It has not been possible to demonstrate that an absolute nil detriment position has been reached through a comparison of Scenarios C and A. However,the introduction of off-site infrastructure reduces the impact of SDL development proposals on travel through Wokingham demonstrated through the assessment of ten travel time routes across the Borough. This results in a 9% increase in travel time on these routes in the AM peak period and a 5% increase in the PM peak period. Furthermore there is a clear benefit through adoption of the infrastructure associated with Scenario C demonstrated through the comparison between Scenarios C and B.

Essentially we’re told that unpublished MoD modelling indicates that a new road in unnecessary, but the published report concludes that even if every road scheme is built the required nil detriment position will not be achieved. So who do you think is right, the published report, or the secret MoD modelling that nobody has seen?

As our contribution to the article we issued the following statement to the press:

U-turn Final PDF

The vote was not unanimous. The Arborfield local councillor Gary Cowan tried to move a number of amendments to the plans, resulting in the meeting being adjourned at one point whilst all the executive went into an anteroom to discuss Gary’s proposed changes in private, whilst some changes were made all of the proposals were not included and Gary voted against the adoption of the documents. We would like to record our thanks to Gary for trying to do what he could, and in particular sticking by his principles and promises to his local residents despite what we are sure was a lot of pressure from Cllr David Lee and the other members of the Executive to show a united front.

Whilst it is certainly massively disappointing that the council adopted the plans, and our neighbours in Eversley were truly incensed by the adoption given that they had found fundamental flaws in the traffic modelling, the fight is not over. Despite a truly patronising statement from Cllr Rob Stanton following a conversation he had had with his opposite number at Hampshire County Council, saying that he’d been assured that the county weren’t going to ask for a judicial review of the plans, this certainly isn’t backed up by the information coming from our neighbours in Eversley. The plans have also been adopted despite Wokingham’s own traffic survey indicating that even if they built all the planned road schemes (including a few which don’t have complete funding or plans) they still would not achieve nil detriment – in fact they indicated an average increase of 10% in journey times across the borough. The comment from Cllr Angus Ross at the meeting was that it was now up to the developers of the schemes to prove nil detriment in their planning applications – since those applications will also have to conform to SDL plans that have been proved not to achieve that there are certainly a number of battles to come.

Whilst we know it is short notice, members of AG-RAG are encouraged to attend the meeting if at all possible. As with other executive meetings questions can only be asked in advance in writing using the form linked from this page on the council web site. Each person is only allowed to ask one question, but if they are at the meeting in person can ask a supplementary question. If a questioner is absent then the question will be asked and answered. The answers will be sent to questioners in writing whether they attend the meeting or not.

If you are happy to ask one of the questions that AG-RAG would like to ask please contact us using the form on this site, if you have your own question please let us know what you are planning to ask to ensure that we don’t ‘waste’ a question by asking one that is similar to one that is already being asked.

If you need any more guidance, the following document covers our main points of contention with the SDL document as it stands.

Main Points From AGRAG

This may well be your last opportunity before the planning applications start coming in to ask questions and influence the masterplanning process, once the plan is adopted any planning applications will be assessed against the adopted plan so our ability to object to aspects of the development will be severely curtailed. We would therefore urge you not to miss out on this last chance.

Firstly our thanks go to everybody who has contributed to the consultation, we can only hope that our views will be considered and acted upon by Wokingham Borough Council. We’d also like to thank the volunteers around Arborfield and the neighbouring villages who spent time delivering flyers and knocking on doors getting the word out about the consultation, sadly the Borough Council’s attempts to notify people consisting of newspaper advertisements, and an article buried away on page 18 of a council publication that in the case of Arborfield didn’t even reach residents until the consultation was almost over was not overly successful in getting the message out judging by the number of comments we’ve received from people who only found out through our posters and flyers.

As we move forward, the usual method by which Wokingham Borough Council releases details of the consultation responses is by means of a summary document, often this groups responses into broad categories, and often the text of the letters is reduced to a sentence or two. Whilst Wokingham Borough Council will give a number of reasons as to why they do this, it does serve to hide away the sometimes strong feelings that local residents have expressed in their letters. However, with the permission of the the writers, we have posted some examples of the letters people have written on a special page. If you wish to share your letter too, please contact us and forward us a copy of your letter and we will post it there.

Our sincere thanks go to those people who have agreed to share their letters with us and a wider audience.

Also living around the area are badgers – with previous developments having had to take special account of their presence. You can also often see bats flying around the area at dusk.

Time is fast running out on what is expected to be the final consultation on the plans. With the council ruling out any extension to the consultation period the deadline for interested parties to submit their comments is next week, on the 27th July. You can find details of the council plans and details of how to submit comments on our recent post about the re-consultation.

Make your voice heard, before it is too late.

“RAF Lyneham is the preferred location for future defence technical training. This confirms that the Department will withdraw from Arborfield in Berkshire and Bordon in Hampshire, releasing the sites for sale by 2014-15 at the latest.”

However the statement says later that detailed planning work has yet to start and the dates might change, and of course RAF Lyneham was in the process of closing (due to be completed in 2012), hence why repatriations moved to RAF Brize Norton recently, which once again highlights that MoD plans change.

Therefore it is vitally important that as many people as possible get their comments into the ongoing Wokingham Borough Council consultation by 27th July. Aside from the many specific issues with the plan, with Wokingham councillors again talking about the certainty of the decision to move we need to highlight that MoD plans change, RAF Lyneham being a prime example, and therefore they cannot assume that the MoD will leave until they have actually gone.

Eversley Road Safety Leaflet – July 2011