A joint local plan for thousands of new homes around Reading is currently up in the air.
South Oxfordshire District Council (SODC) is working with the Vale of White Horse on a plan running to 2041, with landowners suggesting sites across both areas.
One proposal from developer Gladman would build 1,200 homes immediately east of Caversham at Playhatch, on land in Eye & Dunsden Parish Council. A masterplan shows access from Henley Road, a park-and-ride, a local centre and a new school, with a thin strip of trees separating the scheme from Caversham.
Playhatch is currently a tiny hamlet of about 25 homes clustered near the Crown Inn and Shoulder of Mutton pubs.
The biggest suggested site is 'Dalton Barracks Garden Village' in Shippon, near Abingdon, which would deliver about 2,750 homes. There is also a proposal to expand Berinsfield into a garden village of 1,700-1,900 homes.
On Wednesday 8 April a set of key documents was published, including strategic flood risk assessments and a study on atmospheric pollution.
The joint local plan needs sign-off from the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government. If adopted it would replace the current South Oxfordshire and Vale of White Horse local plans.
The plan was submitted in December 2024 but inspectors returned it, saying it failed in a 'duty to co-operate' with Oxfordshire County Council. The two councils revealed that in a joint statement in October and are considering how to proceed.
Separately, the councils have proposed merging with West Berkshire to create 'Ridgeway Council' as part of wider local government reorganisation in Oxfordshire; a decision is due later this year.
James Aldridge, Local Democracy Reporter
