THE leader of Wokingham Borough Council is feeling slightly more optimistic after several senior Conservative MPs spoke out against the government’s planning shake up.

Councillor John Halsall, leader of the council, has spearheaded the campaign against the proposed reforms, which aim to ensure 300,000 homes can be built in England each year and include plans for a new formula that determines how many homes should be built in each area of the country.

There are also plans to allow developers to build up to 40 or 50 homes without providing affordable housing and extend Permission in Principle, so house builders have a faster way of obtaining planning permission.

READ MORE: Theresa May says planning shake up is unfair on Wokingham

But on October 8, former Prime Minister Theresa May and several other senior Tories, including former cabinet colleagues Jeremy Hunt, Chris Grayling and Damian Green, condemned the proposed reforms.

Cllr Halsall (Conservative) said: “The fact that the government’s engaged and our MPs are so supportive gives us a great deal of encouragement.”

Mrs May said the areas like Wokingham, which have met their housing targets in recent years, will be punished if the “ill conceived” shake up is approved while areas which have not built enough homes are being “rewarded with lower target numbers”.

She said: “Wokingham Borough Council, over the last three years, has seen the delivery of homes over and above their target. But their target of 789 homes per year is to be more than doubled to 1,635 homes per year.”

Responding to the criticism, housing secretary Chris Pincher said the government was “listening to feedback” and prepared to address “supposed imbalances” in the policy.

Cllr Halsall added: “It was great to have Theresa May leading the charge when the proposals were debated in parliament last week.

“I like to think that was in large part down to Wokingham residents contacting her to tell her ‘enough is enough’.

“We have seen over 10,000 new homes built in the borough in the past 10 year and we just can’t start doubling that every 10 years going forward.

READ MORE: Theresa May earns over £1 million for speaking at events

“One of the things Theresa said was really important.

“She said that Wokingham has worked very hard to deliver its previous housing targets but that we are now being punished with a doubling of our target, whereas other councils who have failed to build their fair share of housing over the past decade are now being rewarded by having their housing targets cut.”

A public consultation on the reforms, titled ‘Changes to the current planning system’, ended on October 1.

Cllr Halsall said he is now waiting for the government to decide whether it will implement the highly controversial proposals.