The developers who want to build 223 homes at Reading Golf Club have defended their plans.
Reading Golf Club and Fairfax Ltd have applied to transform the golf course off Kidmore End Road in Emmer Green into a housing development.
However, previous plans for the golf course have proven unpopular – with a 260-home scheme being withdrawn, and a 257-home scheme being rejected by Reading Borough Council’s planning committee after it received over 3,000 objections.
The golf club scheme has been opposed from the outset by the Keep Emmer Green campaign, which has claimed that the developer’s current plan has received over 4,000 objections.
READ MORE: Fresh 223 home plan for Reading Golf Club submitted
Now, the developers have defended the newest scheme.
A spokesperson for the developers said: “Since our previous application was refused last year we have worked with the planning authority to positively address the feedback received by carefully redesigning our development with significantly fewer properties, more green spaces and a wider offering of homes suitable for families.
“Ninety per cent of the new properties are the exact type of 2, 3 and 4 bedroom family homes with gardens that Reading Borough Council is demanding must be built in the Borough. Jason Brock, the Council Leader, made this very appeal to developers in a press release published only last week.”
The press release features council leader Jason Brock (Labour, Southcote) and lead member for planning councillor Tony Page (Labour, Abbey) calling for more family homes to be built.
Both councillors called for developers to build more family-sized homes of three or more bedrooms, as, according to the council’s figures, 43 per cent of the 2,080 new homes built over the last three years (2018-2021) are only one bedroomed.
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The spokesperson added: “We will also be making a vital contribution towards easing the council’s burgeoning housing waiting list by delivering 67 new affordable homes.
“This is more affordable homes than were completed within in the Borough during the whole of the year 2020-21, as confirmed in its published Annual Monitoring Report.”
The monitoring report states 52 affordable homes were completed in Reading in 2020-21, with 31 of these being shared ownership and 23 being made for affordable rent.
On more of the merits of the plan for the golf course, the spokesperson said: “The design has been subject to extensive transport analysis and modelling which confirms, as our previous application did also, that the local road network can comfortably accommodate this number of new homes.
“We have also agreed with the council’s highway officers to deliver a number of local highway improvements as part and parcel of the development.
“All of the new properties will have access to electric vehicle charging from the outset, to future-proof, cut pollution and encourage a quicker uptake of electric vehicle usage.
“The now closed golf course is private land without any public rights of access within our application boundary.
“This scheme opens up a substantial portion of this, almost 10 acres in total, as freely accessible green space for local residents to enjoy.
“Our design guarantees the protection of valuable existing trees whilst supplementing that with the planting of almost 200 new native specimens on-site plus 1,000 more on the northern part of the former course.
“In the heart of the development, is a safe, well-equipped and accessible area specifically for children’s play.
“Lastly, significant financial contributions towards a wide range of local and public services will be secured from this development through the planning agreement.”
You can view the current plan by typing in reference 211843 into the council’s planning portal here: http://planning.reading.gov.uk/fastweb_PL/welcome.asp
Reading Golf Club relocated to The Caversham golf course, and has operated from there for the last two years.
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