As this map on the government’s MAGIC website shows, residents of Wokingham and Bracknell, are the first westward Boroughs outside London’s green belt with reasonable travel times into London for people to get to work :
What is curious is that Wokingham has welcomed housing development over and above the original population growth level whereas Bracknell hasn’t.
The reward for our “over-delivery” is as the Lib Dems have just discovered in the “no change here revision” to the NPPF… EVEN MORE development to occur in Wokingham.
Until and unless our local politicians take a stand - outlining the problems that we are getting ourselves into - the future we face collectively is that of West London - i.e. relentless urban sprawl with sky high prices (worse than here even) with the consequent modern method of economic slavery to fund a place to live.
Can we just expect to continue the local overspends - aided and abetted by local government - while the quality of our streets, our schools, our rivers, and our lives declines bit by bit - year after year - with the fatuous led by the brainless saying they’re going to fix things but actually doing nothing?
For example - there are hidden costs to all the housing development that’s been going on in Wokingham since 2010:
Roads - Promised as nil detriment (i.e. not worse than 2010) in the last Local Plan - now fast approaching gridlock - with potholes you could grow plants in.
Education - new school occupied by WBC staff, not pupils - no support for school transport from SDL’s to the schools elsewhere.
Sewage - flowing across our streets and in in our rivers - not treated by the profiteers at Thames Water.
Health - loads of new houses - no new Doctors’ Surgeries or Dentists - overlooked by the all-powerful “centralising" CCGs.
Community Centres - almost completely absent - developers delivery to promise has evaporated - they’ve just scarpered with the profits.
Public Transport - a well-used park and ride has gone, and two white elephants replaced it - where’s the practical alternative to the car?
Waste & recycling - service going down, costs going up.
Fire Safety – for example, a new block of flats in Arborfield that burnt to the ground.
… and the hypocrisy that surrounds Housing - huge increases in numbers AND in prices - England’s "Planning System” is morally and economically bankrupt.
So, if your life and that of your families, children and grandchildren is being impoverished by over-development of our area, you might want to start asking:
Who's doing anything to actually solve these issues?
Where's the enforcement that keeps things on track (financially, socially, and physically)?
And WHY are we proposing to do more of the same in Wokingham - didn’t we learn anything from the last Local Plan?
Or do we want to continue to have Wokingham wrecked by helping land speculators, landowning charities like that run by the University of Reading, aided and abetted by profiteering developers - where what gets delivered doesn’t add up to what they collectively promised?
Candidates are good at giving us slogans, leaflets and soundbites - but what are they proposing to actually DO about the consequences of over-development that we face every day?
As John F Kennedy actually said in 1961 - "The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.”
NB - today we'd use the phrase ‘good people'
Written by one of our readers.
Email affordableandsustainable@google.com if you have a point of view to share with us.
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