THE PLAN to build a Lidl and 43 homes in Lower Earley has been recommended for refusal again.
Last month, developer Lower Earley Properties submitted additional information and made revisions to the application at Swallows Meadow.
But Earley Town Council’s planning committee has recommended refusal a second time, stating that the developers “have not responded to any of the town council’s concerns.”
Meeting on Tuesday, October 5, the town council said that the development is inappropriate, would lead to the loss of wildlife and trees, and would get rid of a crucial environmental buffer between Lower Earley and the M4.
The committee recommended the plan be refused for a first time in the summer. The advisory recommendations are sent to the borough council.
After the meeting, Earley Town Council leader, Cllr Clive Jones, said: “We have recommended that it doesn’t go ahead. I think this is right, Swallows Meadows is not an appropriate place to build 43 houses and a supermarket. It is a very important green corridor in Earley and that is how it should remain.
“It’s very, very disappointing that Reading University, who do so much good around our area, decided to try to make a few quid out of this piece of land and sell it to a developer who’s trying very, very hard to squeeze in 43 houses and the supermarket.
“We don’t need to the supermarket – we’ve got enough around the Earley area.”
He added that there has been two petitions from residents showing the extent of opposition to the scheme.
A spokesman for Lower Earley Properties said: “Given the level of public interest, it is only right that Wokingham Borough Council brings the application before its planning committee so elected members can make the final decision.”
