding over the top of the pathway, blocking access for residents even though this is their legal access and have Right of Way over the path, as stated in their homeowner deeds and on the Land Registry Map.

Local residents have been campaigning to get the hoarding removed and their pathway reinstated. Fox Homes (Cape Corporation), which residents believe are only one of the many companies that Shane Sprenger & James Poole are directors of, have admitted that they have encroached onto the footpath but have still not moved the hoarding, denying residents their legal access back.

Slough Borough Council has said it is nothing to do with them as they cannot get involved in boundary issues, even though they admit the hoarding is encroaching on the pathway. Surely common practice would be to oversee, the putting up of fencing on land to be developed, by the council planning department, but it’s not!!

This is not the only problem that residents in Colnbrook have with Fox Homes (Cape Corporation), there is an issue regarding their water supply that has supplied local residents. The main water supply runs under the proposed site and Fox Homes (Cape Corporations, John Goddard) have said that residents would have to pay the bill for re-routing the water.

So this company seem very unprofessional when dealing with local residents whose lives have been hugely affected by Fox Homes (Cape Corporation) and have no regard for anyone around them, as long as they get their planning permission and make a big profit at the expense of local residents.

The council seem very happy as they will now be collecting extra council tax and will help meet their Government quota for extra housing.

The pathway runs alongside the disused railway line that used to service West Drayton to Staines, at the point where the old railway crossing in Poyle was situated opposite Station House.

The Poyle railway station opened in 1927 to provide the village of Poyle and Colnbrook with transport. It closed to passengers in 1965.The line north of Colnbrook remains open for goods services.

Many people cut through here every day to get to Blackthorne Road industrial estate and have been doing so for many years, if you have used the pathway over the last 20 years, please mention so in the Your Shout column as residents are trying to make this a public footpath.

Latest Update

Shane Sprenger and James Poole who are directors of Fox Homes-Cape Corporation and who too run Heathrow Apartments have caused local residents of Colnbrook over a year of misery. Over a year ago they blocked local resident’s access to their homes by putting a wooden hoarding over the footpath that lead to their homes. Even though it was proved that they did not own the land they had taken, the hoarding still blocks the footpath.

Since obtaining planning permission on this site in July, the land is now up for sale as residents knew that was all this company wanted to gain as they can make a big profit now they have the planning permission.

The residents of Colnbrook urge any person interested in this development to have a solicitor check in detail exactly what they are buying, as part of the land is not the developers to sell and residents are in the process of obtaining an injunction so no building cannot commence until the footpath is reinstated and the right of way established as it was before.

The council and residents solicitors had told Cape Corporation that the hoarding had been put up in error but they have ignored instructions to remove it.

Developers who do anything to make money, causing local residents left to endure over a year misery and loss of time and money, fighting for what is ours!!