A PLAN to build a new site for travellers to pitch up in has been rejected over fears the site could flood.
Reading Borough Council has been on the search for a dedicated site for Gypsies and travelling communities to stay, in an effort to reduce unauthorised encampments.
The project to build seven pitches in Island Road, Whitley, has been scrapped. It had received full approval in March last year, after councillors on the planning applications committee voted for it in October 2022.
The council’s interim assistant director of housing, John Knight, said: “Following extensive work to bring the site to viability the development team completed an appraisal earlier this year of a potential site for this provision at Island Road, Smallmead.
“Despite planning permission being obtained in 2023, further work to assess the site resulted in the identification of serious obstacles to the project, including robust objections by the Environment Agency (EA) and the certainty of significant cost overruns based on the work needed to address these objections.”
The EA said the development of the site would be incompatible with the flood zone, and called a submitted flood risk assessment and buffer zone ‘inadequate’.
The rest of Mr Knight’s response states: “Since planning permission would remain in force only until 2033, it was also concluded that even were it possible to appease the EA, a decision was taken at Leadership Group in February not to continue work and withdraw the planning application.
“Officers are now considering a small number of alternative sites which may be able to accommodate a transit site.
“It should be noted that each of these sites scored lower than Island Road when early appraisals of them were carried out in 2019, meaning there are some obstacles already identified with respect to each possible location.”
The leadership group comprises councillors and council staff.
The withdrawal of the project was revealed in an answer to a question by councillor Rob White (Green, Park), the leader of the opposition.
Cllr Dave McElroy (Green, Redlands) said: “Labour’s preferred site was on a floodplain, nestled between the tip and the sewage works. This is a terrible idea whichever way you look at it, so this outcome is no surprise.
“It has taken the council over two years working through the planning system to get to this point and it is going to take the same again for a new site.
“This is very disappointing.
“Labour attempted to bury this bad news and it’s only through hard work from Green Party councillors as the main opposition party on the council that has brought it to light.”
