HOUSE BUILDING targets in the borough will be reduced, in a U-turn announced last week.
Robert Jenrick has abandoned plans to build heavily in the south of England, after opposition from Conservatives MPs.
Included in those were John Redwood, Theresa May and James Sunderland — all of which opposed the dramatic increase in house building targets for their constituencies.
Instead, England’s 20 biggest cities will take the largest targets, in a shift to push investment up north.
In the summer, the housing minister suggested more than 1,600 homes must be built in the Wokingham borough each year.
At the time, Cllr Wayne Smith, executive member for planning and enforcement called the increase “inherently unfair” on residents, businesses and communities.
And council leader John Halsall invited fellow councillors to protest naked in Westminster in a bid to get housing numbers in the borough reduced.
MPs and councillors criticised the algorithm used to decide housing figures, with Cllr Halsall suggesting the borough was a victim of its own success.
He said the track record of meeting targets had opened the borough up to further development targets.
Now, the council leader has cautiously welcomed the announcement, and said he will “continue to put our case to Government to get the best deal for the borough”.
He said: “We are cautiously optimistic about the news we are hearing, that the Government will amend the housing formula to achieve a better spread of homes across the country.
“Nonetheless, we have to keep pressing our case with the Government.
“I will continue working with the council’s executive and our local Conservative MPs to persuade the Government to provide housing numbers which are fair to our residents and sustainable for the borough.”
Cllr Smith added: “This isn’t about stopping all new housing in our borough – indeed, we are putting together a Local Plan to deliver more affordable homes that our residents desperately need. But we have to have housing numbers for our area that are reasonable and achievable, and which won’t see all our green space concreted over.
“The Government understands this, and this is why they have announced a sensible review of their draft policy.
“We are grateful for all the support we are receiving from local residents in this campaign, and I urge them to continue to help the Government to achieve the best housing formula for our area.”
In October, the borough council lodged their formal objections to the plan, as part of the consultation. It has also opposed suggested reforms to the planning process, as part of the Planning For The Future white paper.
