By Cllr Pauline Jorgensen
The Liberal Democrats’ record in Wokingham Borough on housing is one of over-promising and a total failure to deliver.
If we’re elected to run the Council on May 2, the Conservatives are committed to ending Liberal Democrat mismanagement that has seen housing being built in the wrong places and the wrong numbers, and no action being taken on targets.
When the Liberal Democrats took control of the Council, they promised to reduce the Borough’s housing numbers.
Much was made by the Liberal Democrats of their previous leader Clive Jones bumping into Michael Gove at a conference.
But nothing has been achieved.
Whereas the previous Conservative administration managed to cut the Borough’s housing target in half, under two Liberal Democrat leaders in two years, no progress has been made.
Liberal Democrat inaction on housing goes further. Having torn up the previous draft Local Plan, which decides where new housing will go in future years, the administration has spent the better part of 24 months sitting on their hands.
The result? A complete loss of control over the planning system where developers have managed to win appeals for more new housing in completely inappropriate places. This is all because the lack of a new Local Plan from the Liberal Democrats means there is no five year land supply – so inspectors will continually rule in developers’ favour. Worse still, the Council is choosing to actively not defend planning appeals, knowing that there isn’t a five year land supply.
Under the Liberal Democrats, a site at 6 Johnson Drive, in a rural area of Finchampstead, was recommended for approval to the Planning Committee, having previously been defended by the Council for many years.
Another developer won an appeal to build 32 houses on a rural site off Nine Mile Ride in Finchampstead.
We know that the Liberal Democrats are finally going to publish a draft Local Plan but they’re not letting residents see it until June, after this May’s local elections.
And nearly two years before you will next get the chance to vote again. This is a breathtakingly cynical attempt to avoid backlash from residents and ensure that it’s all done before you get the chance to vote again.
Next month’s elections are your last chance to stop the Liberal Democrats.
Every seat on the Council is up for election this time, meaning it’s possible to change control in one go.
The Conservatives have a clear plan for housing if we are elected. We would get on with the Local Plan, but based on clear principles. We will oppose building on green fields, including at Hall Farm near Arborfield.
Instead, we would prioritise building on brownfield sites, of which there are many across the Borough, but that’s not all.
Crucially a Conservative administration would also continue its campaign to cut the Borough’s housing numbers to a sustainable level. We’ve previously worked with local Conservative MPs to make the case to a Conservative Government.
That’s why it’s so important that we avoid a Labour Government at the next General Election. Sir Keir Starmer has made clear that if he were Prime Minister, he would have local housing targets set by Whitehall – taking the power out of your hands.
Unlike the Liberal Democrats, a Conservative administration would also vigorously fight planning appeals, stopping developers dumping the wrong types of homes in unsuitable places. At the same time, we will hold developers to account for actually putting in place the infrastructure they promise.
After two years of the Liberal Democrats, housing and planning are out of control. The developers are in charge, while the administration is hoping to sneak through the elections without you noticing.
You can change this. On May 2, vote Conservative to put local people back in charge, and deliver a housing system that works for Wokingham Borough.
Cllr Pauline Jorgensen is the leader of Wokingham Conservatives on Wokingham Borough Council and a candidate in Hillside ward
