Have your say on homes plans

Adam Hewitt • Published 19 Feb 2010 16:00 0 Comments

See also:

CONSULTATIONS over the next month are the last chance the public will have to contribute to the debate on how Reading should look in the future.

Reading Borough Council wants people's views on its draft Sites and Detailed Policies Document (SDPD), a 136-page 'manual' which will become part of the Local Development Framework (LDF) governing planning policy borough-wide. Some of it is highly technical, but it identifies many sites across the borough for either future development or protection so is relevant to many people living near the zones. There are 20 in particular where extra housing is planned, with the most houses earmarked for Elvian School in Southcote, Worton Grange and the old Berkshire Brewery in south Reading, the Bath Road Reservoir and Park Lane School and Dee Park in Tilehurst.

It also restricts some areas for specific uses, such as employment in large chunks of south Reading near the A33, or education on the majority of the Thames Valley University and Alfred Sutton site in Crescent Road, east Reading. But this has been the subject of a row between Labour and the Green Party, which points out that the document does not rule out residential development on the fields in some circumstances.

In his foreword to the document, strategic planning leader Cllr Tony Page says: "There has already been significant community involvement in drawing up this document, which has enabled us to identify and address the key concerns and priorities of Reading's population in how their Borough takes shape. It is a chance for you to have your say on how Reading changes over the next 15 years. I hope that you will be able to contribute."

The council also wants people's views on a separate planning document, its Draft Station Area Framework looking at what to do with the area north of the station. Comments on this document, the SDPD and the council's Draft Tree Strategy can be submitted as part of a consultation which starts tomorrow (Friday) and runs until Friday, April 2. All the documents are online, in the borough's libraries and in the Civic Centre, with exhibitions on six dates in early March where experts will be available:

Tuesday, March 2, Battle Library, 2-7pm

Thursday, March 4, Caversham Library, 2-7pm

Tuesday, March 9, South Reading Youth and Community Centre, 9am-1pm

Tuesday, March 9, Tilehurst Library, 2-7pm

Wednesday, March 10, South Reading Youth and Community Centre 2-7pm

Friday, March 12, Civic Centre Committee Room 1, 2-7pm

To view the draft SDPD visit: www.tinyurl.com/y8vm3aq

Responses on the SDPD must be about whether the document is sound or unsound, based on whether it is justified, effective, and consistent with national policy.

They can be made in writing to: LDF Planning Team, Planning Department, Civic Centre, RG1 7AE

For more information call 0118 939 0286 or email ldf@reading.gov.uk

Return to the main index, get more from this section or browse our News archives.

Follow @rdgchronicle