We have already told the developer almost 10,000 times* to stop fiddling with a fundamentally broken plan. How many times do the community have to speak out?
Reading Golf Club have now appealed the Council decision to reject their plan to build 257 properties on park land in Emmer Green. Not only do they have an ongoing application to build 223 properties, but have decided to try and force the Council’s hand by threatening legal action, as any appeal hearing will be heard well after the planning committee meet to consider the proposal to build 223 properties at RGC.
In an article in the Reading Chronicle on 1st February, the developers have defended their latest scheme. They claim to have worked with the Council to address the feedback on the previous plan by redesigning their development with fewer properties, more green spaces, a wider offering of properties and an improvement to local junctions (their words - not ours!). All this would suggest an acknowledgment that the previous plan for 257 properties was even more deficient than the current one.
So why is the developer appealing against the decision on the previous scheme when it so positively publicises the supposed improvements in the current scheme? There are clearly other motives at play. In line with what we might expect from Fairfax, they have waited until the last possible week to submit their appeal.
Our position remains uncontroversial - the developer should respect the local plan - avoid the destruction of green space, and engage with the local community. We trust that the Council will not be intimidated by RGC’s recent activity, especially considering their success in defeating developer appeals.
(*number of objections over the three applications!)
