Why does Cllr Hughes want to desecrate the only greenbelt in the borough?

I was intrigued to read Cllr Peter Hughes’ letter in last week’s paper concerning the proposed development in the Northern Parishes of Wokingham Borough.

I can fully understand his frustration with the extent of development in Shinfield, where he is a nimby, sorry, Chairman of the Parish Council, but calling much of the area in the Ruscombe and Twyford area ‘ripe for development’ ignores one important factor much of this land is greenbelt, identified as such by Wokingham Borough Council itself.

Not once did he mention this in his letter, focussing instead on the Northern Parishes ‘taking their share’ and referring to its residents as ‘nimbys’, an ironic argument if ever I heard one.

I would like to say to Cllr Hughes, that yes, as a Ruscombe resident, I would rigorously defend the development on our Borough’s greenbelt wherever it was. Yes, I literally have it in my back garden, but this countryside does not belong to me, it belongs to Wokingham Borough.

Does he really want to see it concreted over and lost forever? Does Cllr Hughes not value the vital protection that the greenbelt offers against urban sprawl from London?

If he were to look at one of the interactive maps online, he would see that actually there is very little greenbelt left in this country and ours is one of the things that not only preserves Berkshire, but makes living in it great.

Yes, there are mandates from Central Government to build a huge number of houses.

Every Council in the South East is under the same pressure.

However, in Wokingham Borough alone, there are more than enough brownfield sites to accommodate all the housing requirements for the next 20 years.

Why then, would Cllr Hughes want to desecrate the only greenbelt that we have in the Borough?

Crossrail is no argument - ‘Crossrail’ is simply TFL’s exclusive use of the slow rail line between Reading and London. It may continue past Paddington, but it will stop at every station before it gets there.

It will still be quicker to get the GWR (fast rail line) into Paddington and change.

All Councillors need to do their homework please!

Greenbelt is greenbelt for a reason and Wokingham Borough Council has already said it won’t build on it.

Yes, there are certain Borough Councillors who would love to see it concreted over, but those with their eyes on the future of Wokingham Borough as a whole, who are able to see the bigger picture, will not.

Our greenbelt enhances the lives of everyone in this Borough, not just the lives of those of us fortunate enough to have it in our back yards. Nobody is contesting the need for housing - affordable housing particularly - and I for one would be delighted to see more of that in the Northern Parishes, on a sensible scale, but to build all over the designated greenbelt, to devastate the Borough’s countryside just so that the Northern Parishes ‘take their share’ is an utter travesty.

A travesty for the Borough’s appeal, a travesty for local history, a travesty for local wildlife and a travesty for every single one of Wokingham Borough’s residents. Jane Holmes, Campaign For Rural Wokingham