Campaigners are quietly confident that a plan for thousands of homes north of Bracknell is unlikely to re-emerge.
It's just been a few weeks since the Labour Party was swept to power in the Bracknell Forest Council all out elections.
The result has given rise to questions about the status of the Bracknell Forest Local Plan, which was submitted in November 2022 by the Conservative council administration.
The submitted Local Plan would have seen approximately 4,600 new homes built throughout Bracknell Forest up to 2037.
However, the Local Plan was adjusted by government planning inspectors earlier this year which led to a 2,000 home 'garden village' proposal at Jealott's Hill being deleted from the plan.
READ MORE: Garden village scrapped after inspectors brand Bracknell local plan 'legal but unsound'
Now, a leading member of the Save Jealott's Hill campaign has expressed confidence that Labour will not substantially adjust the plan.
Laying out his predictions about what the Labour administration will do, Patrick Kennedy, the chairman of the campaign said: "The Labour group will be slow to interfere with the draft plan given the Inspectors have given clear guidance on what needs to be done to make the draft sound and fit for adoption.
"The new chair of the planning committee is Councillor Tricia Brown (Labour, Priestwood & Garth) and she abstained on the vote in March 2021 to send the draft for Examination.
"I don’t know anything about the executive member for planning & transport but I will be reaching out to him if things look like being delayed."
The new executive member for planning is councillor Guy Gillbe (Labour, Easthampstead & Wildridings).
Mr Kennedy noted that cllr Mary Temperton (Labour, Great Hollands) the new council leader said that social housing would be a priority when watching the first council meeting of the 2023/24 municipal year on Wednesday, May 24.
He also gave the former Conservative administration credit for accepting the government inspector’s recommendations for the Local Plan.
Mr Kennedy added: "I think the Labour group will just let the process go ahead and work with the Plan.
"Opening up the Plan again puts them at risk of having the secretary of state at department for levelling up, housing and communities call the Plan in which means they lose control of the plan and the process and this would be unwise."
The next stage of the Local Plan process involves a consultation on the government inspector's adjustments due to take place over six weeks this summer.
The election was fought under new council ward boundaries, with Jealott’s Hill falling in the Binfield North & Warfield West ward.
During the contest, incumbent Conservative councillor John Harrison was able to keep his seat, but fellow Conservatives cllr Ankur Shiv Bhandari, the mayor of Bracknell Forest from 2022-23, and Ian Leake lost to Green newcomers Sheila Collings and Adrian Haffegee.
Meanwhile, Chris Turrell, the executive member for planning when the Local Plan was submitted, lost his seat coming in sixth place in the Harmans Water and Crown Wood ward.
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