Go-ahead for 1,500 new homes in Berkshire

Wokingham Borough Council has approved proposals for up to 1,500 homes (some 35 per cent affordable) plus a neighbourhood centre at Hogwood Farm in central Berkshire. The scheme is the subject of a hybrid application, mainly outline.

The 110-hectare site forms the southern part of the so-called Arborfield Garrison Strategic Development Location (SDL) to the south of the Ministry of Defence’s Arborfield Garrison, which is becoming surplus to requirements.

Planning permission for the redevelopment of that area, the northern part of the SDL, has already been granted. Some 2,000 new homes are planned there.

The Hogwood Farm scheme, a residential-led development, also includes sports fields, some 12,000 square metres of employment floor space, a primary school, a BMX track, skate-park, allotments and public open space.

The site is currently a mix of open fields in agricultural use, parcels of mature woodland as well as a Wildlife Heritage Site and the Hogwood Industrial Estate. The proposals involve the demolition of all buildings on the site including two houses and the whole of the industrial estate.

The entire site falls within the Thames Basin Heath Special Protection Area. The proposals include provision for nearly 30 hectares of so-called Suitable Alternative Natural Greenspace (SANG). The site is allocated for development under the borough’s core strategy which anticipates nearly 14,000 new homes in the period 2006-2026.

View more information on the Arborfield Strategic Development Location

Roger Milne