The Hall Farm project emerged aspart of the Wokingham Borough Council Local Plan under the Conservative administration in November 2021. Councillor Pauline Jorgensen Conservative, Hillside, who is also the leader of the opposition on council, accusing the Liberal Democrats of a uturn on the Hall Farm project. Wokingham Borough Conservatives are now campaigning against the project, with cllr Jorgensen 'consistently' opposing it, reflected during her campaign during the local elections earlier this year. The new Hall Farm  Loddon Valley Strategic Development Location, which has been allocated as a new major development in Wokingham Borough. She has also spoken out against centralised housebuilding targets for areas, which the Conservative government had, but scrapped in an announcement in December 2023. Cllr Jorgensen said: "I am keen to protect our remaining countryside and the green belt by resisting Labour and Liberal Democrat centralised housing targets and focussing development on brownfield land. Conservatives have opposed development at Hall Farm unlike Lib Dems and Labour who are poised to concrete over our countryside, and fundamentally change the character of our area and what makes it such a special place to live. . Cllr Jorgensen's opponents clashed with her about Hall Farm and housebuilding in general in a BBC Berkshire radio hustings. During the debate, Tahir Maher, the Liberal Democrat candidate, said: "We need houses here, people are demanding houses, the population is growing, and if they can afford to buy a house, they should be able to do so. "We believe in regionalisation, we want to effectively develop the rest of the country, and not just have everything in the South. "We should be developing other parts of the country, but we do need houses here. "We overdeveloped by about 2,000 houses in the current Local Plan, we did try to reduce the numbers, we talked to the government quite hard but they didn't take that into account.". He also said that the focus of new development should be on brownfield sites where possible and should be kept away from flood plains. Councillor Tahir Maher and guests at the Reading Pakistani Community Centre Christmas Party. Voicing her party's stance, Yuan Yang, the Labour candidate, said: "We need to build more houses in places where they are appropriate for people to live, where people want to live, and where there is the infrastructure to support them. "Over the last decade, two decades we have thousands of new houses built in Berkshire without the infrastructure to support it. "That's why I think people are so annoyed at the traffic, at the lack of GP surgeries and so on accompanying those new houses. "So Labour's policy is to build new houses only when there is the infrastructure there, and to build in balance with infrastructure.". Yuan Yang, Labour candidate for the Earley and Woodley parliamentary constituency. She added that development would be focused on 'brownfield' and 'urban infill' sites. During the radio hustings, Ms Yang said: "I absolutely think most people would welcome new building if it's a new secondary school or a new GP surgery I can't see anybody saying no to that, we need the right kind of building.". Inperson voting for the general election takes place from 7am to 10pm on Thursday, July 4. Two other candidates are standing in Earley and Woodley: Gary Shacklady for the Greens and Alastair Hunter for the Social Democratic Party. We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community  a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused. Please report any comments that break our rules. Last Updated:. Are you sure you want to delete this comment?. This website and associated newspapers adhere to the Independent Press Standards Organisation's Editors' Code of Practice. If you have a complaint about the editorial content which relates to inaccuracy or intrusion, then pleasecontact the editor here. If you are dissatisfied with the response provided you cancontact IPSO here. 20012024.Newsquest Media Group Ltd, 1st Floor, Chartist Tower, Upper Dock Street, Newport, Wales, NP20 1DW  01676637 . Data returned from the Piano 'meterActivemeterExpired' callbackevent. Those ads you do see are predominantly fromlocal businessespromotinglocal services. These adverts enable local businesses to get in front of their target audience thelocal community. It is important that we continue to promote these adverts as our local businesses need as much support as possible during these challenging times.
Conservative opposition leader in Wokingham, Councillor Pauline Jorgensen, accuses Liberal Democrats of a U-turn on the Hall Farm project. The Conservatives are campaigning against the project to prevent centralized housing targets and preserve countryside, contrasting with Labour and Lib Dems' views on development. Candidates debate housebuilding strategies during a radio hustings, emphasizing the need for infrastructure and focusing on brownfield sites. Voting for the general election in Earley and Woodley is on July 4th.