Reading Golf Club homes receive more than 1,000 objections
More than a thousand people have written to the council to object to plans to build 260 homes on a golf course.
Reading Golf (RGC) Club has applied for outline planning permission to build the homes on part of its course in the Emmer Green area. Objectors say there are not enough schools and that traffic would be made worse. RGC said the development would bring affordable housing to the area. The development, submitted by landowner Reading Golf Club and broker Fairfax Acquisitions, would include apartments and family homes, a country park, a health centre and 601 car parking spaces and garages. Keep Emmer Green member Ian Morgan told the BBC the community did not want another housing estate. He said: "With over 1,100 objections, what we believe to be the most objected to application ever in Reading Borough, the local community have come together to oppose the development of 260 properties on green field land in Emmer Green. "The reasons cited by residents have been varied, from destruction of green space and wildlife, the impact on traffic congestion and pollution as well as the precedent it sets for even further development on the South Oxfordshire border." He added RGC should offer the community the land at a fair price as an open space. Some objections have cited the need for a third bridge over the River Thames first. A survey by Reading East MP Matt Rodda, completed by 1,700 residents, found four in five were "highly concerned" about the plans. The MP is against the application. On Thursday there were 110 comments made in favour, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS). General manager of RGC Gary Stangoe said the sale of the land would bring clear benefits with "much sought after family and affordable housing with gardens" and soon to be announced leisure facilities. He added a new health centre would not be possible without proceeds from the development, and newly accessible green space would provide a '"legacy" for the community. The consultation closes on 25 September.