Up to 500 homes could be built on the edge of a Berkshire village under a plan that has been branded ‘devastating’.
Planning consultant Richborough has announced its intention to apply for planning permission to develop a large area of farmland on the southern edge of Spencers Wood, near Shinfield.
Villagers said they feared the development would destroy the area’s semi-rural feel.
Writing in the Spencers Wood Residents Against Over-Development public Facebook group, one resident said Spencers Wood had already been made ‘unrecognisable’ by new housing estates built since she moved to the area 26 years ago.
Another said: “I have lived here for nearly 18 years and find it frustrating with the amount of houses being built on our lovely fields. The number of houses being built is madness.”
Villagers became aware of the plans after Richborough announced it had signed a ‘promotion agreement’ with the landowner. This is where planning consultants agree to apply for planning permission, then try to sell the land to developers if the application is successful.
Richborough said the 95-acre site could fit up to 500 homes as well as a park, a school and ‘other community facilities’.
The large development would fill a large area of farmland in the gap between Basingstoke Road in the south west of Spencers Wood and Sussex Lane in the south east.
A news release on Richborough’s website said: “In January 2024, Richborough entered into a promotion agreement with a landowner to bring forward a residential scheme in Spencers Wood, Reading, Berkshire.
“The 95-acre parcel of land off has the potential to deliver up to 500 new homes, including affordable housing, a school, Suitable Alternative Natural Green Space and other community facilities.”
Cllr Catherine Glover, a Wokingham Borough councillor for Shinfield South, set up the ‘Spencers Wood residents against over-development’ page after getting ‘early heads up’ about the plans from a neighbour.
She told the Local Democracy Reporting Service she was preparing to oppose the plans, warning that such a large new development would put pressure on roads, schools and shops.
“It’s just devastating really. The traffic situation is already horrendous,” she continued.
“There aren’t any schools – there aren’t enough schools at any level. There’s not enough retail either. We’re getting a Lidl in Shinfield but it’s not going to be a big store.”
Cllr Chris Johnson, another Shinfield South councillor, said housing developments could make the Shinfield area ‘an extension of Reading’.
He told the LDRS: “I know exactly what sort of pressure that would put on the local area.”
Richborough did not respond to a request for comment.
