Bracknell failed to cooperate under Localism Act, says Wokingham

The Council has formally objected to the housing allocation plans of neighbouring Bracknell Forest Council and claims that it has failed to comply with the Localism Act's duty to cooperate regarding the delivery of infrastructure.

Bracknell Forest Council is consulting on a site allocations development plan document, which identifies and allocates land for development, such as housing.

Wokingham's objection comes in response to that consultation process.

Wokingham Council argued that the proposed site allocations document is not legally compliant because it does not conform with Bracknell's own Core Strategy, which sets out a blueprint for the area, and because it has not demonstrated that all the environmental impacts of the site allocations have been avoided.

"Since no evidence has been provided to justify departing from the approach of Bracknell's Core Strategy, the policies are also not justified," the objection said.

Wokingham further objects to the proposed site allocations on the basis that the Bracknell has not considered all the reasonable alternatives. It also argues that the evidence base used for the site allocation is not sound.

Bracknell Forest Council should have consulted with Wokingham in the preparation of the document, according to Wokingham Council.

"Under section 110 of the Localism Act, there is a duty on Bracknell Forest to co-operate with Wokingham Borough in the preparation of development plan documents, such as that covered in this report," the objection letter said.

Bracknell Forest has failed to meet the requirements of the duty to cooperate by failing to improve road junctions and provide for community infrastructure near the sites proposed to be allocated for new development, Wokingham said.

"Concerns regarding the evidence associated with what infrastructure should be delivered and the duty to co-operate indicates that the document is neither justified nor effective," Wokingham's objection letter said.