A house divided is a house to be united

The demands on housing in Berkshire continues to cause pressure for families, but it also threatens to open up a major divide between members of the Conservative and LibDem coalition partnership.

In a pair of personal posts Bracknell's Darren Bridgeman writes to explain the challenge of starting a new family in a one-bedroom flat.

He expresses his frustration that, despite having a household income which far outstrips the national average even after the loss of one income, he finds himself in the so-called 'squeezed-middle' where the triple-impact of reduced state support, higher costs and no equity means he must question his support for the policies his party is committed to nationally.

Darren then takes a step back to explain a defensive reaction against the coalition is understandable, but that it's also important to bear in mind the wider context.

And this debate is also playing out in the corridors of power.

In West Berkshire discussions over changes to the Local Development Framework between ruling Conservatives and opposition LibDems has spilled over into open warfare as major plans to develop several prominent sites came into focus.

Over 10,000 new houses are hoped to be built in the Newbury area by 2026. This will include 1,000 at Sandleford Park, where there is potential for that number to double in the following decade.

But the identification of this as a 'strategic site' where new housing in the borough will be concentrated has aroused widespread opposition due to the manner of selection.

Conservatives were forced to put on hold their motion for approval by council officers, as the framework requires all strategic sites to be included together unanimously.

Basildon's executive member for housing, Cllr Alan Law, said LibDems had made "a 180-degree about turn over a decision they supported last year," and accused the opposition of blatant populism and electioneering. LibDems rejected these 'false' claims that they were attempting to 'rewrite history', with Burghfield's Cllr Royce Longton pointing out a consistent record of opposition to development of this site since 2009.

In an earlier move which surprised many, the executive director of proposed Sandleford Park developer Beyond Green, Jonathan Smales, intervened to raise questions about the processes involved behind the decision:

"The mysterious elevation of Sandleford Park as a strategic site is inappropriate, unfair and another example of the politicisation of the planning process."

He added that the site had been 'clandestinely promoted' by the Conservative-dominated council 'acting against all of its own advice' at the last possible moment from bottom of a list of 12, in what he described as a 'political stitch-up'.

And in Wokingham similar issues are causing equal anxiety as six villages comprising the borough's Southern Parishes Planning Group have launched a legal challenge against the Conservative council's support for 10,000 new homes by seeking a judicial review against the development of on green-belt land to the immediate south and south-east of Reading.

David Savage, speaking on behalf of University of Reading (which is the major landowner at the Shinfield portion of the LDF plan), said redevelopment would offer 'an improved outlook' for neighbours and 'provide much needed high-quality housing' to allow reinvestment into the institution's higher education research facilities.

During the forestry consultation debate John Redwood MP recently declared himself a 'tree-hugger' in defiance of his reputation as an 'economic realist', although he immediately tempered this by adding "there are occasions when Planning authorities need to grant development permissions... to make space for new homes or factories."

But the LibDem Leader of Wokingham's opposition, Winnersh's Cllr Prue Bray expresses some concern that public comments on individual portions of the 'complicated scheme' are likely to be discouraged by the 200 pages of accompanying documents, despite remaining open for submissions until March 6th.

Continuing the spread of suburbia may still be an option for the ruling administrations in Berkshire's rural districts, but in already heavily-urbanised Reading and Slough the demand on land is that much greater and policy-makers face a different set of challenges.

In Labour-controlled Slough the problem of housing shortages has uncovered different consequences - particularly when locals discovered a group of squatters cramped into derelict property.

Residents were outraged at the new arrivals who were causing disturbances, living in unsanitary conditions and illegally reconnecting utilities in the makeshift shelters. They soon organised a petition to ensure they were evicted by Police (source photo).

Meanwhile in Reading, Conservative Alok Sharma MP recently praised the successful efforts of local campaigners in fighting against the unpopular redevelopment of the Bath Rd Reservoir which would have seen the loss of a rare green space described as a vital 'green lung' in a built-up area.

But lead councillor for housing in Reading's ruling coalition, LibDem Cllr Daisy Benson, has obviously been working overtime to bring about more detailed and creative solutions to residential problems.

For her the challenge is in combining social, economic and environmental factors to help improve the quality of life, especially those who need greater support - and this means creating decent neighourhoods for all local residents.
 
She notes the problem of overcrowding and the shortage of affordable housing suitable for families and older people as market forces resulted in a shift of emphasis towards younger, single professionals.

But awareness-raising and analysis is matched by action too - as she also admits being 'obsessed' about tackling empty properties and ensuring council-owned homes in the Reading meet national standards of decency.


Oranjepan says:
Maybe the Bracknell blogger could find a happier home for him and his family in Reading!

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More housing matters

Reservoir Opposition Resurrected

Thames Water's plan to develop the Bath Road Reservoir for housing were rejected last year, but the company has indicated it will make a resubmission as the site remains in Reading's masterplan for redevelopment.

Local campaigners have written over 200 letters of objection. The Save the Bath Road Reservoir website states,

"We feel that the reservoir site is worthy of protection, and should be designated as a local nature reserve, a wildlife link, an educational resource for local schoolchildren or similar."

But group spokesperson Mel Woodward said, "If development does occur, we just want to make sure it is done sensitively."

The reservoir issue has turned into an election topic as Conservative housing spokesman Grant Shapps MP visited the town to show solidarity with local residents and set out his party's proposals.

Mr Shapps explained that the plan to build up to 100 homes on the 5.4 acre site was too many and said a compromise position was more preferable.

He added that his party proposed scrapping housing density targets which specify how many homes each local authority must build while providing incentives in order to encourage greater development. However he argued greater accountability was also needed to ensure local communities have more say in developments on their doorstep.

Labour deputy leader Harriet Harman was also in town recently to restate her opinion that more homes are needed in Reading, but that in her opinion the reservoir site is not appropriate:

"We have got to find places where we can build decent homes for people, but not actually with the green open spaces."

Meanwhile local campaigner Graham Griffiths expressed his anger at the biases in the planning process,

"The missing link is translating the support we've got from politicians into action on these particular local issues."

Oranjepan asks:
During election time politicians are obviously keen to latch onto popular local campaigns, but when push comes to shove and the election is over do local residents ever get exactly what we want?

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More on the campaign to save the Bath Road reservoir.

The Housing League Table

Homeless charity Shelter recently criticised local authorities in the area when they released a league table of the performance on meeting targets for affordable homes.

In Reading experts claim 832 affordable homes are needed every year, but only 270 are being delivered.

Spokesperson Brendan Murphy said,

"Housing shortages affect everyone, from young people forced to live with a parent, to others having to grow up in families who are stuck on council housing waiting lists for years and years, or people stuck in temporary accommodation."

Reading Borough Council defended their record, stating that the figures

"make absolutely no allowance for the economic downturn and the subsequent slowdown in the housing market and completely ignore the fact that in tightly bounded areas like Reading, there is little suitable land remaining available for development."

However this doesn't excuse the other local authorities in Berkshire.

In West Berkshire, despite being 5 places above Reading in their chart, Shelter's Chief Executive called on the council to "work far harder to ensure more homes are provided if it ever hopes to meet the needs of the local population." Lead councillor for Housing and Develeopment Cllr Alan Law commented that the Newbury-based authority is 'exceeding' requirements in the government's South-East plan.

Newbury MP Richard Benyon argued that the Conservative-run council is 'doing a good job', but LibDem PPC David Rendel commented that his office is constantly overrun with people making a 'huge clamour' in a desperate scramble for housing.

In Wokingham Cllr David Lee blamed government restrictions on back garden development and 'flawed' planning regulations for a 350-home per year shortfall on target levels. However it appears the criticism obviously stung as the borough website almost immediately released an announcement of a Strategic Housing Land Availability Assessment (SHLAA).

Reading West parliamentary candidate for the LibDems Cllr Daisy Benson (who has a special interest in housing issues) attacked the Conservative 'right-to-buy' initiatives of the past as a hugely damaging policy.

She says this created an inbalance which reduced the flexibility of the housing market as too many properties were taken out of the rented sector, as well as having the effect that many family-sized council homes were sold off at below market price, while central government now retains greater control over rental incomes from council-owned housing stock.

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Shelter's regional housing league table for South East England (out of 67 councils):

#7 Slough: waiting list 7.39 years, 38% affordable housing delivered - details
#9 West Berkshire: waiting list 9.07 years, 37% affordable housing delivered - details
#14 Reading: waiting list 7.38 years, 32% affordable housing delivered - details
#16 Bracknell Forest: waiting list 9.38 years, 30% affordable housing delivered - details
#35 Wokingham: waiting list 16.93 years, 20% affordable housing delivered - details
#49 RBWM: waiting list 5.02 years, 11% affordable housing delivered - details

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More stories about housing

Greenspin Or Whitewash?

The contentious election battle to win Park Ward gets nastier by the week as prospective candidates continue their war of words.

The recent council meeting saw ambitious Green Party activist Rob White present a petition and ask a question about the protection of Alfred Sutton Playing Fields which he claims Reading Borough Council wishes to concrete over with housing.

He makes an inspecific attack on the Labour administrations 'poor record in this area' for failing to implement a blanket protection order on all playing fields, which he says Cllr Page 'attempted to rubbish'. He says it is a 'issue of trust' that has not been helped by 'Labour councillors [...] sending out mixed and unclear messages about what would happen'.

Labour's Richard McKenzie gets angry that Mr White neglected to print the full reply to his question which describes how he

"prefers to campaign on the basis of spreading false rumours and thereby raising unjustified concerns amongst the local community."

Apparently the nomination of the Alfred Sutton playing fields was made by landowners TVU for consultation on, rather than RBC, and although they were included in a 2008 consultation document they have been removed from the areas under current consideration. However there is no direct protection order on them.

Meanwhile Labour antagonist Jane Griffiths has become sucked into the debate as she expresses her scorn for her former colleagues by 'fisking' the reply Cllr Page provided.

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NB. Park ward has been the location of a furious political battle over recent years. Long regarded as the heartland of Labour activism to the east of Reading, it is now at the junction of a four-way battle. Internal splits in the local party organisation saw growth in Green party support which enabled a Conservative councillor to sneak in.

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Previous: 'SADs', Dams And Lies In Green-field Dispute

Opening Doors To New And Empty Homes

The renewal of Reading's Empty Homes Strategy is starting to have some practical effect. Two local charities have started to work together with the council and landlords to ensure potential homes don't go to waste and have a negative impact on local communities.

Reading Single Homeless Project and The Forgotten British Gurkha (which is based in Reading) have taken on agency status to help bring empty properties back into use by people who may be lacking a stable home environment.

Lead councillor for housing, Cllr Deborah Edwards, explained, "Reading does have a number of homes that are empty and need investment so they can be brought back into use."

In addition, the deposit guarantee scheme is enabling more younger people and families get onto the first step of the housing ladder.

LibDem parliamentary candidate for Reading West, Cllr Daisy Benson is pleased that her local campaign efforts as chair of the housing scrutiny committee have woken the authority up to some of the problems being experienced by residents. She adds that "housing is not just about bricks and mortar: neighbourhoods matter too."

She also picks out the recent announcement of a national empty homes policy which will be a major plank of her party's general election manifesto, saying this is "great news."

Her colleague Reading East PPC, Cllr Gareth Epps, is also excited by the manifesto pledge:

"It's a real win-win. It creates jobs; makes much better use of resources (and is sustainable in the true sense of the word) and embodies fairness."

He estimates the total figure of empty properties in Reading is about 2,500.

Labour's Minister for Housing, John Healey MP, recently visited Dee Park and the Chatham Place development to highlight investments being made in new housing stock.

He also discussed with representatives an additional £3.1m spending on new care homes at the Avenue School site.

Cllr Mike Orton said, "Care for the elderly is a top priority and this scheme will allow people to settle in and live independently in their own home."

Rachel Eden was also there to show her support. She argues that "council-owned and managed housing is more accountable and preferable to housing association when possible."

Wokingham PPC and leader of the opposition LibDem group on Wokingham borough council, Cllr Prue Bray is equally concerned about the 1-star service offered by Conservatives in this area.

However one additional consequence of the housing shortage is that temporary emergency housing remains dependant on volunteers as charitible fund-raisers.


Oranjepan says:
Housing is a big issue for many in the congested south-east, so making sure money is spent on making better use of the land and buildings we have is sure to be a big vote-winner.

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More on Housing In Reading

SADs, Dams And 'Lies' In Green-field Dispute

An unseemly spat has broken out between rival Park ward candidates and their supporters over the future of the much-loved Alfred Sutton Playing fields.

Green Party candidate Rob White recently launched a campaign to 'say NO' to developing the open-space - with a 'press release and the ubiquitous Facebook group.

He states that "development on these playing fields has been stopped in the past and we will stop it this time too."

However Labour's Richard MacKenzie struck back, accusing the Greens of 'scaremongering' in a very strongly-worded post entitled 'Lies, damn lies and the Green Party'.

The former Labour councillor for Kentwood argues he campaigned to protect the 5.6 hectare site in 1999 and publishes a letter signed by Cllr Tony Page (1, 2), who is clearly not above joining in the slanging match, by attacking "apparent mischief-making and rumour-mongering being fomented in parts of Park Ward".

He then followed up with a secondary blast accusing his opponents of 'Greenspin'.

Rob White however disputes this, calling Mr Page's words a lot of 'waffle'. He links to the Site Allocations Document (SAD) on the council website showing an area off Crescent Road under proposal.

He also attempts to 'fisk' the rebuttal by citing 'unnamed' council officers who informed him the new Local Development Framework has made the protection afforded in previous briefs "of questionable value" which "wouldn't hold up under an appeal from a developer."

Jane Griffiths is always quick to scent the opportunity to exercise her vendetta against her former Labour-party colleagues and immediately springs to the defence of Rob White, making an assertive comment that the man she calls 'Basher' and Labour's deputy leader of the council are lying.

She claims Cllr Page's letter is an admission that there are concrete plans to plough up the open space and that the mere existence of it on the Site and Detailed Policies Document (SDPD) is proof alone.

However Cllr Page writes:

"Neither I nor my colleagues in the administration would support any development for residential which included the adjacent playing fields."

He also states that the current status of the site is under consideration and that "the January Council meeting will agree a revised draft document for consultation during 2010."

On closer inspection of the documents a more complex picture is apparent, as the site is currently of mixed-usage with some indoor sports facilities and classrooms occupying about half of the site.

The proposal is for replacement buildings, requiring 'mitigation... for development outside of building foot print'.

So when I recently spoke to a local resident who is 'in the know', I was told the campaign to restrict the number of houses on the Green Road development (to the immediate south of the site) had raised the point that the large portion of the playing fields sits directly under Whiteknights Lake dam, and this makes the open space an unsuitable location for wider development in any event.

In other words the protection of the playing fields is to be taken on advice only, but equally, neither are they facing an immediate threat.

Satellite view of the site.


Oranjepan says:
It seems both sides are at best only half-right as the truth has followed its' usual habit of getting lost in the technical wording of obscure procedural documents and an increasingly bitterly-fought election campaign.

Reservoir Development Reprieved

Local campaigners have won a second victory against large-scale developments within a week as the plans for the development of the Bath Rd reservoir site were unanimously rejected by RBC.

Over 400 letters from the public and a petition with 1,400 signatures showed the strength of feeling mobilised against the plans submitted by Thames Water, but while campaigners celebrate they are bracing themselves for another stage in the war of attrition with developers.

A spokesperson for Thames Water said they were disappointed and were now considering their position. This was the third application that has been defeated on the same location, but residents said they preferred to keep the green space open and use it as an educational resource rather than lose it forever to bricks and mortar.

The issue had quickly gained momentum as politicians on all sides recognised the massive impact which would be felt by an organised and motivated local community.

In the face of the overwhelming pressure Labour reversed their previous willingness to develop the site. Minster ward's Cllr Paul Gittings joined with Reading West MP Martin Salter and his prospective replacement Naz Sarkar to claim victory on behalf of the campaigners.

Jane Griffiths provides some scathing commentary on her former comrades-in-arms. She wholeheartedly contradicts Mr Salter's claim that he has be campaigning to save the site since 1996, while noting Mr Sarkar's attachment to the issue is only skin deep.

Meanwhile Conservative candidate Alok Sharma had attempted to mitigate public anger by negotiating for a planning application which involved fewer housing units, but it appears this moderate suggestion has also been ripped to shreds.

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Update: Independent Cllr Tony Jones recieves some criticism for calling the decision a 'humiliation' for Labour.


Oranjepan says:
This case (together with the KM Campaign) provides an interesting example of how community campaigns can be successful by linking together old and new media techniques with traditional campaign methods. The unrivalled breadth and depth of reach of such a strategy has clearly proven it's power over those with aspirations to represent the public.

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More on the Bath Rd Reservoir Campaign.

Housing Market Joys And Woes

Your home is the single biggest purchase most people will ever make in their lives and the housing market has therefore become a prime indicator of the state of the economy.

So it will warm the hearts of large sections of society to know that their equity is returning to positive territory.

Radio Bracknell reports house prices are on the rise again, while Appleton Estates have recently seen a recovery in rental prices.

This has even lead to some estate agent chains feeling bullish enough to open new shops.

However with the credit crunch still fresh in the memory many will be wondering if reinflating the bubble is a sustainable means of wealth-creation and getting the country out of recession.

PKS Property Services says you'd be right to be highly sceptical about the sudden return of confidence, citing 5 reasons why they predict the sector could halve in the next 12 months.

Redlands LibDems are concerned with the effect of the housing market on those who find themselves excluded from it.

Cllr Benson reports on the case of a Reading-born resident who wants to stay in the area, but for financial reasons relies upon housing provided by the council.

The Right-to-Buy policy introduced by the Conservative government in the 1980's helped many people with disposable incomes get a step on the housing ladder, but the consequence was reduced service levels for those who had become trapped.

Not only were the more desirable and larger council-owned properties sold off first, meaning overcrowding became a problem as the available property pool dwindled, but it also has meant a reduction in the ability to maintain those it does have - leaving many homes in an unfit state for habitation.

With bad housing one of the prime causes of deprivation and child poverty, Cllr Benson notes the reduced life chances in areas like the Hexham Road.

The ward resident she spoke to has taken the response by applying to join the council housing waiting list in Oxford.

Her inescapable conclusion is that Reading under Labour prefers to shift problems than to deal with the causes.

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Update: Bracknell Blog takes us on a tour of Easthampstead's listed Point Royal tower block. Dazmando notes that there are social ills, as with all social housing, but says the ability to deal with them "also depends on your neighbours and your relationships with them and your willingness to engage."

It's official - housing prices are back to 2008 levels!

The Age of Stupidity turns his analytic gaze on housing asset prices, describing them as one of the most misunderstood asset classes around.

Interestingly he says that bubbles are caused by expansionary monetary policies and predicts inflated prices on goods and services will be the preferred choice of policy-makers to control the economy grinding to a halt.

Empty Homes - Empty Promises?

Population pressures continue to cause concern about the level of housing stock in the area despite the recent drop-off in prices, and attention has turned to the large number of properties which stand empty for one reason or another.

In densly-populated west Reading, Battle ward's Independent councillor Tony Jones said the need for decent accomodation is an urgent priority and called a recent increase in the number of empty houses a 'scandal'. According to Cllr Jones Battle ward has also suffered from an above average number of squats which compounds the problems.

He praised the work of opposition LibDem housing spokesman Cllr Daisy Benson in drawing the attention of the ruling Labour party to the issue and highlighted the good work of council officers. After several years of neglect the LibDems have forced RBC to renew it's empty homes strategy, and now the public can report empty homes online by emailing emptyhomes@reading.gov.uk

Cllr Benson has taken up the challenge by writing to government minister Ian Austin MP after noting cuts in the budget of the national Empty Homes Agency. She expresses her frustration at a 3-month delay in recieving minutes of a meeting on the subject (which arrived lacking a detailed action plan) and is cautious whether the response from the minister amounts to anything more than warm words of support.

Meanwhile in West Berkshire it is recorded that over 400 properties have stood vacant for over six months as two new schemes have been announced to bring them back into use.

West Berkshire Lead Councillor for Housing, Alan Law (Con, Basildon) said, "The creation of the two schemes highlights the Council's commitment to addressing the problems that empty properties cause and to taking a practical measure to increase the supply of affordable housing for local people."

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Update: A building on Bridge Street at the heart of Hungerford which stood derelict for more than 20 years has been one of the first to be the target of new legal powers.

For more information check out the Empty Homes Agrency.

Oranjepan says:
Clearly councils can find a way where there's a will, so the public must be asking why the issue remains unsolved.

Housing Opposed All Along The Kennet Valley

Local political figures have recently been very active in making representations over where proposed housing developments are to take place.

Reading East MP, Rob Wilson is due to to make a submission to the inquiry on the contentious 500-home plan for a site at Sandford Farm. He says, "this development is not in the best interest of the people of Woodley" and highlights the problems of flood risks, congestion caused by additional traffic and the potential pitfalls of building on a disused landfill.

Meanwhile to the south and west of the town opposition to development comes from the LibDems and Labour.

Theale councillor Alan Macro is concerned about West Berkshire's blueprint to add 450 houses, which he says will wreck the character of the village and effectively turn it into a suburb of Reading (in addition to worries similar to those raised by Mr Wilson).

In between Sandford Farm and Theale, the Kennet Meadows floodplain has been the location for a massive plan to build 7,500 houses, which Southcote councillor Pete Ruhemann hopes will be placed in trust to safeguard the open space and maintain it as a wildlife sanctuary available to all in the community and thereby end a 30-year threat from commercial exploitation by restricting developments to 'essential infrastructure'.

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Update: Cllr Willis enters controversial territory by exposing Labour's duplicitous claim to be the guardian of the Kennet Meadows. In contrast he claims the credit should go to West Berkshire Conservatives for their consistent campaigning to protect the landscape.

Oranjepan Asks:
In whose backyard do residents want new houses?

Residents Win Rebate On Tenant Tax

Local media sources report the announcement that £1.6m extra funding has been allocated by central government to help fund maintenance to around 1,000 existing council houses.

Redlands LibDems notices how this boost is targeted directly at tangible improvements for sections of society which are traditionally Labour-supporting as the government overtly bribes them in an attempt to buy their votes - that Gordon Brown can't count on this demographic is a reflection of Labour's 'shameful neglect' over the years, and potentially answers why they are in so much trouble locally and nationally.

LibDem Housing spokesperson Cllr Benson has been an active campaigner for better policies and is grateful that RBC has 'finally' reversed it's position after lengthy urging from her to support 'fair funding' for council housing and oppose the 'tenant tax' which goes straight to government coffers.

Parliamentary campaigner Cllr Gareth Epps picked apart the detail showing that some of the poorest Reading residents are losing as much as £5.5m per year to the Treasury - so the £1.6m boost is another example of being short-changed by Labour.

Local Conservative blogger Wat Tyler is angered by the proposal to spend so much tax-payers money on a public benefit, which he thinks many tenants could afford themselves. Tyler argues that a priority list should be drawn up to ensure the more needy are helped first in an effort to dissuade feckless sponging.

However this raises the questions of whether they would or should be sold off if they became an attractive market proposition, at what level 'basic' housing is acceptable and whether it is society's job to provide 'basic' housing in the first place.

Oranjepan asks:
Why are any council houses in the 21st Century still lacking basic 20th Century amenities? Is the state best placed to provide and fund social housing?

Housing Policy Politics

As the consultation of Reading residents in privately rented housing comes to a conclusion Oxford-based Labour parliamentary hopeful Anneliese Dodds has offered her contribution to the process with the publication of a 'twelve-point plan'.

Ms Dodds has been using her suggestions to gain publicity to help her campaign to speak for residents, but some locals are unhappy that she has hijacked the process for political gain rather than encouraging actual residents to speak for themselves on a council matter.

LibDem housing scrutiny chair Cllr Benson reports that she is 'delighted' that every recommendation of the panel set up on her initiative to listen to the views of local people has been accepted by council officers.

She also argues for Labour councillors to support the advice gathered from the public (at some effort and expense) to ensure recent and future 'Have Your Say' meetings are meaningful events, not a grandstand for party politicking.

Cllr Benson's active advocacy for housing issues is also noted and has recently gained the backing of all parties to join the national coalition of councils in the Campaign for Fair and Local Housing Finance, which would end the governments's 'tax on tenancy' to enable reinvestment in public housing stocks.

Oranjepan says:
With her recent 'seven-point plan' on expenses to add to this 'twelve-point plan', Ms Dodds is running out of numbers to show she can intervene effectively or in anybody's interests except her own.

Mini-town Proposals Hit Major Opposition

The proposed development of 15,000 new homes in Mid-Berkshire hit another buffer today.

Landowners Woodley Developments Ltd have appealed to overturn a decision by Wokingham Borough Council to refuse planning permission, but Loddon Valley Action Group (LVAG) "has vowed" to continue the fight against the 500-home plans for Sandford Farm.

It has been a game of cat and mouse as the scale and intensity of proposals continues to grow. Recently news has included moves to increase the number of homes on the Arborfield Garrison site from 3,500 to 5,000, while Shinfield could soon see 1,000 extra houses added to the area where 2,500 were planned.

Concrete Housing Plans Scrutinised

As many as 15,000 new homes are planned to be built in Wokingham borough by 2026 as consultation on the adoption of the regional South East Plan continues apace.

This core strategy is currently undergoing scrutiny to adjudicate on the proposals to build 3,500 homes in Arborfield Garrison, 2,500 homes in Shinfield, Spencer's Wood and Three Mile Cross and additional thousands on the northern and southern fringes of Wokingham.

Cllr Gary Cowan explained that the plans set out the development of Wokingham for the next 20 years.

Residents have been encouraged to attend community meetings to have their say at a series of meetings which will continue until 23rd April, but they are not impressed. The Wokingham Society, which works to retain the character of the town, has 'expressed concern'.

14 sessions of public consultation have been announced.

Wokingham LibDem, Cllr Prue Bray has been leading the opposition to the Labour government proposals presented by the Conservative local administration, explaining with a hint of regret that the most active participants in the examination sessions are "the council and the developers who want to build the houses" - a more diverse range of views would be more democratic.

Shinfield Parish Council chairman John Heggadon described how the complexity of the process left residents "totally bemused" after being gradually worn down by years of fighting corporate developers who have developed professional relationships with the authorities. Another resident described the plans as "absolutely catastrophic for the area," questioning the ability of local infrastructure to cope with the additional pressure. [1]

Major landowners supporting the developments include Reading University at Shinfield and the Ministry of Defence at Arborfield Garrison.

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The proposed development will have a major impact to the south of Reading.
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Find out more about the South East Plan here.
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Friction has existed between the different communities of Berkshire since before the county council was replaced by Unitary Authorities nearly two decades ago, but with planning devolved to the unelected South East England Regional Assembly (SEERA) - now dissolved - the problem of differing local strategies has been effectively bypassed through a lack of public accountability.

This is particularly important when asking questions about who decides on important matters, such as Reading's mooted 'third Thames bridge' or when choosing the location of schools in the area.

A Home Fit For Living In

Redlands Councillor Daisy Benson keeps up the momentum as she works to solve Reading's housing problems.

Housing Event Reports

Reading Chronicle reports on the housing consultation held at the Hexagon this week.

Landlords and students packed out the event, showing the level of public concern on the issue, which has turned into a bit of a political football in recent years.

LibDems have been pushing for the re-introduction of the landlord accreditation scheme which was recently abolished in order to be able to ensure minimum standards are met and vulnerable people are not disadvantaged.

Meanwhile, Labour group deputy leader, Cllr Tony Page, claimed a £120,000 allocation in RBC's proposed budget for 2009/10 represented new resourcing rather than replacement for earlier cuts.

Elsewhere Mark Reckons provides a personal view of renting in the private sector and some of the problems which can arise.

Your Home Matters; Your Views Count

As Reading List previously advertised, Reading Borough Council is undertaking a consultation exercise on privately rented housing.

LibDem councillors have clearly been pushing hard on this issue, recognizing that with 1 out of every 5 houses across the borough (compared to a national average where 1 in 9 houses are rented from commercial landlords) this is of major importance to the quality of life experienced by Reading citizens.

So get on down to the Hexagon Theatre between 6.30pm-8.30pm tonight where you can have your say.

If you can't make it then the council website has a form you can complete to make your voice heard (before February 19th), and Cllr Benson has set up a facebook group.

AboutMyArea and Green campaigner Rob White have also advertised a series of events organised by Reading Energy Pioneers where homeowners can discover way to save money on their energy bills by cutting down on energy waste.

Update: Local newspaper Reading Chronicle has given their audience hasty notice of the event.

Have Your Say on Housing

Reading LibDems have heavily featured a scrutiny review into private sector housing which has been recently launched by Reading Borough Council.

If you are concerned about rogue landlords, a constant stream of new noisy neighbours who you never meet or you think a local house may have been converted into a cannabis factory, there will be an open event to listen to your views which will take place at Hexagon Theatre, on 10th February 2009 from 6.30pm-8.30pm.

Reading has a disproportionately high level of privately-rented accomodation, with about 20% of households in the town compared to about 11% nationwide (just look through every issue of the property pages for confirmation).

Any issues surrounding this area of housing policy (mismanaged waste, planning enforcement issues and parking problems etc) will therefore have a major impact on the quality of life in our town. The new leadership in the council executive has recognised this fact and have instigated a policy review process to help develop the new system for preventing problems and complaints arising rather than solving them after distress and worry has been caused.

Rob White says insulation is important.

Update: Reading Evening Post has followed up on the announcement, quoting Cllr Ricky Duveen (LibDem, Tilehurst), chair of the environment scrutiny panel, who said:

“We will be looking at a range of issues including the condition and supply of private rented housing, houses of multi-occupation and environmental impacts such as parking and waste issues.

"We want to hear thoughts from tenants and landlords on improving services and looking after the local environment.”