If you are on any of the various council mailing lists you will have already received notification of this, however just to confirm that Wokingham Borough Council have decided to cancel the next Arborfield Community Forum, and are not proposing to hold another forum until Thursday 12th December, more than three months later.
The justification for the cancellation is because the consultation on the Arborfield Cross Relief Road opens on September 9th.
As a group we are very disappointed by this decision. There are many other issues relating to the development that can and need to be discussed, and it is perfectly possible to continue the important community forum meetings whilst making it clear that the relief road cannot be discussed whilst the consultation is continuing. For example the notes from the previous forum meeting highlight schools, early years provision and issues over facilities for the service personnel remaining in Arborfield after the garrison closes as issues requiring further discussion, none of which have any bearing on the relief road consultation.
Additionally at the last full community forum Cllr David Lee highlighted the appointment of Crest Nicholson as Development Manager for the site and said that Crest Nicholson wanted to meet with residents shortly, talking about dates in late July. It’s now the end of August and that meeting hasn’t taken place, more than that the main forum for residents to discuss the development is being closed down leaving a gap of six months between forums.
Whilst the relief road consultation is important, and the announcement of the route not surprisingly produced a heated meeting, getting a good development at Arborfield Garrison is about more than building roads. It is therefore important that this valuable way of keeping communication between residents and interested parties and the council is kept going, and not cancelled for months at a time when a controversial issue is being consulted on. This group was formed in part because of a perceived lack of communication from Wokingham Borough Council with residents during earlier consultation stages, reducing communication now as we reach key stages of the process seems like a retrograde step and is very disappointing.
September 9th Community Forum CANCELLED
If you are on any of the various council mailing lists you will have already received notification of this, however just to confirm that Wokingham Borough Council have decided to cancel the next Arborfield Community Forum, and are not proposing to hold another forum until Thursday 12th December, more than three months later.
The justification for the cancellation is because the consultation on the Arborfield Cross Relief Road opens on September 9th.
As a group we are very disappointed by this decision. There are many other issues relating to the development that can and need to be discussed, and it is perfectly possible to continue the important community forum meetings whilst making it clear that the relief road cannot be discussed whilst the consultation is continuing. For example the notes from the previous forum meeting highlight schools, early years provision and issues over facilities for the service personnel remaining in Arborfield after the garrison closes as issues requiring further discussion, none of which have any bearing on the relief road consultation.
Additionally at the last full community forum Cllr David Lee highlighted the appointment of Crest Nicholson as Development Manager for the site and said that Crest Nicholson wanted to meet with residents shortly, talking about dates in late July. It’s now the end of August and that meeting hasn’t taken place, more than that the main forum for residents to discuss the development is being closed down leaving a gap of six months between forums.
Whilst the relief road consultation is important, and the announcement of the route not surprisingly produced a heated meeting, getting a good development at Arborfield Garrison is about more than building roads. It is therefore important that this valuable way of keeping communication between residents and interested parties and the council is kept going, and not cancelled for months at a time when a controversial issue is being consulted on. This group was formed in part because of a perceived lack of communication from Wokingham Borough Council with residents during earlier consultation stages, reducing communication now as we reach key stages of the process seems like a retrograde step and is very disappointing.
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