Agenda item

Mel Horton asked the Executive Member for Regeneration and Communities the following question;

 

Question

Will the Council review their decision to appropriate the land at Elms Field in the light of 1,500 signatures demonstrating that the land at Elms Field is still required by the community for its current purpose?

Minutes:

Question

Will the Council review their decision to appropriate the land at Elms Field in the light of 1,500 signatures demonstrating that the land at Elms Field is still required by the community for its current purpose?

 

Answer

The short answer is no. In 2004 the Council embarked on the process of producing a Local Plan to identify how local growth would be best accommodated across the Borough. This process involved several years of research and studies looking at the local area and its infrastructure, both current and required.

 

Extensive research and review was undertaken as part of this process which led to the adoption of documents such as the Core Strategy, Managing Development Delivery document, and supplementary planning documents such as those for the North and South Wokingham Strategic Development Locations and Wokingham Town Centre.

 

All of these documents have been the result of extensive consultation with residents, local businesses, developers and, in regards to the Local Plan core documents, have undergone Examination In Public by the Planning Inspectorate prior to adoption.

 

These documents clearly identify the level of local growth required and where it should be located within the area, including the town centre sites which are being addressed through the Council’s regeneration. This is summarised in Policy SAL08 of the MDD which lists Peach Place, Elms Field and the Carnival Pool areas as Allocated Mixed Use Sites.

 

The Appropriation of Elms Field in 2007 was a part of this long process of delivering the infrastructure required for the Borough. It was a formal legal process which has already been completed and will not be reversed.

 

The Council has a responsibility to all its residents, both those who are living here now and those who will be living here in the future.

 

We need to ensure that Wokingham has the right infrastructure in place to support a great quality of life, providing people with everything they need from top quality school places and sports facilities, to entertainment facilities and an improved retail experience, to country parks and play areas. 

 

Our proposals for Elms Field show how we are committed to achieving a great town centre experience for our residents.

 

 Supplementary Question

Is the Council satisfied that, whilst they have followed the correct legal process to complete the appropriation of the land at Elms Field, they have also acted in a morally correct way, as will be judged by all the people of Wokingham who have signed the petition and others calling for the land to be maintained as public open space and facilities. And, indeed, by the Ellison family themselves, who left this land for the enjoyment of the people of Wokingham and not for it to become the Elms Field cashpoint, as Members of the Council openly refer to it; and not to be turned into an Aldi supermarket and a Premier Inn which adds no value to anyone in Wokingham as far as the community are concerned?

 

Supplementary Answer

That is quite a statement. The Elms Field cashpoint. I have never heard that one before, but thank you for mentioning it. We do feel that we have a moral right to go ahead with this. Quite simply, 1,500 residents who have signed the petition, as you say, are a small number compared to the remainder of the town and all the people on the doorstep who, for many years now, have said simply “get on with it, we want it finishing”.