The site near Waterloo Road seen from London Road, where 650 of 2,500 homes may be built
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Borough housing plan could axe level crossing
By Lucy AllenOctober 15, 2009
Time is running out to have a say on Wokingham Borough Council’s vision for where 13,500 new homes should be built in the borough by 2026.
Residents have less than two weeks to give their opinions on the core strategy, a document in which the council proposes four major housing developments to help meet the target.
A total of 1,500 homes are proposed to the north of Wokingham, 2,500 to the south of the town, 2,500 at Arborfield Garrison and 3,500 homes at land near Three Mile Cross, south of the M4.
As the public is asked to complete questionnaires on how the estates should look and how roads and other infrastructure should be developed, Lucy Allen outlines the proposals for the two town centre developments.
Waterloo Road will become a dead end to cars if a massive new housing development south of the railway line is built.
Buses, cyclists and pedestrians may be able to use the existing level crossing, or it may be closed completely, depending on which of the three options is chosen for the 2,500-home estate to the south of the town.
Of the options, one proposes closing the road completely, while two others propose just closing the road to cars.
Either way, drivers who travel from Wokingham to Bracknell via Waterloo Road and Peacock Lane will find themselves having to drive up to London Road, or along Easthamptead Road instead.
Gareth Rees, who lives in Waterloo Crescent, said: “I use that road because the other way takes so long.
“I work in Camberley so I will have to time things very carefully to avoid the traffic at the Easthampstead Road crossing, and probably leave before 8am or after 9.15am.”
Nina Bell-Williams, who lives in Waterloo Road, set up Wokingham Area Residents Action Group last month to save green space around the town.
She said: “I use that road to go to Crowthorne for work, because I hate the Ostrich Farm turning at the bottom of Easthampstead Road. And I use the road to go to Bracknell to play in a community band. This will make my journey much longer.”
The three options for the South Wokingham Strategic Development Location (SDL) are out to consultation and people have just nine more days to express their views.
Mrs Bell-Williams said: “The questionnaire asks which option we like best, but we don’t like any of them.
“I feel we have been given a multiple choice questionnaire like children.
“Why here? We have brown sites in Wokingham that could be used for housing, like Molly Millar’s Lane, instead of these green fields.”
She did not like the look of the housing, either.
“There were flats above shops and I was not happy with the look of them. We need to have social housing but people need a front door, a back door and a garden.”
Both objectors are also worried about the new Southern Distribution Road through the estate, which will join the London Road near St Anne’s Manor.
“The Coppid Beech roundabout is busy enough, and this will make it even worse,” said Mrs Bell-Williams.
The questionnaire for the South Wokingham SDL asks people whether they agree or disagree with the closure of Waterloo Road, and asks for reasons.
It also asks people if they want a new railway station on the development and where schools should be located.
- The plans are on display at Shute End until tomorrow and feedback must be given by Friday, October 23.
To see the options and the questionnaire, visit www.wokingham.gov.uk and click on ‘Complete our Wokingham Planning Questionnaire’.
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The Council and it’s Officers have completely failed to identify to residents the true significance of the combined effect of all the developments they are proposing. People really should know: - the combined plans will result in a 20%+ increase in houses - this will result in an additional 34,000 residents and 22,000 cars - there are no studies into the impacts of such an increase in vehicles on the already inadequate road infrastructure - that the plans result in a virtually unbroken line of building from Bracknell to Reading - that Wokingham Town will be virtually merged with Bracknell - that the countryside “gateways” into Wokingham via Twyford Road, London Road, Waterloo Road, Easthampstead Road and others will be gone forever - that only 45% of working residents actually work within the Borough itself
The current consultation is a sham. It provides residents the opportunity only to choose the least worst proposal. It does not provide the opportunity to object to proposed developments in principle. No doubt we’ll be told at some point that the Council consulted, they listened and they came to a conclusion taking account of residents views. The fact though is the Council knows there is no support for the scale of the proposals and under the guise of consultation they are denying residents the opportunity to voice that opinion. So much for the state of democracy in Wokingham Borough.
If you want to comment on the plans then the time to do it is now!
WARAG has some interesting stuff on their website at www.warag.org
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