The Local Plan 2045 - what is happening, and where has the proposed sites map come from?
Over the past few days, many residents have been looking at a new map on the council's website showing land put forward for possible development across the borough. If you've seen a field, wood or green space near you marked on it, it's natural to be worried. Here's what's happening, and why.
What is a Local Plan?
A Local Plan is the council's blueprint for how the borough grows. It sets out where new homes, jobs, schools and roads should go, and the rules developers must follow. Having an up-to-date plan matters – without one, councils find it much harder to turn down speculative applications on sites they would never have chosen.
Why is there a new plan already?
In 2024 the government changed how housing targets are calculated. Wokingham's target jumped from around 750 homes a year to more than 1,300. The council is required by law to plan for that higher number, so work on a new plan, the Local Plan 2045, has had to begin even before the current one is finished.
The first stage was a "call for sites", which ran over the summer. Landowners, developers and others suggested land they think could be developed. The map shows those suggestions. Nothing has been decided. Every site will now be assessed for whether it is suitable, available and realistic. Many will not make it through.
The good news: breathing room
The current plan, the Local Plan Update, has been through independent examination. The inspectors have indicated it is likely to be found sound, subject to some changes. It is on track for adoption early next year. It is based on the lower housing figure and requires 40% of homes on major developments to be affordable.
Once it's adopted, the council expects to be able to show a five-year supply of housing land. That should give us around three years of stronger protection against speculative development while the Local Plan 2045 is prepared. The new plan itself is not due to be adopted until 2029.
Where we stand
We know people need homes, including young people who want to stay in the area where they grew up, and key workers our schools and care services depend on. But we believe the borough is being asked to take too many. Wokingham has already built more than 2,000 homes over and above its requirement since 2006. The sheer scale of land put forward on this map shows what pressure these targets will put on our countryside, green spaces and infrastructure.
Much of the large-scale building you can see around the borough today, at Arborfield Green, Shinfield, and north and south of Wokingham town, is the result of the previous Local Plan, put together under the former Conservative administration which ran the council until 2022. Between 2018-2021, 4,006 homes were completed against a target of 2,125. The previous Conservative government (under Michael Gove as secretary of state) refused to reduce Wokingham’s future housing targets to account for this.
Residents have lived with years of construction and roads, schools and GP surgeries struggling to keep up. We are determined to learn from that.
What we're doing about it
Our councillors and Clive Jones MP continue to make the case to the Government that Wokingham's target is too high, and that our record of delivery should count. We are also supporting the creation of a Thames Valley strategic authority with an elected mayor. This would make it possible to plan housing, transport and infrastructure across the wider region, so growth can be shared more fairly and matched with the services it needs.
We won't pretend this is easy. Housing targets are set nationally. A local plan that ignores them would be rejected, leaving the borough more exposed to developers, and even less coordination of building and infrastructure. But we will keep pushing for numbers that are fair, and for development that comes with the infrastructure and green space communities need.
Have your say
The council's scoping consultation on the Local Plan 2045 is open now until 11:59pm on Monday 16 November. It asks what issues and priorities the new plan should address. This is a real chance to shape it early. You can find the map, the timetable and the consultation on the council's Local Plan 2045 page.
Let us know what matters most in your area, and if you have any questions. Get in touch on info@wokinghamlibdems.org.uk