A consultation has opened into plans for 53 houses on land off Old Forest Road in Winnersh.
Real estate firm Savills has prepared the application on behalf of Elstree Land for the residential development that will include “.. associated landscaping, parking, drainage, open space and other associated works.”
The land forms part of a site that was identified for residential development in the Local Plan Update.
The agent said: “Whilst this currently has very limited weight (as it has not yet been examined and found ‘sound’), Wokingham Borough Council is currently unable to demonstrate a five-year supply of land for housing as required by national policy, and so this application has been brought forward to help address the deficiency.”
The planned 53 homes will include 32 private market dwellings and 21 affordable dwellings, to help boost the supply of homes in Wokingham Borough, meet local needs and contribute towards the current shortfall in the housing land supply.
They added the plans will “.. make effective use of land in a sustainable location, which is close to local services and facilities, and has been identified as suitable for development in the emerging Local Plan Update.
During a pre-application consultation, the agents noted a total of 24 responses were received from local residents and the Emmbrook Residents Association.
Concerns raised included the sites relationship with the Northern Distribution Road (Toutley Road) running adjacent, concerns regarding traffic increase and transport implications of the development, queries regarding why access is proposed from Old Forest Road / not proposed from Toutley Road, and concerns for loss of habitat and wildlife on the site
The plans indicate there will be 10 one-bed apartments, 12 two-bed apartments, 5 two-bedroom houses, 14 three-bedroom houses, and 12-four-bedroom houses.
The majority of the proposed development would comprise two-storey dwellings. The apartment blocks in the western part of the site would be three-storeys in height and some 2.5 storey units are proposed to transition between these and the lower height houses elsewhere on the site.
However, towards the centre of the site, some dwellings up to 2.5 storeys in height are proposed. Storey heights along the southern boundary, adjoining the existing built up area of Old Forest Road, are generally two-storeys in height.
Car Parking is provided on site at a standard of two spaces per 1-3 bedroom dwelling, and three spaces per 4+ bedroom dwelling.
These would be provided as a mix of allocated, unallocated and visitor spaces, with 100 spaces planned in total.
One local resident, objecting to the plans, said the development “.. would cause the local roads to become congested and would potentially cause traffic accidents.
“The addition of these proposed homes would make the situation worse than it was prior to the opening of the new road.
“This development has the potential to cause serious congestion and accidents if access is given down the narrow lane off Old Forest Road.”
Another said: “I strongly object to this planning application for housing development on this site.
“The proposed location is wholly unsuitable for further housing .. because of loss of wildlife habitat and impact on protected trees.”
The consultation period for the application is open until July 24, 2025.
You can find out more by searching planning application number 251421 on Wokingham borough council’s planning portal.
