Cricket pitch plan for site on waste dump watchlist

Retrospective planning permission is being sought for a cricket pitch built at a site on a national watchlist of waste dumps causing concern.

The pitch is on green belt land at Oak Tree Farm in Binfield, Berkshire, and used by Bracknell Cricket Club.

In May, the Environment Agency said it wanted to prosecute "the shameless people" who had left a reported 100,000 tonnes of rubbish at the site, adding it to a list of high priority locations it monitors closely.

But planning agents said the farm was "particularly well suited to cricket" and the project was "driven by the need to secure a permanent and sustainable home for the club".

The farm is owned by former Bracknell Town FC chairman Kayne Steinborn-Busse.

Agents on his behalf said the site was bought in part because of its "established sporting and recreational history", after it said a barn there was used for basketball training from 2011.

Any impact on the green belt was considered to be "very limited" and the visual impact deemed "minimal", they said.

A 2.7m (8ft 10in) bund has been built for the pitch, created from soil moved from Larges Lane in Bracknell and Sandhurst FC, the retrospective application states.

While the farm is in both Bracknell Forest and the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead, the pitch is entirely in the latter.

Royal Borough planning officers said the application submitted did not give enough detail about drainage.

They said if no further information was submitted, the permission should not be granted.

Waltham St Lawrence Parish Council is opposed to the application.

It said the plan was "inappropriate" for the site, that it could lead to flooding nearby and that the club using the pitch would lead to "excessive" traffic on local roads.

Previously, the Environment Agency said an estimated 32,000 tonnes of waste had been dumped at the site.

A spokesperson said said its estimates "can go up and down" as work progresses. Its investigation is ongoing.