Environmental campaigners have expressed ‘serious concerns’ over ‘excessive and unsustainable’ housebuilding plans for Berkshire, as the borough faces higher targets set by the government.
Berkshire must build more than 40 per cent more houses a year as part of Labour’s pledge to deliver 1.5 million new homes in the next five years.
Every area of Berkshire other than Slough have seen their targets raised. Wokingham Borough Council must build at least 1,308 homes a year, up from 748, while Bracknell Forest Council must build 767, up from 563.
West Berkshire Council has seen targets more than double, which leaders described as a ‘bombshell’.
Windsor and Maidenhead targets have increased from 866 to 1,341 per year and Reading 878 to 1,023.
Reacting to these new targets, Campaign to Protect Rural England (CPRE) has expressed ‘serious concerns’ about the scale and type of houses proposed for the county.
They are worried for the impact it will have on the countryside and green spaces across Berkshire.
The Berkshire Chairman for the charity, Greg Wilkinson, said that ‘what is currently proposed for our county is far more than we can cope with’.
He claimed that some housing schemes already put forward demonstrate ‘the wrong sort of homes, in the wrong places’ and being ‘too big in scale’.
The chairman argued that the proposals mean there will be a loss of ‘significant areas of our countryside’, including ‘agricultural land’.
The Berkshire branch of the charity opened in 1926, with the aim to protect the countryside and natural environment of the county.
Mr Wilkinson added that his charity would like stronger commitment by councillors and MPs to protect green spaces.
He has argued that majority of new housing should be ‘focused on the big cities’.
Targets will become mandatory for local authorities to deliver, the Labour government announced earlier this month.
They have increased previously ‘watered down’ rates of 300,000 set by the Conservative government.
The Minister for Housing and Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner admitted that the higher targets ‘won’t be without controversy’ but are essential in making housing more affordable.
The region has many new MPs who promised to protect green spaces in the run up to the general election on July 4. These include Labour’s Yuan Yang, for Woodley and Earley and Peter Swallow for Bracknell, as well as Liberal Democrat’s Clive Jones for Wokingham and Joshua Reynolds for Maidenhead.
The Campaign to Protect Rural England is calling on all Berkshire MPs to take action.
