A husband and wife team have launched a second fight to stop new houses on land which is home to veteran oak trees at least 300 years old – and also bat colonies.
Former Woodley GP Dr Jeremy Lade and his wife Annette are asking residents to object to the plans. It is less than two years since their last battle over the green field sites by the A321 in Hurst.
The land between Whistley Green and the centre of Hurst is being suggested for a total of 15 new homes by Wokingham Borough Council. The council has to choose areas for housing in the years up to 2036 as part of their local plan update.
Dr and Mrs Lade, who live in Hurst, say the council’s guidelines for developing the land may well not allay residents’ earlier concerns about building on the two sites.
“If this area of Broadwater Lane is developed, the traditional rural character of the approach to the village would be overwhelmed by a modern brick urban environment,” says their letter to residents.
“At present this is an Area of Special Character and a Green Route with mature veteran oak trees at least 300 years old, eight other protected trees and hedgerow and seven 17th century Grade II Listed buildings.
“Most importantly the flood risk affecting residents along Broadwater Lane that borders [the larger] site has been ignored.” Both sites are outside the village settlement boundary, they say.
The land separates Hurst and Whistley Green, a historic pattern of development unchanged for 200 years, they add.
Serious flooding along the A321 in 2014 and also in 2021, which closed the road for several days and brought sewage into residents’ gardens, has been ignored, they claim.
They dispute the council’s assessment of low risk to natural habitat. They say there are four mature veteran oaks on the larger site and two on the border of the road. They provide roosts for bat colonies.
They urge villagers to write to Wokingham Borough Council objecting to the sites’ inclusion in the local plan by January 24 next year. They can email [email protected] or use the council’s survey form.
Wokingham Borough is updating its local plan because proposals for 15,000 new homes at Grazeley became impossible.
This was due to an extension of the emergency planning zone around AWE Burghfield. The council is asking borough residents what they think about the updated plan.
