Dear KEG Supporter,
Planning Application Update
Readers of KEG newsletters will already be aware that Reading Golf Course spans both Reading and South Oxfordshire land. The land within Reading is currently the subject of a planning application which was submitted at the end of May 2020 and is still being validated by the Planning Office. Once that validation task is completed the plans to build 260 homes on the land will be made public and comments will be welcomed by the Council.
As soon as the plans for the Reading Borough site are available we will let you know and following thorough examination of the plans we will circulate our suggestions to help you respond to the planning department at Reading Borough Council.
No development in SODC?
Surprisingly, the Golf Club announced last week that their land in South Oxfordshire will not be the subject of a planning application ‘for the foreseeable future’. No indication has been given as to what constitutes the foreseeable future but one can only imagine that the delay could be for just a year or so.
SODC Local Plan Hearing
The public hearing by the Planning Inspectorate of SODC’s Emerging Local Plan concluded last week. Prior to the commencement of the hearing, RGC put forward a detailed submission making the case that the Emerging Local Plan (ELP) was unsound and that RGC’s land was more suitable for development than some of the other sites in the plan. RGC also stated in their submission that the development on Reading land would make the SODC development more likely, as it improves access.
KEG also understands that at the Public Examination of the ELP, Gladman Homes (who have been pushing hard for land by the Water Tower and alongside Caversham Park Road to be considered as suitable development sites) also suggested that RGC’s land should be included to make a combined major development around the Emmer Green border. Quite what has prompted RGC to postpone the development of their land within SODC is unclear, but this course of action will certainly enable them to concentrate their efforts on the land in Reading Borough.
If you have any comments, questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact us. Please subscribe to updates so that you can be kept up to date about when a planning application is made available for comments.
