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Former housing minister opposes new homes in his constituency
Former housing minister Alok Sharma has opposed plans to build 265 homes on an old golf course in his constituency.
After developers U+I and Town put in a planning application for the scheme, Mr Sharma surveyed residents in the general area of Pincents Hill in Reading.
The results of the survey, released late last month, revealed that 63% of the 740 respondents did not want any homes to be built on the site.
In his survey, Mr Sharma focused on whether or not residents would like to see new amenities built in the area.
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Eighty-five per cent of respondents said they wanted a new school in the area, 84% said they wanted provision of new medical facilities, 75% said that they didn’t support a proposal that, in Mr Sharma’s words, “vehicle access will be restricted to a single point of access from the south of the site only” and 64% said they wanted the development to provide more green space.
In a statement the former housing minister said: “I am delighted that so many local residents have taken the trouble to complete and return my survey about development on the Pincents Hill site. This just goes to show how much local people care about this site.
“The results of my survey clearly demonstrate that a very large majority of residents continue to object to any building on this valued green space.”
Mr Sharma has opposed development on this site before, when the developer wanted to build 750 homes there.
In the run up to the 2010 general election, when Mr Sharma unseated Reading West’s Labour MP, he told a public meeting: “My position is absolutely clear. I am totally opposed to this development and want us to retain the green space at Pincents Hill and maintain the very important strategic gap between Tilehurst and Theale.”
Mr Sharma was appointed housing minister in June 2017, a position he kept for only seven months before being replaced by Dominic Raab.
Inside Housing has contacted Mr Sharma for comment.
