But South East Plan cuts housing numbers and supports settlement boundaries

West Berkshire Conservatives, in particular wannabee MP Alok Sharma, and Birch Copse Tory Councillor Joe Mooney, stand accused of betraying local residents over their support for including Whitehart Meadows in Theale and Pincents Hill in Tilehurst in the top three of the council list of preferred development sites. This follows promises they gave at last years public meetings on November 3^rd and 14^th that they would oppose the inclusion of Pincents Hill in the Local Development Framework (LDF) which covers the period to 2026. On April 23^rd Councillor Mooney along with his Conservative colleagues on the West Berkshire Executive voted out sites in Newbury, Thatcham and Hungerford in favour of including Pincents Hill and Whitehart Meadows.

Martin has also revealed that the planners have confirmed that 900+ responses from the Reading West Conservative survey circulated last year were never submitted to the planners prior to publication of the LDF. The MP has accused Tories of “carrying out a massive con trick on local residents designed purely to collect names and addresses, raise the profile of their parliamentary candidate whilst adding nothing of substance to the Save Calcot campaign”:

Martin Salter said: -

“Local people have been let down by the Conservatives who are clearly prepared to dump their housing allocation on the edge of Reading in order to take pressure off places like Newbury. They have broken their promises to the people who elected them, conned local residents with a ’sham’ survey which was never submitted to the planners and put at risk our local environment and quality of life. I’m disgusted by their behaviour but will not give up on the campaign.

“The West Berkshire Local Development Framework options go out to formal consultation later this month and people can register their opposition to the inclusion of Pincents Hill and Whitehart Meadows by signing the online petition on the campaigns section of my website at www.martinsalter.com, by going direct to http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/pincentshill2009/ or by emailing your name, address, and postcode to salterm@parliament.uk. Unlike these dreadful Conservative councillors I will make sure local residents voices is heard.”

The final publication of the South East Plan contained good news for the campaigners in Theale and Calcot with the confirmation that West Berkshire’s housing numbers to 2026 have been reduced from the 18,000 recommended by the panel in 2007 to the 10,500 originally proposed by West Berkshire Councillors back in 2006. The South East Plan also allows for councils to adopt a ‘local gaps policy’ which West Berkshire is doing as part of its core strategy.

The final publication of the South East Plan contained good news for the campaigners in Theale and Calcot with the confirmation that West Berkshire’s housing numbers to 2026 have been reduced from the 18,000 recommended by the panel in 2007 to the 10,500 originally proposed by West Berkshire Councillors back in 2006. The South East Plan also allows for councils to adopt a ‘local gaps policy’ which West Berkshire is doing as part of its core strategy.

Martin Salter added: -

One of the major arguments used against proposed development on Whitehart Meadows and Pincents Hill was the need to protect the settlement boundaries or ‘green gaps’ between Theale, Tilehurst and Calcot. Whilst national planning guidance has changed slightly the new South-East Plan allows councils to adopt robust landscape and local gaps policies to ensure ‘the retention of the individual identity of separate settlements’. West Berkshire planners have done this despite scaremongering and misleading statements from local Tory councillors.

Jean Gardner, Chair of Tilehurst Parish Council said: -

“I am very disappointed that we have not been supported by our Conservative District Councillors in excluding the Pincent’s Hill site from the LDF at the earliest opportunity. Protecting the existing settlement boundaries in Tilehurst, Calcot and Theale is what local people want to see and what local councillors should be voting for.

Local Resident and Save Calcot campaigner Niki Sealey added: -

“West Berkshire’s Councillors have done the dirty on local people and are simply using the Pincents Hill campaign for their own political ends. They organised a rival public meeting to the Save Calcot event last year and have failed to pass on our objections to including the site in the LDF. They’ve angered local people by voting to keep Pincents Hill in the councils’ top three options for development. Local residents can no longer trust them and we are urging everyone to visit our website at www.savecalcot.co.uk to find out how to save our community.”