Berkshire Councils Face Significantly Increased Housing Construction Targets

The government has instructed local authorities in Berkshire to construct over 6,800 new residences annually for the forthcoming five-year period. This quota represents an increase of almost 50% compared to the objective established by the preceding Conservative administration. West Berkshire, Wokingham, and Windsor and Maidenhead are projected to experience the most substantial increases in their respective targets. West Berkshire has received a directive to construct over 1,000 new dwellings each year, which is more than twice its present quota. Given that almost three-quarters of the borough is situated within an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, constructing anything beyond modest developments may present considerable challenges. Denise Gaines, the deputy leader of the council, stated that the newly imposed target was excessively high, expressing her preference to prioritize the development of more robust communities over merely increasing numerical quotas. She remarked, “We’ve got villages all over west Berkshire that need a few houses, not thousands… just so that the schools stay viable, so the church is still attended, so the pub stays a local pub and doesn’t get turned into a home.” She added, “Those are the kind of things we need to think about going forward.” The government aims for the construction of 1.5 million new residences nationwide by the year 2029. Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer commented: “Our plans for change will put builders not blockers first, overhaul the broken planning system and put roofs over the heads of working families and drive the growth that will put more money in people’s pockets.” Advocates from the Save Our Loddon Valley Environment group (SOLVE) seek to restrict the volume of new housing constructed in Wokingham, despite the government’s current directive for 1,336 new properties to be erected there annually, an increase from the existing figure of 748. Paul Stevens, representing SOLVE, asserted that 1.5 million vacant homes throughout the nation ought to be repurposed. He further suggested that a greater number of elderly individuals should be encouraged to relocate to smaller residences, thereby making properties available for expanding families. He stated, “I know for a fact that there are people in my family who because of their age live in fairly big houses with a lot of empty rooms.” He questioned, “Why? They should be encouraged to move out, and that property and that house, or those bedrooms should be rented out.” Local authorities are being informed that they are obligated to meet their assigned quotas. The government indicates that compliance allows councils to determine the locations of these developments. Failure to meet these targets, however, will result in the government undertaking the construction itself, thereby removing the council’s prerogative to select sites. Revisiting the figures, West Berkshire is mandated to construct an additional 1,070 homes annually, an increase from 495. Wokingham’s yearly requirement has risen to 1,336, from 748, while the Royal Borough faces an even greater increase, from 866 to 1,449. For Bracknell, the annual figures ascend from 828 to 1,127, and in Reading, they increase from 878 to 1,127. Slough stands as the sole authority experiencing a reduction in its housing allocation, decreasing from 856 new homes per year to 808. BBC Berkshire can be followed on Facebook, X, or Instagram. Copyright 2024 BBC. All rights reserved. The BBC bears no responsibility for the material found on external websites. Information regarding our policy on external linking is available.