Campaigners have hit back at developers after they defended plans to build over 200 homes at Reading Golf Club.

The developers Reading Golf Club and Fairfax have argued the newest plan to build 223 homes on the golf course would provide much needed family homes to people in the borough, and that it effectively responds to council leader Jason Brock’s call for more family homes to be built.

But the developer’s arguments have been rubbished by those opposing the plan, which has broken a council record for the number of objections raised against it.

It has received more than 4,000 objections.

Campaign spokesman Simon Holden said: “The developers say it is fulfilling a housing need as requested by the leader of the council.

“As the current planning application is for three times the amount of land in the local plan, the suggestion that the leader of the council would send an email out asking for developers to break the local plan is clearly ridiculous.”

The Reading Local Plan envisages a 90 to 130 home development for Reading Golf Club in its policy CA1b.

However, Fairfax has said that this policy only covers part of the site, with the rest of the site working towards a ‘wider housing shortfall’ where 700 homes are proposed to come forward within the plan period, but locations for these new home have not been fully identified yet.

The current proposal includes 223 homes. You can see a break down of the accommodation the developers want to build in the below table.

1-Bed Maisonettes 4

1-Bed Flats 6

2-Bed Flats 6

2-Bed Bungalow 3

2-Bed Houses 64

3-Bed Houses 66

4-Bed Houses 71

5-Bed Houses 3

Mr Holden argued that the newest application is very similar to the developer’s previous plan for 257 homes that was rejected last year.

He said: “The revised proposal is a copy and paste of the old application.

“It reduces the number of three and four bed houses as a percentage of the development, and increases the number of two bed properties that are also apparently available anywhere else in Reading.

“The council require more three and four bed properties (not two bed), yet 40 per cent of the proposed development consists of flats and two bed properties.”

Fairfax has responded by pointing out that, of the 42 two bedroom properties proposed, 36 are either houses or bungalows.

It has argued that the council has a need for houses, which its plan will fulfil.

Mr Holden also criticised the affordable housing provision.

The scheme proposes 67 affordable homes. Of these, 12 four-bedroom homes, four three-bedroom homes and six two-bedroom homes and two one bed maissionettes would be made affordable through shared ownership.

Two four-bedroom homes, 11 three-bedroom homes, 11 two-bedroom homes, five two-bedroom flats, six one-bedroom flats and two one-bed maisonettes  would be made affordable through affordable rent.

Fairfax has argued that the development would deliver more affordable housing than the 52 built in 2020-21.

But Mr Holden poured scepticism over that argument, saying: “Over 50 per cent of the ‘affordable’ properties proposed are flats and two bed properties, which Mr Brock states are not required.

“Also, does the developer at the golf course propose to build all their properties within one year?

“Of course not – this would be a lengthy five year construction, likely completed towards the end of the 2020s.

“Many of the affordable properties are near the road, so would be completed towards the end of the construction period.”

The developer has responded by stating 63 per cent of the plan is three-bedroom or more, above the council’s requiement that 50 per cent of all homes in the outer zones of the borough have three-bedrooms or more.

Additionally, it has stated that  27 of the homes proposed (10 per cent) are provided as larger two bedroom four person accommodation – places which have two double bedrooms.

Of the affordable properties, 31 dwellings (46 per cent) are provided as three-bedroom plus accommodation, whilst a further 14 dwellings (21 per cent) are provided as the larger two-bedroom four person accommodation.

You can view the current plan by typing in reference 211843 into the council’s planning portal here: http://planning.reading.gov.uk/fastweb_PL/welcome.asp