GOVERNMENT proposals that could see Wokingham borough forced to build more than 1,600 new homes every year will fail to deliver affordable houses.
That’s the verdict of the countryside charity CPRE, which says its analysis shows that the new formula would allow developers to build hundreds of thousands of poorly located new homes in the countryside, threatening locally valued green space and completely undermining government ambitions for urban regeneration.
The government’s consultation on the planning system ended on Thursday, October 29 and would include a revamp of the formula that determines local housing need, known as a housing algorithm, which was introduced in 2014.
The CPRE says that while there is a need for affordable housing across Berkshire, the proposed algorithm threatens irreparable damage to the countryside and do little to tackle the housing crisis.
And it said that its analysis shows that the new algorithm could deepen the housing crisis delivering more unaffordable homes in areas based on higher housing prices and not genuine need. Under the new housing algorithm, areas in England with the sharpest house price rises since the 2009 recession would get the highest number of new homes.
While Berkshire does not fare as badly as some other areas of the country like Cumbria (178% increase) and Cotswold district (148%), the evidence shows the new algorithm would potentially only deliver bigger profits for developers at the expense of building homes in areas where people can afford to live.
CPRE Berkshire branch secretary, Gloria Keene MBE, said: “The CPRE housing algorithm analysis reveals that compared to the current formula every district and borough in Berkshire will get an increase.
“Wokingham’s housing target will increase by a whopping 107%. More simply, Wokingham’s housing target will go from 789 to 1,635.
“Slough will see a 36% increase, Bracknell Forest 31% increase, and West Berkshire 35% increase.
“Although substantially smaller, add to that Reading (8%) and Windsor and Maidenhead (5%), and the pressure across the county on infrastructure, public services, clean air and access to local green spaces, the countryside and the Green Belt will be immense.”
Crispin Truman, chief executive of CPRE, added: “To begin delivering the homes we need at the pace we need them, the government should abandon centralised housing targets and ensure planning remains locally-led with communities empowered to have a say in what gets built where.”
