THE ROW over whether Wokingham should build 15,000 homes in a new garden village in Grazeley took a new twist after John Redwood shared his early views on the issue.
The Wokingham MP said that he has been consulting constituents over the plans which were leaked last autumn.
Wokingham Borough Council is arguing that under Government imposed targets it has to build more than 850 homes a year until 2036. However, as we revealed last week, John Redwood feels that the plan to contain the majority of the development in one place could backfire.
In his blog post this week, which started with a note that he had not yet completed his canvassing of residents’ views, he said that the council should start to review the demand for housing rather than looking to build more homes.
He argued: “The government has said it intends to reduce [immigration] by two thirds or more. This needs to be factored in to any calculations about housing demand after 2020.”
He also said that if Grazeley were to go ahead, the “latest thinking” from the Planning Inspectorate suggests that the council will not be able to prevent developments elsewhere.
“If a Council opts for one major settlement and the build rate is too low in the view of the Planning Inspectors against the assumed need for homes, then they will grant planning permissions elsewhere as well,” he noted. “Whilst concentration of settlement may have the advantage of sparing other places, it may also fall short of the building targets and require even more infrastructure than the developer contribution pays for.”
Mr Redwood also drew attention to infrastucture, warning that Junction 11 of the M4 is already very crowded and “capacity into Reading from the south fully used at peaks. A major settlement at Grazeley will need additional capacity for school places and GP services.
“Will any such scheme at Grazeley ensure the provision of sufficient additional capacity in transport and public services, and will this be put in before the homes are built?”
Flooding has also been raised by Mr Redwood as a reason to be cautious about Grazeley.
He asked: “Will action be taken to provide proper capacity to handle surface water and the foul water generated by many new homes?”
Wokingham Borough Council welcomed Mr Redwood’s blog.
Speaking to The Wokingham Paper, executive member for planning, regeneration and communities, Cllr Mark Ashwell, said: “As John Redwood has written in his blog we have been consulting with him over the Local Plan Update, which will set where development can and cannot take place over the next 20 years and will continue to do so.
“This is a two year process and all decisions made will be tested by a government inspector in May 2019.
“The concerns he raised are exactly the sort of issues we are concerned about. As he reiterates we really need the Government’s Planning Inspectorate to provide much more protection against inappropriate development.
“This is why we have asked for special planning powers to resist other development. This would be a prerequisite to any decision to go ahead with a garden settlement at Grazeley as part of the Local Plan Update in 2019. We would welcome any influence our MP can bring to bear on this.
“The blog also shows that Mr Redwood shares our desire to get the right infrastructure in place early and to avoid any increased flood risk. Both of these are key issues for us as we plan the future development of the borough.
“Mr Redwood’s suggestion that we look at the demand for housing before making any decision is something we are continuing to work on with our neighbouring authorities.
“However, predicting housing demand is very complex and requires all of us to look at more factors than simply a Government’s aspiration to reduce immigration.
“We are also aware that a Housing White Paper is due to be published by the Government shortly and we need to be mindful of any changes that introduces.”
