HOUSING bosses are set to press ahead with plans to build 15,000 homes in Grazeley in order to limit housebuilding elsewhere in Wokingham borough.

Future development proposals have been laid bare as part of the council’s draft local plan, which details the major building projects and policies up to 2036.

READ MORE: Grazeley garden town vision outlined

Moving forward with the Grazeley development - which could see 10,000 of these new homes built in Wokingham borough - would mean only a “handful” of other smaller housing projects go-ahead in the coming years.

Reading Chronicle:

Cllr Wayne Smith, executive member for planning and enforcement at Wokingham Borough Council, said: “This could be a new dawn for Wokingham Borough with a commitment to a fully-fledged Garden Town where people will be able to live the sort of environmentally-aware, sustainable lifestyles that are becoming the 21st Century ideal.

“This is an ambitious vision.

"If approved and funded as we are proposing, Grazeley Garden Town would have the sort of upfront investment in infrastructure that is normally only dreamed of in the UK – we are talking about getting things like the transport systems, schools, health hubs and community and sporting facilities built ahead of the housing.

“People living in a future Grazeley Garden Town would have the jobs and ‘big city’ buzz of Reading to the north and the natural beauty of West Berkshire and our borough to the west and east – a set-up that matches the original vision of garden towns perfectly.”

READ MORE: Thousands of new homes could be heading to Grazeley

Wokingham Borough Council (WBC) is set to bid for £252 million of government infrastructure funding to support the garden town at Grazeley.

In March 2019, the ministry of housing, communities and local government announced funding for local authorities to research the possibility of creating the garden town.

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Wokingham MP John Redwood planted a tree at the Grazeley site in 1998 as a gesture of his opposition to homes being built on the site.

But speaking to the News before the general election, he said he would like to see a lower-rate of housebuilding across West Berkshire and infrastructure guarantees if the plans move forward.

WBC leader said not planning for large-scale housing developments would mean the council loses out on infrastructure money for schools, roads and more and would also mean developers would find it easier to appeal - something which leads to "vast costs" for the authority. 

He added: "I think the narrative is that we, as a borough, really don’t want many houses but unfortunately politicians of all colours in central government believe that we have a housing crisis and therefore are imposing on councils the duty to deliver homes. 

"I don’t buy it. But how can we challenge that?

"If we do nothing we will lose appeals and all our development will become unplanned.

"That is the worst option we have got. 

"The option we have selected means that 98 per cent of the borough is protected to 2055. This is a huge bonus. We only need 3,000 homes from Grazeley and the rest will come from 2036 - 2055." 

The development of Grazeley garden town could see only 18 of more than 300 proposed sites chosen for further housing development “across the borough”, meaning a minimum of 940 new homes at these allocated spaces.

WBC’s draft local plan includes six key policies for development going forward. These are:

  • Ensuring new homes reduce their impact on climate change
  • Designating areas as ‘valued landscapes’ for added protection
  • Protecting local green space
  • Demanding more affordable housing from small house developments
  • Ensuring air quality is maintained
  • Proposing affordable housing on rural sites not typically used for development

WBC is required to regularly review and update its local plan, which contains the authority’s planning policies and are used to help determine speculative planning applications

The council’s top team is set to meet next week (Wednesday, January 15) to give the green light to a consultation on its draft plan, which will run from 3 February to 20 March if approved.