PLANS TO build a 15,000 home garden city in Grazeley have been scrapped, following objections from the Ministry of Defence.
Back in March, the emergency planning zone around AWE Burghfield was extended to include all of the proposed Grazeley development, parts of Spencers Wood, Three Mile Cross and Shinfield.
Now, the borough council said it is looking at alternatives, after objections from the Defence Nuclear Organisation, part of the Ministry of Defence.
“This is a disappointment,” said Cllr Wayne Smith, executive member for planning. “We believed a garden town at Grazeley was a great way to provide homes local people need in a way that would safeguard our environmental and economic future.
“It seems that perhaps the Ministry of Defence isn’t in step with other parts of the government, as they awarded Grazeley garden city status in 2019.”
He said the council has other “strong possibilities” to explore — and will bring new proposals to residents next year.
But the Liberal Democrats are not convinced it’s off the table.
Cllr Clive Jones, deputy leader of the party said a judicial review has been lodged against the emergency planning zone extension.
Developer Crest Nicholson was leading the charge, with Hallam Land Management and Wilson Enterprises representing local land owners at the High Court hearing on Tuesday and Wednesday.
In a joint statement, the trio said “doubling” the emergency planning zone cannot be explained by regulation changes last year.
“Aldermaston AWE zone has not changed at all, while the Burghfield AWE zone has effectively doubled,” they added.
The judicial review will consider whether correct consultation and decision-making processes were followed.
Cllr Jones said he believes the Grazeley project is not going away — it has just been delayed.
“I don’t think it’s off the table,” he said. “Grazeley has been the council’s baby from the very beginning. I don’t think they’re going to let it go — they’ve been behind it since 2016.”
Instead, he expects the plan will be returned to later down the line, after the appeal.
Cllr Lindsay Ferris, leader of the Liberal Democrats said he is concerned such little action is being taken to form a new local plan.
He said: “We have asked why — it is important to keep momentum going with such a large project.”
His biggest concerns are in creating a five-year land supply, and the ageing current local plan — which may render it vulnerable to developers.
Cllr Carl Doran, Labour spokesperson for housing, said the shift was a complete U-turn by the borough council.
“The Ministry of Defence does not have the power to stop Grazeley but even the simple implication that they would object has been enough to see WBC fold,” he said. “If only WBC paid heed to residents’ views in the same way and at the same speed.”
He said the Labour group always thought Grazeley was the wrong plan. It was a garden town in name only and the marketing of its “infra-structure” delivery was always going to be greater than the reality.
He added: “I think the idea behind Grazeley was for Wokingham Conservatives to put all their eggs in one basket and put up with losing a few nearby councillors, while retaining enough councillors elsewhere to retain power at WBC — cynical politicking.”
He suggested the shortfall of around 4,000 houses over the next five to 10 years could be made up by building en mass elsewhere.
“That is predicated on the current housing numbers rules, which we know are about to be wiped out by the Government’s planning reforms,” Cllr Doran added. “If those plans are realised, then there will have to be several areas taking an extra 4,000 homes over the next 10 years or so.”
He said the new housing numbers are “almost entirely due to a lack of genuinely affordable housing” in the borough — something he blamed the council for “ignoring” for years.
“They have pandered to developers by accepting sums in lieu of affordable housing and accepting larger amounts of shared ownership over social rent housing than even their own policy demands,” he said.
“That wasn’t enough for these rapacious developers, so they lobbied the Government to increase our housing numbers. And yet, WBC still bend over backwards for developers, as any reading of recent planning applications will show.”
He said that current leadership made the future look “bleak” when it came to housing.
AWE’s site in Burghfield is a former munitions factory where warheads are assembled and maintained while in service, and decommissioned when out of service. It is one of four sites run by AWE.
In March, West Berkshire Council said the emergency planning zones at AWE Burghfield were updated because of changes introduced as a result of the Radiation (Emergency Preparedness and Public Information) Regulations 2019 (REPPIR 19).
The same month, the £250 million of national Government funding, which was to be used for infrastructure in Grazeley was scrapped.
The spring Budget declared the bulk of Housing Infrastructure Funding (HIF) would go to projects in the north of the UK, where demand for homes is lower, and more financial support is needed for local councils.
Cllr John Halsall said: “The Grazeley Market Town may no longer be achievable. We are in the uncomfortable place of being in a limbo between the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) and the Ministry of Defence..
“The MHCLG declared in favour of a market town, which would have been the only one with a sustainable transport network and carbon neutral. We had quite a lot of money from them to work it up, bring partners together and yet the MoD has shot it down pretty viciously.”
“We could continue to include the garden town in our local plan, but the risk is that the independent inspector would say it’s not allowed because the objection is there already. I’ve been continuously asking central government to sort themselves out and decide what they want to do.
“The two departments have decided that they’ll just have to have a Mexican standoff.
“We’ve sent a letter of objection, which is very comprehensive objection, to the MHCLG, and said, ‘What do you think?’ Silence has been the response.
“I’m fully sympathetic that the Government has a lot on its plate at the moment so the little problems of Wokingham Borough Council must seem less important but it does create a problem for us.
“We are now looking at alternatives.”
