New national housing targets reveal Wokingham will have to build 500 new homes a year, while targets to Bracknell increase proposed home builds by 200.
The Labour government has pledged to build 37,000 homes a year in England as part of targets to deliver 1.5 million new homes in the next five years.
As part of this, they are bringing back mandatory housing targets for local authorities. Targets published show Wokingham Borough Council will need to build at least 1,308 new homes a year – up from previous targets of 748.
Bracknell Forest Council has also had an increase in its target, now required to build 767 a year, up from 563.
Berkshire as a whole has been told to build 40 per cent more houses a year. Every area in the county other than Slough has seen an increase in the number of houses it needs to build yearly – with the target for West Berkshire more than doubling.
This is increasing ‘watered down’ targets of 300,000 previously set by the Conservative government.
Minister for Housing and deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner admitted said that the plans ‘won’t be without controversy’ but are essential to make housing more affordable.
Housing and development continue to be a controversial topic for Wokingham. Campaign groups such as Save Our Loddon Valey Environment have lobbied the council to stop ‘overdevelopment’ in the area.
Another 1,400 homes recently approved will see the border of Wokingham cross the railway for the first time, expanding the size of the town.
In the council, housing is the source of constant heated debate between the Liberal Democrats and Conservatives. The Conservatives have frequently criticised the Lib Dems, who run the council, for not publishing an updated local plan, a key document which sets out how housing will be delivered in the region. The draft is set to be debated at the next council meeting in September.
Bracknell Forest Council’s local plan includes up to 600 homes being built in a ‘southern gateway’ development near the station. Another major town centre build is set to include 81 affordable houses in its 169 total.
The government has also announced it will build ‘the next generation of new towns’. Bracknell, which has celebrated it’s 75th birthday this year, has been hailed as ‘ahead of its time’ after its population jumped from just 5,000 from the end of World War Two to more than 80,000 now.
It isn’t clear how these new targets will affect either authorities local plans for housing.
