In his column last week, the Liberal Democrat Leader of the Council had the audacity to tell Wokingham Borough residents that the Local Plan for development “should properly be viewed as the Council’s Plan, not the plan of any particular political party”. Let me be clear: this is the Liberal Democrats’ Local Plan, Conservative councillors do not support it, and didn’t vote for it.
At the Full Council meeting in 2024 where we were asked to approve the Liberal Democrat administration’s draft Local Plan, the Plan was approved with votes from the Liberal Democrats and some Labour councillors. My fellow Conservative councillors and I spoke against the Plan. We highlighted areas we thought the Plan got right. But we set out our opposition to the inclusion of 3,900 houses at Hall Farm, as well as other sites. We raised concerns about the impact on existing residents and traffic levels. We expressed the view that Hall Farm, in particular will never be sustainable. We conveyed the views of many residents who don’t want this development. Liberal Democrats had delayed the progress of the Plan for two years after they were elected, before changing it and publishing their new plans a week before the vote.
Conservatives proposed removing Hall Farm and Barkham Square from the Local Plan, deferring a decision so officers could come up with alternatives looking at brown field sites and drawing up exceptional circumstances for a lower housing requirement, as allowed for the National Planning Policy Framework. Liberal Democrats and Labour councillors voted this down.
When the Local Plan appeared before the Planning Inspectors for review, I attended the inquiry and spoke against the Local Plan. We’re now waiting on the Inspectors’ decision.
Even by the buck-passing standards of the Council’s Liberal Democrat administration, to say the Local Plan is not a Liberal Democrat one is truly breath-taking.
Deciding on the sites included in the Local Plan, and then approving it, are political decisions. Liberal Democrat Leader Cllr Stephen Conway knows this, despite last week telling us, “there was no sound planning justification for changing” the sites. Otherwise, why did his predecessor as Council Leader, and now Wokingham’s MP, campaign against developing Hall Farm? Why did Liberal Democrat councillor Marc Brunel-Walker start a petition in Wokingham Without against 830 new houses? Why did Liberal Democrat councillor Jordan Montgomery put out a leaflet saying “The Lib Dems are opposing… plans for major development in the countryside around Wokingham Without and Finchampstead which they believe to be unsustainable”?
If Cllr Conway is correct, then Liberal Democrat councillors should never have made promises to residents to stop these sites in the first place. On the other hand, if decisions on the Local Plan were in fact political, then Liberal Democrat councillors made a series of promises to residents, and when they had the opportunity to keep these promises, voted the other way.
Time and time again, the Council’s Liberal Democrat administration behave as if they want to be in power, but don’t want to take decisions. When difficult choices are required, they blame someone else.
Wokingham Borough needs better than Liberal Democrats who cling to the trappings of office, but do nothing to stem the tide of over-development, while slashing services and hiking Council Tax, fees and charges. A Conservative administration will listen to residents, act on your choices, and be held accountable for our decisions.