FUMING politicians have blasted “scary” plans to build a 30,000-home garden city to the south of Reading which they say would spark heavy flooding in the town centre.

Reading-based property experts Campbell Gordon have drawn up ambitious plans for a vast mini town on countryside between Southcote and Burghfield to tackle the borough’s chronic overcrowding and sky high house prices.

But Reading Borough Council’s ruling Labour group are furious they were not consulted. Southcote councillor John Ennis said: “As we saw again only a few weeks ago the whole area between Reading and the M4 floods in heavy rain, which makes it all flood plain in my book, and building there is likely to put not only Southcote but also central Reading at risk.

“I strongly resent the fact that this Reading-based developer is trying to obtain political support from within Government without publishing any proper plans and without any attempt to discuss this massive scheme with Reading or the other councils affected.”

Campbell Gordon last week told the Reading Chronicle, that none of the proposed homes would be built on the flood plain, the extent of which is defined by the Environment Agency.

The garden city, which could become home to 100,000 people, would feature a rail link to Reading town centre, a giant transport hub at the M4 services and a 2,000 acre park at Kennet Meadows.

It is the Queens Road firm’s entry for this year’s prestigious Wolfson Economics Prize, which asks the question: “How would you deliver a new garden city which is visionary, economically viable, and popular?”

But the plans could only become a reality if the Government set up a statutory authority made up of representatives from the public, private and community sectors with the legal powers over land purchase and planning control.

The land has already been the subject of two failed housing bids, including a 7,500-home development dubbed Kennet Valley Park, which fell through in 2010.

Borough planning boss Cllr Pete Ruhemann claims it was only because that development did not go ahead that the Oracle did not flood this year.

He added: “We warned then that developers were sniffing around in the hope of making another attempt to build on Kennet Meadows, but I did not expect it so soon after the heaviest rain for decades had shown again how dangerous it would be.”

Minster councillor Paul Gittings said: “This is scary stuff but we are up for the fight.”