RESIDENTS have penned an open letter to Wokingham Borough Council expressing their concerns about developments taking place on their doorstep.
Shinfield Studios is being built no more than 100m from Cutbush Lane East, which is home to five households.
In the letter, issues such as excessive noise, vibrations and the speed of HGVs travelling down the 20mph access road from Thames Valley Science Park have been raised, with particular focus on the council’s enforcement of established working hours.
Resident Mark Cockram explained: “We’ve been raising these issues with the council for a long time, ever since the proposals for the studios were put forward for development, but we’ve got no traction from them.
“When it comes to vehicles coming round the corner of the access, you have near misses all the time. There are children, elderly people and cyclists walking to and from Earley, it’s just an accident waiting to happen.
“We’re not against the studios being built, it’s the issues around the enforcing of working hours and planning approval.”
He explained that Cutbush Lane East is closed to vehicles heading to the development site. However, with most satellite navigation systems not yet accommodating for this, many HGVs end up turning onto the single lane road, reaching the end and having to reverse out onto Shinfield’s busy Eastern Relief Road.
Wokingham Today visited the site and witnessed a HGV turn into Cutbush Lane East before the driver realised he could not gain access to the studios. After reversing back down the road, the driver unsuccessfully signalled for traffic to stop.
Residents were forced to assist the driver in halting oncoming vehicles from both directions.
Five signs had been placed at the junction into the lane, four of which had fallen at the time of the paper’s visit.
Mr Cockram suggested width restrictions were a possible solution, but stressed it was more important for the council to install adequate signage to prevent drivers turning into Cutbush Lane East in the first instance.
One of the residents is a Community Speedwatch volunteer and used his or her device to record cars and HGVs travelling down the access road at speeds of up to 48mph, significantly exceeding the 20mph speed limit.
Noise from both the studio and reversing HGVs has been exacerbated by the fact that three of the four properties on the left side of Cutbush Lane East are Grade 2-listed properties, which are not permitted to have double glazed windows.
According to residents, houses can be felt shaking as a result of the vibrations caused by piling and general construction at the site.
The open letter also mentioned cracks appearing in some of the Grade 2-listed properties, with the master bedroom ceiling in one of the properties completely collapsing. Fortunately, no-one was injured.
Cllr Lindsay Ferris, executive member for planning and local plan, said: “We’ve investigated these issues and can assure those affected that we’re working closely with the developers to keep these to a minimum.
“We’ve been clear to the developers that they must seek advance permission for any works outside their permitted hours. We will consider these requests carefully, taking account of impact on neighbours.
“Unfortunately, large-scale projects like this will sometimes need to work additional hours and, in this case, we’ve agreed several extensions where the works would cause limited disturbance.”
Cllr Ferris added that where extended working hours are agreed, the developers have been told they must notify those who may be affected and provide details of what works are taking place, and ensure they are supervised.
He identified recent inclement weather conditions as a cause of delays, meaning some activities, such as concrete pouring, which can only be carried out in a single stretch, have had to take place overnight.
“Although there have been vibrations from piling work, this has been closely monitored and falls within acceptable levels,” Cllr Ferris explained.
“If a neighbour is concerned that vibration from piling has impacted their property, we’d advise them to seek their own advice as this is a civil matter outside our control.
“We’ve also asked the developers to remind drivers of the advisory limits and to only access the site via Thames Valley Science Park, in line with the agreed site management plan. Separately, we’ve asked Google to update its maps to reduce the risk of driver error.”
“The terms of any covenants on the land aren’t a planning consideration, although we understand that the office space is no longer required, and we’d also point out that the scheme was weighed against national and local policies and will include a 10 percent biodiversity net gain.
“We would assess any future planning applications for the site against the same standards and will continue to require future works to follow best practice and regulations.
“I hope this addresses any concerns about this scheme, which is set to deliver significant economic benefits while running to the highest sustainability standards. We’re listening to residents and will do all we can to help.”
