A village in Berkshire could see 270 homes added to it on countryside farmland.

Rooks Nest Farm in Finchampstead has been identified as a site for development in the Wokingham Local Plan update.

The proposal would involve building up to 270 homes on land that is currently used as farmland, with aerial images showing several fields which the homes would be built on.

Access to the development would be provided from Barkham Ride.

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The local plan update states any new homes built there should “reflect the character of the surrounding residential area”.

Most homes in Finchampstead are either one or two storeys tall.

Planners at the council would also like to see any developer who builds on the farm to retain the mature and protected trees on the site where possible, and attempt to create a ‘landscape buffer’ so there is a good transition between the new homes and the existing countryside.

What Wokingham Borough Council would like for the development is outlined in the ‘development guidelines’ within the Local Plan.

If built, the homes at Rooks Nest Farm would be located on the opposite side of Barkham Ride to the Victoria Gardens site, where 15 park homes are being installed.

Bracknell News: The current Victoria Gardens development for 15 park homes in Barkham Ride, Finchampstead. Credit: Google MapsThe current Victoria Gardens development for 15 park homes in Barkham Ride, Finchampstead. Credit: Google Maps

The new development would also be located opposite the Rooks Nest Wood Country Park, which has been designated as  an area of ‘Local Green Space’ in the plan update.

Planners at the council would like to see walking and cycling routes connecting the new development to  Rooks Nest Wood and California Country Park, which the development site borders.

The 270 home scheme for Rooks Nest is one of the larger housing development sites proposed within the local plan, with another being a proposal for 287 homes at Winnersh Farms.

Bracknell News: The 270 home plan for Rooks Nest Farm, in red, in the context of the Local Plan, with the green areas being the Rooks Nest Wood and California country parks (north and south, respectively). Credit: Wokingham Borough CouncilThe 270 home plan for Rooks Nest Farm, in red, in the context of the Local Plan, with the green areas being the Rooks Nest Wood and California country parks (north and south, respectively). Credit: Wokingham Borough Council

In all, the Local Plan would see 3,968 homes built during the lifetime of the plan until 2038, with most of the development taking place in the proposed new major development in the Loddon Valley.

The Local Plan is currently undergoing a public consultation on the Engage Wokingham website.

People in Wokingham Borough have until 5pm on January 24 to respond to the consultation.