This is the response we have received from George Davidson who is standing in the Wokingham Constituency for the Labour Party.
Dear Mr Rutter,
Thank you for your letter. I understand your concern about Wokingham Council’s plans to allow this huge area to be built on.
Wokingham Council have fudged the decision about providing housing for too long. For this reason there is now very little affordable housing in the area. It is almost impossible for young people either to afford to buy or rent on the borough. So now they are solving the problem in a ham-fisted way by building such a massive development in one go. I do believe though that it is essential that we build housing to provide homes for the people of this country. I have met too many young people who can no longer afford to rent or buy and who have returned home to live with parents. Building new homes also creates jobs for builders, plasterers, fitters, sparks, plumbers and labourers. When the new owners need to fill the home with carpets and fridges and furniture then the economy gets a further boost.
I believe the priority should be to build on brownfield land in the first instance. To say I was surprised by Wokingham BC’s decision to support the release of all of this land for housing would be an understatement.
WBC have a very poor history with this kind of development. In Lower Earley they simply failed to deliver what they could have done. The Section 106 money (which is the contribution made by developers to the fabric of the community in return for building thousands of new homes) was wasted. They promised a new secondary school and this was never built. Given that the Arborfield development looks very likely to go ahead, at least in some form, your group might want to think about what you would like delivered for the local community. A new school? A new road layout? A community centre? Then we can monitor WBC and the developer to ensure this is delivered.
I believe MPs and PPCs should do their best to represent their constituency so I would like to offer my help to the Action Group. I would like to help you to lobby the Secretary of State to amend the recommendation put forward by Wokingham Council.
Please let me know if you are interested in pursuing this further.
best wishes,
George
