Angry residents have set up a new Facebook group to protest comments from a lead councillor about the East Reading Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) scheme.

Councillor Tony Page described the area affected by the proposed bus and cycle route as a ‘rubbish dump’, infuriating local residents and campaigners.

The new group is called ‘Thames Riverside is not a dump, Tony Page’.

Leslee Hopper Barron, one of the creators of the group, said: “‘I was incensed when I read what Tony Page had said in the Chronicle. I hate being called a liar.

“His comments are ludicrous and offensive. The area where RBC wants to build the flyover, hasn’t been used by picnickers and the like, because it has been neglected for years.”

Cllr Page, called  the Kennet Mouth area that will be affected a “no go zone.”

He said: “There is no wildlife. The people that claim that are lying. It is a rubbish dump.“

Jess Hope commented: ” If we have to live in such a rough, drug and violence riddled area, are we not allowed to have at least one peaceful, natural place to get away to in order to get our mental states more stable?”

Reading Borough Council’s (RBC) revised East Reading MRT application will go to Wokingham Borough Council (WBC)’s planning committee first for approval.

WBC previously rejected the scheme in June 2018.

The group can be viewed here.