Campaigners were today celebrating the end of a three year long battle to protect the Kennet water meadows in South West Reading from being earmarked for development in the South East Plan, which covers the period until 2026.

Following an examination in public (EIP) in 2006, the Panel recommended the inclusion of Kennet Meadows as a development zone within the plan capable of accommodating 7,500 houses - precisely the same figure as that proposed by Prudential. This recommendation was supported by the Campaign for the Protection of Rural England (CPRE) but aroused furious opposition from local residents and councillors in the Reading area. Last spring, local Government Minister John Healey was invited down to the Meadows by Martin Salter to hear the concerns of local residents and the Environment Agency regarding the potential flooding threat to Reading should the water meadows (or functional flood plain) be destroyed.

In July 2008 the Draft Plan once again excluded the Kennet Meadows and today that decision has been conformed in an announcement by Communities Minister Sadiq Khan MP.

Reading West MP Martin Salter who spearheaded the campaign on Kennet Meadows said:-

“This is excellent news and the end of a long road for hundreds of people who have fought the developers tooth and claw for many years. It is difficult to see how the Prudential or any other big developer could win a planning battle to build on the water meadows now that the area has been specifically excluded from the South East Plan because of flood risks to Reading.”