A recent article published in both the Reading Chronicle and Wokingham Today highlights plans for 230 homes at Riverways Farm between Charvil and Twyford in Wokingham. Initially this development was rejected by Wokingham Borough Council's planning committee.
But the developer is now launching an appeal meaning the decision could be overturned by the planning inspectorate.
During discussion, Cllr Stephen Conway (Liberal Democrats, Twyford, Ruscombe and Hurst) argued the development would effectively create a new settlement that would be cut off from Twyford making daily travel difficult. Agreeing, Cllr Wayne Smith (Conservative, Thames) said it had taken him 30 minutes to walk from the site to Twyford train station.
Councillors concluded that future occupants would be reliant on cars to get about.
Furthermore, the plan received 171 objections from neighbours, raising concerns about overdevelopment and the impact the project would have on sewage and schools, such as the nearby Piggott CofE secondary school.
Contrast those statements regarding planning objections and residents concerns with this quote from the print version of Wokingham Today published the same day as the article above, September 5th.
In his “From the leader” column Cllr Conway writes:
“The new Local Plan will come to council on 19 September. The culmination of many years of work by the previous and current administration. It recommends the best way to accommodate the housing target given to us by government.
Some people will not like the consequences of some of the compromises in the plan and I understand their concerns. However, as councillors we must consider the interests of the whole borough”.
Yesterday, September 7th, I attended a public meeting in Shinfield where some of Wokingham’s concerned residents were told about the dire consequences of building houses on the banks of the river Loddon, as we assume will be proposed when we finally, after nearly 3 years of waiting, get to see this “new” Local Plan.
Richard Ingham, myself, Guy Grandison and Jackie Rance presented our views on what the plan to build in the region of 4,500 houses in the so called “Loddon Garden Village” would mean for those of us who are not so lucky as to live in the (clearly much more important and valued) constituency of Cllr Conway. (Or is it just that they vote for him?).
517 Hectares of farmland lost. (Approximately 1,300 football pitches in area).
Valued local heritage (including the remains of a 13th Century Church) lost or debased by being incorporated into a vast new housing estate.
Local and endangered wildlife, such as the white clawed freshwater crayfish threatened by even more sewage being pumped into Barham Brook from the already overburdened Arborfield Water Treatment Plant.
Miles of hedgerow, many hundreds of years old, vitally important corridors for wildlife to move around will be broken up or lost to make way for new roads and houses.
Ancient woodland, established over thousands of years will be cut off, surrounded by houses, no longer able to share resources through the “Wood Wide Web”.
Warnings by such bodies as the Environment Agency about building next to a river that regularly floods, and that is increasingly likely to flood due to climate change, ignored.
Hugely expensive infrastructure such as a new bridge over the M4 taking money away from making more houses more affordable.
Thousands of additional cars onto small country lanes that are already at capacity during peak times causing more gridlock for local transport.
No train station in walking distance, very few buses, no cycle paths.
The separation between settlements that currently exists between Arborfield and Winnersh, Wokingham and Reading, Shinfield and Sindlesham, Lower Earley and Barkham eroded to the point that it barely exists. (Apart from the most high-risk areas of flood plain of course, because who is going to be able to build on it, who would buy a house on it and who would be fool enough to insure it?)
Vital infrastructure such as schools and medical services already at breaking point.
Serious concerns about the quality of new build property and the ability of the UK construction industry to deliver the safe, affordable and sustainable homes we agree, we badly need.
Above. Residents meet in Shinfield to learn more about the consequences of building thousands more houses in the South of Wokingham borough. Photo courtesy of Jackie Rance.
I have no idea why Cllr Conway thinks a two-tier planning system for Wokingham is representing the interests of the whole borough. It seems clear to me he is representing one part of the borough and ignoring the residents in another part. As "Our Leader" I would have wished for better from him.
I invite you all to join me outside the Shute End Offices on 19th September, starting at around 18.30 for 19.00 to make our objections heard about the imposition of houses on green field sites, once again ONLY in the South of the borough. I suggest you bring bells, whistles, drums, placards and banners because it seems that there are a great many Borough Councillors who suffer from a severe case of selective hearing.
They need to be reminded we also live in Wokingham and our countryside is just as important to us as theirs is to them.
Paul Stevens
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