The UNIVERSITY of Reading has been blamed for single handedly turning Shinfield from a village into a large town.
Independent councillor, Jim Frewin, claims the “whole community” has changed following a massive increase in housing and other developments.
And a furious Mr Frewin has firmly laid the blame at the university: “It is the single biggest landowner and it is selling off land to developers.
“Thousands of houses have been built and more are in the pipeline. There is also commercial building including a giant film studio and storage for the British Museum.
“Shinfield used to be a lovely little village but now it is a large town.”
Cllr, Frewin claimed new residents have complained about road gridlock and a lack of facilities.
“We were promised ten sports pitches but they have no been delivered. We were promised a childrens’ playpark but that has not been delivered.
“In the past two years, one doctor’s surgery has closed, some GPs have left and patient numbers have more than doubled.
“The university owns a lot of land in the area and it has been bequeathed more. It just sells it off without any proper thoughts to how it will impact on Shinfield.
“I have lived here 40 years and my wife has lived here all her life. The place has completely transformed and it is all down to the university.”
A University of Reading spokesperson said: “Proposals for the Loddon Valley Garden Village are at an early stage. We want to ensure that we take a proactive, collaborative approach to this significant scheme, building on the values of positive engagement set down by the neighbouring Thames Valley Science Park and Cine Valley. This is a real opportunity to bring forward an original scheme for development that is employment-led, provides benefits for students, and links back to the academic centres of excellence at the University of Reading.
“There is still a great deal of work to be done, with much research and technical work yet to be undertaken – however we look forward to undertaking this journey with our students, academic and professional services colleagues, Wokingham Borough Council and members of the surrounding community to help further shape this vision.”
