Question
Montague Park is a relatively new development within Wokingham however it appears that several important infrastructure things have been neglected. For example the promised community centre is due to be handed over as an empty shell, no finish and fitting. This is not useful for anyone, the road crossing are incomplete and in poor repair (lines on road are worn) and one of which is dangerous (I nearly flattened a jogger one weekend). What is the Council doing to rectify this situation?
Minutes:
Question
Montague Park is a relatively new development within Wokingham, however it appears that several important infrastructure things have been neglected. For example the promised community centre is due to be handed over as an empty shell, no finish and fitting. This is not useful for anyone, the road crossing are incomplete and in poor repair (lines on road are worn) and one of which is dangerous (I nearly flattened a jogger one weekend). What is the Council doing to rectify this situation?
Answer
The infrastructure requirement for the South Wokingham SDL include new or improved local shopping parades north and south of the railway line and one community facility to be located south of the railway line.
Whilst there was no requirement for a community facility north of the railway line, the Council was successful in securing a small, additional community facility in the local centre on Montague Park funded by the developers. This facility is over and above what infrastructure contribution the developer was required to provide and unfortunately did not include a commitment to fund the fitting out of the facility. It therefore was left to the Council to identify how to fund the balance; which we are currently addressing. I’m sure we can get more information from the Executive Member for Environment and Leisure in writing if required.
In respect of the highway infrastructure elements within the site, the Council will be adopting many areas of the Montague Park site in line with legal agreements (Section 38 of the Highways Act) entered into by David Wilson Homes for various phases of the development. The site currently remains in private ownership as David Wilson Homes has not completed all of the approved works to an adoptable standard. As the Council is not physically delivering the planned works, we cannot commit to any dates for works to be completed by David Wilson Homes. We regularly meet with them and are doing our best to ensure that they maintain a safe site for residents and users. There was a mention earlier about the path not being completed yet, one of the reasons that some of the paths had closed is that David Wilson Homes are building next door to those paths, so they are closed for safety reasons. Any and all safety defects, incidences fall to David Wilson Homes during this stage and they are liable as a company should any issues arise.
The Council is continuing to work with David Wilson Homes to progress the delivery of the sites as soon as physically possible.
Supplementary Question
This is talking about the additional road surface that goes into Montague Park, which is awful and leads to a lot of noise. As I am sure that the Council can appreciate, the hot weather this year and sitting in your garden, and how the residents next to that road cannot do that due to the noise generated by the passing traffic on London Road which is part of your responsibility. Issues have been logged but were deemed not worthy of work, bearing in mind we have a whole bunch of work going across the County. Can the Council commit to work on London Road bearing in mind this is going to get busier due to the SDL going in there, and actually use some of the CIL money that the developers give us to improve the infrastructure for the local area.
Supplementary Answer
I would certainly commit to coming and meeting you on site, seeing what the problems are, bringing an Officer with me and seeing what we can do to improve the situation for the residents.