GOVERNMENT plans to dump more than 1,600 new homes a year on Wokingham borough have been labelled as ‘mystifying’ by a Wokingham councillor.
A new white paper is proposing to shake up planning laws to enable more houses to be built and reduce the Section 106 funding used for community infrastructure such as roads, shops and schools.
Cllr Wayne Smith, executive member for planning and enforcement, said that the Government’s ideas are disappointing.
“It is proposing more than double the current annual housing need in our borough, which itself is already far too high,” he said.
“This consultation proposes changes to the standard method for calculating the number of new homes to be built in each local authority.
“It is purposely designed to reach the government’s national target of delivering 300,000 homes a year.”
He pledged that the council would give a detailed response to the consultation.
“The proposed standard method is highly reliant on national population and household projections,” he explained.
“These are known to be subject to error and are heavily influenced by short term trends in house building.
“The changes proposed to the standard method means the borough’s new annual housing need would be calculated at 1,635 and not the current figure of 789 under the existing method.
“It penalises authorities like us which have already been delivering high numbers of new housing as dictated by central government despite our ongoing campaign to ministers that it’s already way too high.
“We’ve unwittingly become victims of our own success in doing what the government’s planning rules require.”
He added: “Most of our neighbouring authorities would only see small increases in their housing levels using this new method, with one actually seeing a decrease.
“This proposal would continue to concentrate growth in London and the south east, with the midlands and the north subject to much smaller increases, and in many cases significant decreases within cities in those areas.
“There is no pause for thought about aligning housing requirements with the government’s investment in infrastructure, proposals to geographically rebalance the national economy, or any sense check on local impacts of the proposed changes.
“This is inherently unfair on our residents, our businesses and our communities in the borough.”
Winnersh Lib Dem councillor Prue Bray said the new reform was destroying the country’s ability to build affordable homes.
She told Wokingham.Today: “They’ve changed the ratio for affordable housing provision from 50% affordable housing, 50% social rent, to 25% for sale on the open market, 37% affordable housing and 37% social rent.
“They’re gerrymandering housing, offering cheap housing to people who vote Tory and not enough housing for others.
“They’re bribing people. The algorithm used, means building cheaper homes in Conservative areas at a discount.”
