Residents have claimed the area earmarked for nearly 4,000 homes spends ‘most of the winter underwater’.
Plans are moving ahead to use Hall Farm between Shinfield, Arborfield and Sindlesham for some 3,930 homes, known as the Loddon Garden Village.
The project is being spearheaded by the University of Reading, which owns the land, in partnership with Hatch Farm Land and Gleeson Land.
Wokingham Borough Council’s leader Stephen Conway said he ‘understands’ why residents may be ‘reluctant’ about the plans, but that it was ‘better than all other options’ for large-scale housing development.
Developers will deliver Wokingham Borough’s largest country park, two primary schools, a secondary school, a business hub and retail facilities.
Alongside this, improved road links, healthcare services and enhanced transport services will be delivered to cope with the influx of new populations.
Developers say approximately 2,700 new homes will be delivered by 2040, with up to 40 per cent of them designated below-market rent or shared ownership.
Road, cycle, bus and pedestrian connections will be improved, with a new link over the M4 motorway to Lower Earley Way, and a lane added on Lower Earley Way.
There will also be a new half-hourly bus service connecting the site to Wokingham and Reading town centres and railway stations.
But residents have raised concerns about the plans for the site, which they claim spends ‘most of the winter underwater’.
Sue Mitchell said on social media: “Seeing that half of it is underwater at least three or four months of the year, I think it’s crazy.”
But no homes are proposed to be built on the floodplain, with drainage to be improved, according to plans.
Craig North said: “We don’t have the infrastructure for a development of this size, we do need the housing without doubt, but Wokingham, Shinfield and Spencer’s Wood are already totally congested at peak times.”
Charlie Rollet-Manus said he ‘totally agrees’ with housing in ‘sustainable places’ such as Loddon, while Ken Nicholas suggested the council ‘rebuild and repurpose’ town centres and ‘unoccupied office blocks instead’.
Leader of Wokingham Borough Council Stephen Conway said his Liberal Democrat administration concluded the site was ‘demonstrably better than the other possible options’.
Councillor Conway said: “Development is a very divisive issue, often pitting existing homeowners against those who want a place of their own. I understand why existing residents may be reluctant to see new development in their vicinity, but we should not forget that many people in our area, including existing residents’ children and grandchildren, need somewhere they can call home.
“We have an obligation to address their needs as well as mitigate the harms caused by development.”
