TWO members of Wokingham borough’s ruling executive met with the housing minister last month to air their concerns and frustrations over development in the borough.
Deputy leader Cllr David Lee and Executive Member for Planning and Enforcement, Cllr Simon Weeks, met with Reading West MP Alok Sharma – the Minister of State for Housing and Planning, Alok Sharma MP – and Bracknell MP Dr Phillip Lee, whose constituency includes Finchampstead.
Cllr Lee claimed: “Many developers are hoarding land in Wokingham Borough and making houses more expensive.
“The Borough is also at risk from developers speculating on sites in locations unsuitable for housing.”
In the meeting, the two councillors said that they outlined these fears. The Council said it is now calling on the Government to change the law now to prevent developers from inflating local housing need for their own benefit.
Cllr Lee said: “As a Council, we have approved some 13,000 houses which the developers are simply not building.
“We want to provide more housing, particularly affordable homes for our residents, but what these developers are doing is making houses more and more expensive.
“The Minister has taken on board these concerns, and I will be meeting with him again next month.”
Dr Phillip Lee MP said: “Wokingham Borough Council are understandably very concerned about inappropriate planning applications in the local area, and so I am glad they had the opportunity to put their case in person to the Minister for Housing and Planning.
“I look forward to his response.”
