There is no evidence of flooding risk at a potential new Aldi supermarket in Winnersh, a council has said, as the plans are set to go to an inquiry.
Wokingham Borough Council has changed its support for a plan for an Aldi Supermarket built on a floodplain for the third time.
Aldi Supermarket first had plans to build a new site on Gazelle Close, Winnersh, approved in December 2023.
But later evidence from the Environment Agency showed it would be at risk of flooding due to its proximity to the River Loddon. This made the council pull its support for the scheme in June.
A planning inspector is set to make a final decision following an inquiry next month.
Now, Wokingham Borough Council has changed its support for the scheme as it heads into the inquiry.
Planning officers are now recommending that councillors support the scheme as the applicant has demonstrated enough flooding mitigation measures.
A report to an extraordinary planning committee taking place on April 30 says the plan ‘now demonstrates that there will be no increase in flood risk elsewhere’.
A revised drainage scheme has been assessed by an independent consultant appointed by the council.
Mitigations include increased storage capacity to address combined flood scenarios and sequential operation of drainage systems.
Other minor matters are in the process of being amended, the report indicates.
The report continued: “On this basis, the Council’s independent drainage consultant and officers agree that the Council’s previous basis for objecting to the scheme have fallen away.”
While the decision is being taken back to the authority’s planning committee, the government are still set to make the final decision.
This is because it is ‘constitutionally correct’ that the committee reconsiders its position based on the new information.
Officers are recommending approval based on a number of conditions, including an employment skills plan.
But officers have put an alternative recommendation to councillors to recommend refusal in the event that a legal agreement, known as a section 106, is not completed between the applicant and the council.
Back in 2023 the plans received mixed reactions from locals.
While some welcomed the budget supermarket chain for the area, some warned it would worsen traffic in the area.
Others argued if the plans were approved there should be new safety measures brought in at Gazelle Close’s junction with Reading Road.
This recommendation will be taken as evidence from the council to the inquiry, scheduled to begin on May 13.
An inquiry was originally meant to take place in August 2024, and it is not known why the decision was delayed.
