Proposed Wokingham housing increases threaten success of the region's economic engine
Increased Wokingham housing numbers put forward by the team of independent inspectors appointed to scrutinise the South East Plan threaten the very success that central government is trying to promote, according to the leader of Wokingham Borough Council.
Berkshire, seen as a crucial component of the success of the Thames Valley economic engine room, sees the greatest proposed increase for any county area with a 30 per cent additional number of houses recommended. This equates to an extra 780 houses being built every year on top of the 2,624 put forward by the Regional Assembly in its South East Plan, making a total of 3,404 homes to be built in the county every year for the next 20 years.
For Wokingham Borough, the proposal is for 623 homes to be built each and every year, a 19 per cent increase on the original 523 South East Plan proposal and more than double the borough’s preferred number of 310, meaning that the borough would have to accommodate some 12,460 homes over the 20-year period.
This increase is directly against the views expressed by our local residents,” said Cllr Frank Browne, leader of the council.
More than half of all resident objections received by the panel during the 2006 public consultation came from the Wokingham Borough, adding to the weight of the council’s arguments that the level of development proposed was unacceptable to the Wokingham Borough; the borough’s infrastructure - including roads, schools and health services - is inadequate for its current needs and could not withstand the increased development proposed and that the plan had not fully thought out the environmental, economic and social impacts.
Wokingham Borough Council was the only council to vote against the South East Plan owing to these fundamental concerns over the impact the plan would have on the sustainability of the region and on central government’s failure to invest properly into growth areas over the last 15 to 20 years.
Wokingham Cllr Frank Browne said: “We believe the additional proposals are not sustainable and will not come with the required infrastructure investment. We recognise Prime Minister Gordon Brown wants more housing and that the inspectors would have been aware of that desire but their proposals simply defy logic. If you take Wokingham Borough as an example, we have been one of the fastest growing boroughs in the country for the last 30 years, we believe second only to Milton Keynes.
“But, unlike Milton Keynes we have not had the necessary investment into our infrastructure that is needed. Our roads are seriously congested, public transport is poor, our schools need significant capital investment and we don’t have enough doctors’ surgeries or leisure facilities throughout the borough.
Berkshire, seen as a crucial component of the success of the Thames Valley economic engine room, sees the greatest proposed increase for any county area with a 30 per cent additional number of houses recommended. This equates to an extra 780 houses being built every year on top of the 2,624 put forward by the Regional Assembly in its South East Plan, making a total of 3,404 homes to be built in the county every year for the next 20 years.
For Wokingham Borough, the proposal is for 623 homes to be built each and every year, a 19 per cent increase on the original 523 South East Plan proposal and more than double the borough’s preferred number of 310, meaning that the borough would have to accommodate some 12,460 homes over the 20-year period.
This increase is directly against the views expressed by our local residents,” said Cllr Frank Browne, leader of the council.
More than half of all resident objections received by the panel during the 2006 public consultation came from the Wokingham Borough, adding to the weight of the council’s arguments that the level of development proposed was unacceptable to the Wokingham Borough; the borough’s infrastructure - including roads, schools and health services - is inadequate for its current needs and could not withstand the increased development proposed and that the plan had not fully thought out the environmental, economic and social impacts.
Wokingham Borough Council was the only council to vote against the South East Plan owing to these fundamental concerns over the impact the plan would have on the sustainability of the region and on central government’s failure to invest properly into growth areas over the last 15 to 20 years.
Wokingham Cllr Frank Browne said: “We believe the additional proposals are not sustainable and will not come with the required infrastructure investment. We recognise Prime Minister Gordon Brown wants more housing and that the inspectors would have been aware of that desire but their proposals simply defy logic. If you take Wokingham Borough as an example, we have been one of the fastest growing boroughs in the country for the last 30 years, we believe second only to Milton Keynes.
“But, unlike Milton Keynes we have not had the necessary investment into our infrastructure that is needed. Our roads are seriously congested, public transport is poor, our schools need significant capital investment and we don’t have enough doctors’ surgeries or leisure facilities throughout the borough.
Wokingham Borough Council
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