Wokingham Council Face legal Challenge Over Housing Plans

Hampshire County Council may take legal action against Wokingham Borough Council to stop 3,500 homes being built across its border in Berkshire. Hampshire Lib Dem councillor David Simpson said his council would consider a judicial review if the plans go ahead unaltered.

The Wokingham council plans under threat are to build on Arborfield Army Garrison when the Ministry of Defence offers for sale in 2015.

Gill Purchase, from Arborfield Garrison Residents Action Group, said: “We will support any development… that is carefully thought out and controlled, but the infrastructure isn’t there.

“There isn’t the roads, there isn’t the local facilities and the green fields that you see now will simply have a lot of houses built on them.”

Councillor Angus Ross, planning chief at the Conservative-led Wokingham council, said its modelling was showing much less traffic than projections from Hampshire residents.

“We are keen to enter very open dialogue with them [Hampshire County Council],” the councillor said.

“I very much hope we don’t [end up in a legal battle] and myself and our officers are doing all we can to supply information to Hampshire County Council so we can come to a resolution.”