Vote to pave way for thousands of homes
Councillors to be asked to adopt controversial Borough Local Plan next week
After nine years of construction, consultation and modifications, the Royal Borough looks set to approve the Borough Local Plan on Tuesday night.
The controversial BLP has been formulated over the course of nine years, and, if approved by councillors, will set a blueprint for where homes, schools, doctors’ surgeries and community facilities – to name a few – can be built across the town until 2033.
Without a doubt, the most contentious allocation of future homes is Maidenhead Golf Course, which is earmarked for 2,000 homes under the BLP.
Petitions have led to protests in recent years, in a bid to prevent development of what is currently greenbelt land. The debate is far from over, with a third protest taking place on the night of the meeting which coincides with a petition asking the council to reject the BLP.
Spencer’s Farm in Furze Platt, land north of Woodlands Business Park in Cox Green and a section adjacent to St Marks Hospital could also be developed on if the BLP is approved.
Supporters of the BLP have long argued that the ‘much-needed’ housing will provide affordable accommodation across Maidenhead, away from flats in the town centre.
However, opposition has grown significantly as the BLP has been developed, with the impact on the environment being a key concern for residents who have also raised infrastructure fears.
In what is set to be a historic night for the borough, councillors will convene at Holiday Inn, in Manor Lane, on Tuesday night for an extraordinary full council meeting beginning at 7pm.
The council announced it had received back the Borough Local Plan shortly before the Advertiser went to press last week.
Having been through numerous consultations and modifications since 2013, planning inspector Louise Phillips ruled the plan ‘sound’, meaning it can now be adopted by the council.
Councillors will convene on Tuesday for debate, where the BLP will likely be approved, marking a significant step in shaping the future of Windsor, Maidenhead and the surrounding areas.
On social media, the leader of the council, Andrew Johnson, said: “The Borough Local Plan sets out the vision for future development of the Royal Borough up to 2033, including how many new homes are needed, how much space for jobs is required, the best locations for new development and, just as crucially, where development cannot happen.
“A sound plan is vital in delivering the council’s future place-making and climate change ambitions, meeting the growing needs and aspirations of the borough by guiding investment, regeneration, jobs and the right mix of homes in the best locations, including new family homes and affordable housing – all supported by required infrastructure improvements.
“By having a new sound plan identifying the best locations to meet projected housing needs, as required by the Government, the borough is in a stronger position to resist inappropriate and unsupported speculative development elsewhere in the borough, protecting our built and natural heritage.
“Adoption of the plan will mean it has full weight in deciding planning applications, complementing existing planning documents such as the neighbourhood plans.
“In bringing forward the largest housing sites, there will also be further engagement with the community, in addition to the usual consultation once planning applications are submitted.”
Cllr Lynne Jones (OWRA, Old Windsor), leader of the Local Independents, said that the plan had taken ‘a lot longer than it should have’ to be ready for adoption, but added the Royal Borough ‘needs a Borough Local Plan, and it’s got to be the right one’.
“The residents have put in a load of work to change this plan from unsound to sound,” said Cllr Jones.
“I’m slightly concerned about the supplementary planning documents we need to put in, because there are a lot of those outstanding, and they’re the basis of a lot of the BLP.
“They’re the ones that set out a lot of the detail, so they’re needed.
“We will be asked to vote whether to adopt the plan or not; the question on my mind at the moment is how can I vote to adopt something that isn’t a finished product, as far as I’m concerned.
“One good thing about it is that it says neighbourhood plans are an integral part of it – I welcome that because neighbourhood plans are in place, and they need to be part of the planning process and given equal weight.”
The meeting will be held at Holiday Inn, Manor Lane, from 7pm, and will also be streamed live on the council’s YouTube channel.