Mystery of green belt housing plan found in woods
Thousands of homes on map
MYSTERY surrounds a map showing a potential layout for a development on green belt land in Ruscombe – Wokingham Borough Council said that they have not commissioned it.
The map was found by a Wokingham Paper reader as they walked their dogs through woodland in Ruscombe on Tuesday.
They said: “I pick up litter as I walk with my dog. My dog always insists on going down the path, as it has lots of scents.
“The map was lying freshly dropped on the path in the woods.”
It shows a potential layout for new housing estates in Ruscombe and includes a railway station, several football pitches, a community centre and a school.
It is not known how the map came to be left in the woods, but it says that it has been prepared on behalf of house builders Berkeley Strategic. It is not thought to be a final version.
Ruscombe councillor John Halsall, who chairs the non-political Campaign to Protect Rural Wokingham (CPRW), said that the discovery of the map showed the importance of the group, which has secured a council debate on the proposals to build homes in Ruscombe, Barkham Square and Grazeley.
“The campaign continues to have relevance,” he said. “It [the proposals] remains a real threat and it hasn’t gone away.”
He said that the council needed to come to a decision on its preferred sites, part of its current call for sites process, and then it should go out to consultation.
“If you’re concerned about this, sign up to the campaign. We know you’ll help us when it comes to the consultation period,” he said.
And Twyford councillor and Liberal Democrat leader Cllr Lindsay Ferris said that residents in his ward were united in their condemnation of the plans.
“I haven’t come across a single issue in 26 years that has united the people as this does” he said. “If it goes ahead, it will just gridlock the whole area.
“Once the green belt is gone, it’s gone. If our countryside is gone, the whole reason for living here is lost. It will just be an extension of London.”
The map was not commissioned by Wokingham Borough Council (WBC).
A council spokesperson said: “WBC has no involvement with this drawing, which appears to be the work of a private developer.
“The drawing has absolutely no connection to the current evidence gathering process that is being carried out as part of WBC’s Local Plan Update.”
A spokesperson for Berkeley told The Wokingham Paper: “Part of what we do is to identify land that in the future may be suitable for much needed new homes.
“This work is done on a notional basis until the local authority publishes their plan to meet local housing needs.”