Wokingham

The views and opinions of local Wokingham residents on future development in the region are set to be heard as Wokingham District Council gets ready to argue its position on the South East Plan to government inspectors.

An independent review of the plan – known as an Examination-in-Public (EiP) – is taking place between November 28 and March 30 and will provide an opportunity for the discussion and testing, in public and before a panel appointed by the Secretary of State, of particular aspects of the plan (selected by the panel after the period of public consultation in June).

More than half of all resident objections received by the panel during the summer’s public consultation came from the Wokingham district, adding to the weight of the council’s arguments against elements of the plan.

Wokingham District Council has been invited to three of the first eight sessions (November 28, November 30 and December 6) in Woking and will argue that:
· the level of development proposed in the plan is unacceptable to the Wokingham district.
· the district’s infrastructure - including roads, schools and health services - is inadequate for its current needs and could not withstand the increased development proposed by the plan.
· plan has not been properly informed by sustainability appraisal (the environmental, economic and social impacts and benefits from plans and policies)

The panel will also be holding sessions in Chichester, Maidstone and Reading during the EiP process.

The council will also attend the hearing of regional matters scheduled for March 2007.

Covering the period from 2006 to 2026, the draft South East Plan produced by the South East England Regional Assembly (SEERA) recommends that 523 homes are built in the Wokingham district every year for the next 20 years, a total of 10,460 for 2006 to 2026.

Wokingham District Council believes that this is too high and is arguing that it should be reduced to 310 - 320 houses a year.

“Wokingham was the only council to vote against the Regional Assembly’s proposals as we believe they are seriously flawed, unsustainable and do not satisfactorily address the infrastructure impact a further 500 homes a year will have for the next 20 years,” said leader of the council Cllr Frank Browne.

“The support of our residents has been invaluable as we continue to make our case. We received thousands of responses to our own consultation on the South East Plan and hundreds more residents wrote directly to the EiP panel to make their views known. In fact, more than half of the objections received by the panel came from the Wokingham district.

“As we get ready for the EiP, I’d like to thank residents for their support and assure them that we will continue to make every effort we can to fight their case.”

Anyone wanting more information the EiP process, participants and matters to be considered should visit www.eipsoutheast.co.uk.

Wokingham District Council