News

Scrapping of south east housing plan welcomed by council

By Jon Nurse
March 12, 2013

A shift of planning powers giving councils greater control has been welcomed after a ruling by Eric Pickles MP.

The Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government announced on Thursday his decision to revoke the Regional Strategy for the South East of England, which means councils will decide how many new homes should be built in an area.

Councillor Keith Baker, Wokingham Borough Council executive member for planning, said: “This change was anticipated some time ago so we got our core strategy up and running. This is one piece of localism that does work. It means we are now much more in control of our destiny.”

The council’s core strategy states more than 13,000 homes will be built across the borough by 2026.

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Pickles will scrap it, saying councils have the power to decide, then overrule them when they turn down developers' applications. Pickles is a complete muppet. Along with the education secretary and the health secretary, we have a bunch of people with specialities about which they know absolutely nothing at all. I'd be sacked in weeks if I was in that position, but in government it's seen as a good thing. How does that work?

mavdo, Wokingham
12/03/2013 at 22:43

Does this mean that Wokingham Council will now reduce the amount of countryside surrounding the town that it currently plans to concrete over to provide houses for London commuters