‘There is nothing we can do’ to stop Maidenhead Golf Course being built on, a council has said after a plea from thousands of residents to halt development plans.
More than 2,000 people signed a petition calling on the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead to stop a large new housing estate being built on the golf course. But the council says it is locked into a legal agreement with the developers Cala Homes to deliver the project.
Campaigner Tina Quadrino presented the petition to councillors on Wednesday July 17. She told them she wanted to know how the council will ‘protect the precious ancient woodland and green space on the site of the golf course.’
She said the woodland would be threatened by ‘roughly 1,500 homes – that’s around 3,000 people, several thousand pets – given that Cala Homes has no credible plan for the protection of this ancient woodland and the other mature trees and open spaces.’
She added: “This council needs to demonstrate to the people of Maidenhead and Windsor its commitment to upholding our rights to the fair and proper use of public funds as well as our right to a liveable environment.”
Tina Quadrino presented the petition to councillors at the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead (Image: RBWM)
Liberal Democrat council leaders said they had campaigned against the plans when they were put in place by the former Conservative leadership.
The Conservative council designated the golf course – which the council owns – as a site for housing in its 15 year Local Plan for development in the borough in 2022. It also signed a development agreement with Cala Homes in 2018.
Liberal Democrat councillor Adam Bermange – responsible for planning – said the council ‘condemns’ the agreement signed by its former leadership.
He said he had ‘spent countless hours’ trying to find ways out of the agreement. But he added: “We are well and truly bound by this contract.” The council says ending the contract could cost it as much as £119 million not including compensation it may have to pay Cala.
Liberal Democrat council leaders said they would try to protect the woodland and open space in development plans. They said they had successfully encouraged Cala to reduce the number of homes on the development from 1,800 to 1,500.
Conservative councillor Julian Sharpe defended the plans. He said the council had to provide new homes and having them on the golf course prevented unwanted development in other parts of the borough.
Councillor Sharpe said: “We need to be realistic about the housing need in the borough and actually whether you like it or not the borough local plan has actually helped and is actually helping actively right now to prevent development in areas that we don’t want developed.”
But Conservative councillor Leo Walters said it ‘wasn’t all Conservatives’ who had agreed with the decision.
Councillors voted to ‘protect and measurably improve the open space’ on the golf course including the ancient woodland. Conservative councillors voted against the motion, which also condemned the previous leadership.
Liberal Democrat councillor Kashmir Singh also voted against it, arguing that the council could still pull out of the deal.
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