A final decision on whether a supermarket can be built on a flood plain will be made in May after Wokingham borough council dropped its support for plans last year.
It pulled its support for an Aldi supermarket to be built in Gazelle Close, Winnersh, in June 2024.
Members of the council’s planning committee approved the supermarket plans in December 2023, despite flood risk warnings by the Environment Agency. The agency objected to the plans as a large part of the site is a floodplain, and would be at risk if the nearby River Loddon overflows.
In June 2024, planning officers wrote: “The application site is within an area of flood risk and has failed to demonstrate that it would not increase the risk of flooding elsewhere.”
Following this, the government called in the application, meaning it would be reviewed by a planning inspector, before a final decision would be made by a minister.
A minister usually only gets involved if an application conflicts with national policy in important ways, or is nationally significant. This was set to take place in August 2024.
Now, the application is set to be decided on May 13. It is not known why the decision has been delayed.
The inquiry will be led by Alison Dyson, while Aldi Stores Ltd will be represented by Jack McLean.
