I am delighted to be elected Chairman of the Sonning Common Parish Council at what is a very important time for our village as it continues to grow. Accordingly the Parish Office has adapted to the needs of the community and the introduction of the two new committees, Parks and Recreation, and Village and Environment will enable the Council to drive matters forward to ensure our every increasing facilities support the needs of our community.

We need to protect the integrity of the neighbourhood plan from threats such as inappropriate development and the proposed Reading third bridge recognizing that we live in an area or outstanding natural beauty.

The current Memorial Park development is an example of a project where the community has been fully engaged and as we move forward we will continue to engage the residents of Sonning Common so that we continue to meet the needs of our community.

Michael Cann
Chairman of the Parish Council

The public consultation on the draft revised Sonning Common Neighbourhood Development Plan closed on 01 December 2021.

The Draft Plan is available to view here

The updated version of the Plan is also available to consult at:

1. Parish Office, Village Hall, Wood Lane, Sonning Common RG4 9SL
Please phone 0118 972 3616 to make an appointment first

2. Sonning Common Library, Grove Road, RG4 9RH
Tel: 0118 972 2448

BACKGROUND
The Sonning Common Neighbourhood Development Plan (SCNDP) has been updated to keep it current and in accordance with other local and national planning policies.

The Neighbourhood Plan Working Party has been forced to reduce the scope of the Plan's revision due to circumstances beyond its control - namely the appeal decision in June 2021 by a planning inspector to grant permission for 133 retirement apartments to be built on a site known as Little Sparrows off Blounts Court Road.
  
Following the appeal decision proposed allocations in the revised Plan were significantly modified to take account of the fact that the target of around 100 extra homes for Sonning Common - put forward by South Oxfordshire District Council - was more than covered by the Little Sparrows' planning permission.

Had it been possible to finish the Plan's revision and to have had it fully approved before the Little Sparrows public inquiry, the inspector would have been forced to consider it more seriously. And that is why the completion of the revised Plan is so important. It will give the village some protection against future speculative development.

View the exhibition materials here.
Thank you for your valued support.

The Draft Sonning Common Neighbourhood Development Plan

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