These are the risks the council runs if it doesn’t adopt a Local Plan this week

West Berkshire Council will meet this week to discuss adopting the revised Local Plan.

This is what sets out the planning view of the district until 2041. It’s a big decision, as it will see huge increases in housing development in the district, specifically Thatcham, where 2,500 homes are allocated to be built.

Councillors have been told there is a significant risk of government intervention should the council decline to comply with the inspector’s final report.

The Government cannot force the council to adopt the plan, but it does have the power to approve it, which would then have the same weight as an adopted plan in decision making of planning applications.

In the event that central government took over the plan, the council must reimburse the Secretary of State for any expenditure she incurs in connection with this intervention.

Not having an adopted local plan will put the council at risk of having to plan for the additional homes required by the new government housing methodology, increasing the housing need from 495 to 1,070 per annum.

In a warning to councillors, officers state it is likely that poor quality speculative planning applications would be granted at appeal with associated appeal costs and resourcing implications.

One of the major risks is that if the plan is not adopted or approved by central government, a planning application for North East Thatcham would be submitted without the policy requirement for a Masterplan Supplementary Planning Document to shape the development and infrastructure delivery through public consultation.

If the plan is not adopted or approved by central government, the positive environmental policies within the plan will not carry weight to secure high quality development.

There are a number of important benefits to adopting the LPR.

Most importantly, the council will have an up-to-date local plan in accordance with government requirements.

This means it will be in the strongest possible position to defend against speculative and inappropriate development, particularly in the North Wessex Downs National Landscape.

The council will be able to apply positive planning policies in decision making to improve the overall quality of development across the whole of the district

It is estimated that the cost of preparation of a plan through to adoption is now in the region of £2million (not including officer time).

The financial implications of not having an adopted Local Plan in place can exceed this should it become necessary for the council to defend a number of applications through appeal, which can be in the region of £250-£300k per major appeal.

The overall housing requirement has been modified to a minimum of 9,270 dwellings between 2023 and 2041 (an average of 515 homes per year) rather than 8,721 to 9,146 between 2022 and 2039 (513 to 538 homes per year).

The housing land supply has increased to 9,493 homes between 2023 and 2041 - rather than 9,057 between 2022 and 2039.

The North East Thatcham strategic allocation has been modified to propose up to approximately 2,500 homes.

The inclusion of four additional housing allocations at Pangbourne, Thatcham and Tilehurst has been added.

Some modifications have been made to settlement boundaries at Chieveley, Newbury, Pangbourne, Thatcham and Tilehurst to ensure they are consistent with the Settlement Boundary Review criteria.

The employment land requirement has been modified to a minimum of 57,531 sqm for offices and 98,196 sqm for industry and warehouses between 2023 and 2041- rather than 50,861 sqm and 91,109 sqm between 2022 and 2039.

Once adopted, the LPR becomes part of the development plan for the district. It then becomes an important consideration in the determination of all planning applications.

The council meets on Thursday (June 10).