CONTROVERSIAL designs for dozens of homes at a Wokingham business park are set to get the go-ahead despite one councillor's concerns.
Developers are seeking consent from council planning chiefs for 38 homes at a vacant office space in Mulberry Business Park.
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Officers have recommended councillors say yes to initial designs before a more detailed plan is considered later.
But one councillor, Sarah Kerr, (Liberal Democrats, Evendons) has put forward her opposition to the plans after telling the News of her concerns about development on the estate, which could see 300 homes go up at surrounding properties in the next three years.
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She commented: “Where are the amenities that all these new units would require? For example, where are the schools? Where are the doctor’s surgeries?”
“You cannot keep converting these buildings without providing the amenities required to allow people to actually live here.”
Wokingham Town Council has also submitted its objection to the plan because of a lack of services nearby.
No comments from neighbours were received as planning chiefs only notified nearby offices and a a handful of properties on Reeves Way.
Officers have now extended the time residents can make comments on the plans (reference number 192852) at planning.wokingham.gov.uk until Monday, January 6.
Sorbus House at Mulberry Business Park was previously occupied by offices but was damaged by fire before being demolished.
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A four-storey flat building would house six one-bedroom homes and 32 two-bedroom homes with 59 car parking spaces.
None of these homes would be made affordable, however, and developers want to pay more than £700,000 so builders can prop up cheaper homes elsewhere in the borough.
Despite developers saying this sum would “contribute significantly” to the need for affordable housing, Cllr Kerr said this was “completely unacceptable”.
She added: “Affordable housing must be part of this site as is required by planning law.”
The land is not a pre-approved site in the council's local plan and has been earmarked as space for employment use, meaning the housing proposal goes against policies in Wokingham Borough Council’s (WBC) development plan.
But WBC planning chiefs say they are happy to see the plan approved as the change from office space to residential space is “satisfactory”.
Councillors will have the final say on the designs at a planning committee meeting on Wednesday, January 8.
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