The long awaited Local Plan proposals which, after much delay, was only published the week before last and was approved at a meeting of Wokingham Borough Council last Thursday night.
It must have been difficult, within 7 days, for the Councillors, let alone the public, to give detailed consideration to, or make representations on, its proposals set out in some 1500 pages.
However were the plan not approved it would have left the Borough much more vulnerable on appeal to speculative development applications – and for a greater number of houses to be built with less consideration being given to supporting services and facilities.
What are the main implications for Barkham residents?
The major local proposed development is planned at Halls Farm, Shinfield to be known as Loddon Valley Garden Village – with up to 3930 dwellings (2700 of which should be built by 2040).
Certainly the main impact on Barkham itself are the proposed development of the land at the back of Barkham Square at Barkham Ride and adjoining Commonfield Lane with 600 houses, and the construction of 300 additional houses on the adjoining site of Arborfield Studios. The plan also envisages Gypsy/Traveller sites spread between High Barn Farm (20), Honeysuckle Cottage (4) both in Commonfield Lane, Woodlands Farm (15) in Wood Lane, and Blagrove Lane (4) as well as 5 on the Arborfield Green SDL (strategic development location).
The decision may well have implications for the as yet undecided planning application (232490) for residential development on land adjoining Langley Common Road. It will also give the developers cause for thought as to whether to appeal the recent Evendons Lane application ( 222306). It will also be relevant to Bewley’s thoughts as to whether to put in a new application on their proposed development at Edneys Hill/Barkham Road where their earlier application was rejected.
What happens now ?
To quote from a WBC paper –
Before we can finalise the updated Local Plan, we need to publish it for comment, which planning experts call a “regulation 19 consultation”.
This means that people are welcome to read the proposed plan and comment on its soundness and legal compliance. Comments must refer to a specific matter or policy within the plan.
After this consultation period ends, the plan will be sent to an independent planning inspector for examination in public.
The inspector will consider all comments before deciding whether the plan is legally sound. If they agree that it is, we will seek to adopt it as soon as possible.
Once adopted, our new Local Plan will be a key document that guides all planning decisions that we make in future.
It is understood that the Consultation starts on Monday 23rd September but we will be issuing guidance on how to lodge comments as soon as the WBC provide a link.
Nevertheless BVRA is committed to continue to oppose the over development of Barkham including the proposed development at Barkham Square and Arborfield Studios
Kind Regards
BVRAÂ
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‍Please note all previous DevWatch alerts can be viewed on the BVRA website at https://barkham.org.uk/devwatch
WBC is an abbreviation for Wokingham Borough Council
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