Protect Ockwells from Development
Many residents have told us how worried they are about the land North of Ockwells Manor being developed and the increased traffic chaos it will bring to Cox Green.
Currently there is a series of restrictively covenants that protect the land between Ockwells Road and Shoppenhangers Road from development. These are currently being challenged at a Land Tribunal in September and the National Trust are putting up a strong case to prevent further development of the land.
Liberal Democrats would like to see further protection be given to this site of historic interest by putting the land into the Green Belt.
The council are currently creating a new Local Development Framework and as part of this process, they can look at putting land into the Green Belt, so this is an ideal time for it to be considered.
We the undersigned ask that the council considers protecting the land between Ockwells Road and Shoppenhagers Road by putting in to te Green Belt
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This land should definitely be left as a green belts. Since moving to Maidenhead we love seeing all the birds, squirrels etc. and developing this area will reduce the area available for the wildlife. The green areas of Maidenhead must be protected!! A development would also impact heavily on the traffic volumes on Shoppenhangers which is already congested at peak times.
I completely agree that we suffer too much congestion in the area all ready – made worse by the selling of houses and building of flats in Shoppenhangers Rd. This field is a much needed ‘green lung’ for all.
Haven’t we had enough building taking place in this area? The congestion in the mornings is already horrendous at peak times and we certainly don’t need any more cars fighting for position! The wild life in and around this piece of land is wonderful and on a daily basis we see so many different varieties of animals and birds on our doorstep from the Green Woodpecker to Roe Deer. I really hope we can make a difference and succeed in protecting this land from development.
I have to agree with the comments left earlier, this land without doubt should be left as green belt, the congestion on Shoppenhangers Road is already bad enough at peak times, another housing estate would surely just make matters much worse and bring the slip road on the A404 to a grinding holt. I fear traffic also increase on Ockwells lane itself as well.
The area north of Ockwells Manor is brilliant, every morning I walk my dog along Ockwells lane & you can see so much wild life, Foxes, frogs, adult and young Roe Deer are regular visitors to fields and surrounding wood land, wood peckers and kingfisher are regular spots on our morning stroll, I have also seen red kites & sparrow hawks hunting and circling above the field area.
I think nowadays we take for granted small pockets of land like this and do not appreicate how much it has to offer, nor do we appreciate the true enviormental cost to our local wild that life thrives and surives on this land.
I really hope that this land remains protected so that future generations can enjoy it as much as I have growing up in and around this area.
I agree with all the comments.There has been enough building work in the area and cox green is already congested!It is a nice place to go for a walk.Whoever wants to build should move to cox green to experiance the traffic chaos.
Again ditto all the above, it’s all been said. This particular field are often where the deer hang out, and at night there are also owls and bats making a presence.
The field between Ockwells and Shoppenhangers Road is the only remaining rural landscape left in the Cox Green area. Designating it as ‘Green Belt’ is the only way to ensure it remains unspoilt.
Anyone who uses Shoppenhangers Road at peak times will know how gridlocked it has become already. Any further development in the area will result in utter chaos. A survey of traffic conditions on the approaches to the A404M will confirm that our local road system is severely overloaded.
The RBWM must avoid the temptation to increase their revenue from a large new housing development and think instead about the longer term problems they will create for future generations to solve.
By the year 2050 the world population will be nine billion half again of what it is now, we will need every square foot of land for growing food, the price by then will have risen astronomicaly as other emerging countries will, by then, be purchasing the lions share of the worlds suppy of food. Therefore please do not build on any agricultural land as will be so desperatly needed in the future.
This area is already a nightmare for congestion. Getting out of Ockwells Park and the surrounding areas at peak times is already absolutely dreadfull.
I am certain that a traffic survey would reveal that the adjacent local areas are already extremely congested and would be further adversely affected by any further development.
Also this area of land is such a natural habitat for so many forms of wild life that it deserves to be protected from any future development.
The Ockwells area is important for wildlife and a much needed open space for all to enjoy.
We need to feed people now and growing crops is important so keep the fields for food production. Wheat does NOT grow in concrete!!! There is bad traffic congestion in the area at peak times and more housing will only make the situation worse. There has been too much housing development along Shoppenhangers Road already.
This area is already green, it MUST be designated ‘Green Belt’ to protect us all.
Shoppenhangers Road has undergone dramatic changes in the past few years with an approximate tenfold increase in the number of dwellings by replacing large family houses with luxury apartments. The infrastructure providing facilities and transport links to these properties, however, remains substantially as it was when I moved into the area in the early 1980′s. With the recent development of the new school in Cannon Lane this whole area is gridlocked during peak traffic hours as the roads were not designed for the volumes of traffic travelling towards the town centre or trying to gain access to the motorway network. It is essential that further development of this area is curtailed and ‘green belt’ areas retained.
PLEASE USE ALL THE INFLUENCE YOU HAVE TO PRESERVE THE ‘LUNGS’ OF COX GREEN. WITHOUT THIS OPEN AREA IT WOULD BECOME JUST ANOTHER ‘URBAN SPRAWL’.
I’d echo the comments made about the impact of any development on this area. The congestion approaching the bottleneck of the roundabout at Shoppenhangers/Cox Green Road at peak times is quite bad enough already, without a further x00 cars pouring on in the same period. And there are more appropriate sites for development around Maidenhead …
Development of this field cannot be allowed – why on earth is it even being contemplated when there are hundreds of acres of brown-belt land around the area? If councils can take possession of private houses that are empty for more than a set period of time in any given year, why can’t they do the same for old industrial sites? There is a massive area of overgrown eyesore where Mini, Ford and the Park & Ride used to be in Stafferton Way, and the old Southern Electric building near the Shire Horse has been disused for years. Both these sites have excellent links to local amenities and offer enough space for thousands of dwellings. Methinks the time for gentle debate is over – we need action and the funds to support it.
Money money money, again we see a developer wanting to grab land and make a few million pounds profit, not giving a monkey about the community already here.
If the land is no longer to be farmed the council should push for it to be protected, Green Belt; then invest with the National Trust to give the land a heart, tree planting, maybe a lake, make it a beautiful area for all the community and local wildlife to enjoy.
Do not allow this end of Maidenhead to be jammed with more homes, traffic & noise; any local knows the peak time traffic issues.
Stand up and fight for the Green Belt argument and if the Conservatives are just talking the talk, then please Liberal Democrats do all you can. You have my vote.
We live in Lowbrook Drive, we have just lost the school playing fields to a monstrosity of a building, higher number of vehicles coming through the estate, now there are plans to build a high number of houses on the said plot of land. Trying to get to the M4 is already a nightmare, more cars will mean more polution, its bad enough that we have already lost a lot of tradit.ional houses on Shoppenhangers road. The impact of more houses will put pressure on the schools, doctors and other services.
Property Developers do not give a damn about the protected green areas they build on. Their only concern is money to fill their own pocket and not the environment. They do not appreciate how important a field or a park may be to us who do not live on privately owned lands with lots of space. These people are despicable and we must do every we can to stop their selfish attitude.
What’s wrong with the Royal Borough keeping a little bit of ‘Green Belt’ within the supposed Green Belt?
Should this development be allowed to go ahead (and I remember how far the the last application – about 35 years ago – was taken, how much the local residents paid to fight it and the subsequent refusal of planning permission) perhaps the council should insist that the access to and from is via Ockwells Road – not Shoppenhangers Road. Will the landowners then find living there such an attractive proposition, given that they probably moved there for the quiet lane with easy and perfect access to M4 and rail connections? One wonders.
Although they’ll probably just move on to yet another idyllic area…..
Cox Green cannot support any more housing with only one access road into Maidenhead. The land should be converted to Greenbelt and be available to local residents and wildlife given a little more respite. We do not need more housing in the area!!!
The covenant is there for good reason & I think its a disgrace that the National Trust are having to fund a fight to defend it against a profit hungry developer. The area is question is one of the reasons why I chose to live here & I’d be very disappointed if it was taken away.