COMMUNITY campaigners fighting a massive housing plan in Emmer Green launched a fundraising plea to pay lawyers to take on the developer.

The Campaign Against Gladman in Eye and Dunsden (CAGE) group has called on residents in Reading and South Oxfordshire to join its battle.

A rejected planning application by Gladman Developments to build 245 houses in Peppard Road will be at the centre of a public enquiry in May as the developer appeals the decision.

It was initially turned down by the district council on the grounds of scale and location and campaigners want to hire a lawyer to fight their corner.

However, they will need around £10,000 to do so and have so far raised more than £2,000 for their cause.

A spokesman said: "Nearly 500 people registered their objections to Gladman’s plan for 245 unsustainable houses in tiny Eye & Dunsden Parish, next to Emmer Green.

"Their proposed development would burst the natural boundary of Reading and cause a valued landscape right next to the Chilterns area of natural beauty to be lost for ever.

"The proposal has many weaknesses, but Reading Borough Council has refused to participate fully in the inquiry. South Oxfordshire District Council will be fully represented, but its remit will be limited to the reasons given when they refused the application last year."

The controversial scheme was slammed by parish councils across the South Oxfordshire and Berkshire border.

Eye and Dundsen Parish Council were particular against the plans as the development would massively increase the number of houses in the area.

Meanwhile, Reading Borough Council raised concerns over the amount of traffic the plans would generate.

The appeal will be heard between Thursday May 1 and Friday May 4 at Henley Rugby Club in Marlow Road.

Visit https://www.leetchi.com/c/community-cagedunsden