West Berkshire Council are proposing to allocate Whitehart Meadow as a site for 40 homes in its Local Plan review. This is despite the fact that there are several reasons why most or all of the site should not be built on. This is for the following reasons:

1. Flood risk
2. High voltage overhead power lines cross the site
3. Noise and pollution from the motorway
4. The site has not been included in the Air Quality Assessment
5. The site has not been included in the Strategic Transport Model, meaning that the effect of traffic generated from the site has not been assessed.
6. Need to preserve the gap between Theale and Calcot/Tilehurst
7. Possible land contamination.

The site was put forward for housing in the last Local Plan but was rejected for reasons 1-4 above and following advice from the Environment Agency.

The site has been labelled “RSA10” in the plan.