Finchampstead campaign to save farm from 270 home plan

A proposal to build 270 homes at Rooks Nest Farm in Finchampstead is included in the Wokingham Local Plan update, which earmarks where the borough council would like to see houses built until 2038.

But the proposal is already being opposed by residents of the village, who have set up the ‘Save Rooks Nest’ campaign.

The campaign is being headed by councillor David Cornish from Finchampstead Parish Council.

READ MORE: Huge changes coming to Wokingham as sites selected for Local Plan update

Although Rooks Nest Farm falls within Barkham Parish, the new homes would be built right on the border with Finchampstead. 

Cllr Cornish said: “Wokingham Borough Council asked to us find room for 200 extra homes as part of our Neighbourhood Development Plan, which we worked really hard with them to do.

"We have already supported a site across the road at 31-33 Barkham Ride, which has been earmarked for 66 homes.

“Then the Local Plan update came out and all of sudden they dropped 270 homes on us at Rooks Nest Farm.

"Had either the team doing the Neighbourhood Development Plan or the parish council known about the size of the proposed development Rooks Nest Farm, we would have held up the consultation on the development plan and possibly would not have put 31-33 in the plans.

The core issue is that we accepted the need for 200 houses and although the extra 270 at Rooks Nest Farm are technically in Barkham, they will be regarded by everyone who lives here as being in Finchampstead.

“Hundreds of homes are already being built and the village can’t cope with it.

“This would close the gap between Finchampstead, Barkham and Arborfield.

“Local roads such as Barkham Ride would need to be substantially upgraded to accommodate new traffic.

“What we would get is an urban mess, which is against the council’s policy of preserving the character of existing settlements.

“It’s also one of the few farms viable in the area.

“The farmer at High Barn Farm is very keen to stay in the area, he could very easily be transferred to Rooks Nest.”

Rooks Nest Farm and High Barn Farm in Barkham are owned by Wokingham Borough Council.

Andrew Lake, the tenant farmer at High Barn Farm, is set to leave it due to Wokingham Borough Council agreeing to build a temporary solar farm on the land.

READ MORE: Farmer speaks out after being removed from land that will be used for solar farm

Cllr Cornish ended with a prediction: “If it [Rooks Nest Farm] is not removed from the Local Plan, the ruling group [the Conservatives] will suffer in the elections next May.”

Furthermore, a petition set up by group member Peter Harper has received 1,117 signatures.

As well as replicating cllr Cornish’s points, Mr Harper’s petition also states that the development would remove a key habitat for Longmoor Bog, which is  a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI).

SSSI’s are designated by Natural England for conservation, with Longmoor Bog receiving it because of the insect species that inhabit it, which includes crickets, butterflies, dragonflies, and ants.

You can view the petition on Change.org here.

Organisers of the Save Rooks Nest campaign are encouraging anyone opposed to the development to respond to the Wokingham Local Plan update consultation which is being held by the borough council.

You can take part here.

The consultation closes on Monday, January 24.

Opposition to prospective development is being coordinated on the Save Rooks Nest public Facebook group.

Rooks Nest Farm has been allocated as a place for 270 homes by the borough council’s planning department.

In the ‘development guidelines’ set out for Rooks Nest Farm in the Local Plan update, planners have suggested that new homes should reflect the character of those in the surrounding area, that existing mature trees on the site be protected, and a landscape buffer be formed to make an ‘appropriate transition’ between the new homes and the countryside.

The Wokingham Local Plan update is being devised to define where new homes should be built in the borough, with the pressure on for the council to allocate sites in order to build 786 new homes per year to fulfill housebuilding targets set by central Government.

The council has been contacted for comment.