All questions and request are in relation to land known as Barkham Square, a plan can be provided for the avoidance of doubt.

Please provide us with the following information, communication, minutes and documents received and processed by Wokingham Borough Council in its capacity as a statutory body:

1. Copies of all written correspondence between officers of the Council and the site owners/promoters/development in relation to the land known as Barkham Square - this include direct correspondence and part of larger 'blanket' correspondence
See attached file. Documents enclosed:
• Site submission information
• Promoter response to Issues and Options consultation (Reg 18) (September 2016)
• Promoter response to Homes for the Future consultation (Reg 18) (February 2019)
• Promoter response to Draft Plan consultation (Reg 18) (April 2020)
• Promoter response to Revised Growth Strategy consultation (Reg 18) (January 2022)

2. Copies of all internal correspondence between officers of the Council, Councillors and any consultants employed on behalf of the Council in relation to the land known as Barkham Square
See attached file. Documents shared between council officers and consultants are as follows:
• 2021-07-27 2C Suitability for Aecom (5BA010 only) Site submission information
• SA SEA of Sites (5BA010 only)
• Wokingham SA Site options 191203 (5BA010 only)
• Wokingham SA Site options 200122 (5BA010 only)
• Wokingham site option 211108 (5BA010 only)
• Wokingham site option 211108 (1) (5BA010 only)
• Wokingham site option 211108 (2) (5BA010 only)
• Wokingham site option 211108 (3) (5BA010 only)
• Wokingham site option 211108 (4) (5BA010 only)

Due to the broad scale and nature of this item, a search of all related electronic correspondence by the Council’s IT department has generated over 4,500 hits.
Reviewing each of these 4,500 plus items for the purposes of replying to each of the 7 questions of the EIR is estimated to require a minimum of 375 hours at 5 minutes per item. On this basis, the scope of the request is deemed to be manifestly unreasonable under Regulation 12(4)(b) of The Environmental Information Regulations 2004 beyond the information already provided. This is by virtue of it creating an unreasonable diversion of resources and disrupt the council’s ability to perform its functions.

3. Notes/minutes from all meetings between officers and/ or members of the Council in relation to the land known as Barkham Square
The notes and presentations for the Member Working Group will not be disclosed, in accordance with regulation 12(4)(e) of the Environmental Information Regulations 2004.

The purpose of the Member Working Group is to provide a reference point for the Lead Member responsible for strategic planning and officers developing land use and transport policy. The idea of the cross-party group is to allow the exploration and discussion of possible policy approaches. The exchange of views, for a free and frank discussion, is part of a process of deliberation and evaluation of different policy approaches and competing arguments. If minutes of these meetings were disclosed it would inhibit the exchange of views between Members and the provision of advice, impacting the quality of discussions. Additionally, the Working Group does not itself have decision making powers, and any decisions relating to the site have been made public via the Executive process. Likewise future decisions would be made public in this way, given the Local Plan Update is still live.

4. Notes/minutes from all meetings between officers and/ or members of the Council and the site owners/promoters/developers in relation to the land known as Barkham Square - this include direct correspondence and part of larger 'blanket' correspondence
A reasonable search of network drives has been undertaken and no relevant information has been yielded. Due to the broad scale and nature of this item, a search of all related electronic correspondence by the Council’s IT department has generated over 4,500 hits.

Reviewing each of these 4,500 plus items for the purposes of replying to each of the 7 questions of the EIR is estimated to require a minimum of 375 hours. On this basis, the scope of the request is deemed to be manifestly unreasonable under Regulation 12(4)(b) of The Environmental Information Regulations 2004 beyond the information already provided. This is by virtue of it creating an unreasonable diversion of resources and disrupt the council’s ability to perform its functions.

5. Results of internal consultations, regarding how the land known as Barkham Square was scored in relation to other promoted sites
See attached file. Documents enclosed:
• Ecology officer comments
• Environmental Health officer comments
• Heritage officer comments
• Highways officer comments
• Landscape officer comments
• Development Management officer comments
• Accessibility data for LPU sites
• Agricultural Land Classification Site List
• Agricultural Land Classification map 31.10.17
• Contaminated Land Site List
• Network Analysis data for LPU sites (4 x documents)
• 2019.08.13 TPC Site RAG Table for Cllr Smith
• Housing capacity scenarios Feb 19

6. Copies of all written correspondence between David Lock Associates and officers of the Council in relation to Barkham Square
Due to the broad scale and nature of this item, a search of all related electronic correspondence by the Council’s IT department has generated over 4,500 hits.

Reviewing each of these 4,500 plus items for the purposes of replying to each of the 7 questions of the EIR is estimated to require a minimum of 375 hours. On this basis, the scope of the request is deemed to be manifestly unreasonable under Regulation 12(4)(b) of The Environmental Information Regulations 2004 beyond the information already provided. This is by virtue of it creating an unreasonable diversion of resources and disrupt the council’s ability to perform its functions.

7. Copies of all written correspondence and minutes/notes of meetings between the relevant Parish Council and the Council in relation to the land known as Barkham Square
See attached file. Documents enclosed:
• Barkham Parish Council site assessments (December 2016)
• Barkham Parish Council updated site assessments (February 2019)

In addition to the above, please see below a list of publicly available relevant supporting documents that were published alongside the Draft Local Plan (2020) consultation, which include content relating to the site in question at Barkham Square (ref: 5BA010) (e.g., site assessments). Electronic copies of the documents are available to view and access publicly on the Council website using the links below:

Publications relating to the Draft Plan (February 2020):
• Housing and Economic Land Availability Assessment (HELAA) (February 2020):
o Covering report, available at: https://www.wokingham.gov.uk/_resources/assets/attachment/full/0/509054.pdf
o Appendix B site assessment (pages 34 to 36); available at: https://www.wokingham.gov.uk/_resources/assets/attachment/full/0/509056.pdf

• Sustainability Appraisal (SA) of the Wokingham Borough Local Plan Update – Interim SA (February 2020); available at: https://www.wokingham.gov.uk/_resources/assets/attachment/full/0/509007.pdf

• Strategic Flood Risk Assessment (SFRA) (February 2020):
o Main report; available at: https://www.wokingham.gov.uk/_resources/assets/attachment/full/0/508886.pdf
o Appendix C site assessments (Arborfield and Barkham); available at: https://www.wokingham.gov.uk/_resources/assets/attachment/full/0/508899.pdf

• Draft Local Plan Regulation 18 Report on Initial Consultation Outcomes (January 2021); available at: https://www.wokingham.gov.uk/EasySiteWeb/GatewayLink.aspx?alId=545605

• Executive Report (January 2020) – Local Plan Update: Draft Plan Consultation; available at: https://wokingham.moderngov.co.uk/documents/s38560/Local%20Plan%20Update%20Draft%20Plan%20Consultation.pdf

• Wokingham Strategic Growth Locations: Growth Scenarios Report – Grazeley, Twyford/Ruscombe and Barkham Square (June 2018):
o Main report; available at: https://www.wokingham.gov.uk/EasySiteWeb/GatewayLink.aspx?alId=467945
o Appendix 2 – Barkham Square CHLOE Workshop Outputs; available at: https://www.wokingham.gov.uk/EasySiteWeb/GatewayLink.aspx?alId=467938
o Appendix 4 – Viability assumptions for Barkham Square; available at: https://www.wokingham.gov.uk/EasySiteWeb/GatewayLink.aspx?alId=467941

Please also see below a list of relevant supporting documents published alongside the latest consultation on the Local Plan Update: Revised Growth Strategy (November 2021). The below documents include content relating to the site in question (e.g., site assessments). Electronic copies of the documents are available to view and access publicly on the Council website using the links below:

Publications relating to the Revised Growth Strategy (November 2021)
• Housing and Economic Land Availability Assessment (HELAA) (November 2021):
o Covering report; available at: https://www.wokingham.gov.uk/_resources/assets/attachment/full/0/609677.pdf
o Stage 1a, 1b Site identification, exclusion for hard constraints; available at: https://www.wokingham.gov.uk/_resources/assets/attachment/full/0/609678.pdf
o Stage 2a Initial suitability sift; available at: https://www.wokingham.gov.uk/_resources/assets/attachment/full/0/609679.pdf
o Stage 2b, 2c Development potential, suitability; available at: https://www.wokingham.gov.uk/_resources/assets/attachment/full/0/609720.xlsx
o Stage 2d, 2e, 2f Availability, achievability, deliverability; available at: https://www.wokingham.gov.uk/_resources/assets/attachment/full/0/609681.pdf

• Sustainability Appraisal (SA) of the Wokingham Borough Local Plan Update – Interim SA Report (November 2021); available at: https://www.wokingham.gov.uk/EasySiteWeb/GatewayLink.aspx?alId=609635

• Revised Growth Strategy Report on Initial Consultation Outcomes (September 2022); available at: https://www.wokingham.gov.uk/EasySiteWeb/GatewayLink.aspx?alId=629702

• Executive Report (November 2021) – Local Plan Update: Revised Growth Strategy; available at: https://wokingham.moderngov.co.uk/documents/s51949/Local%20Plan%20Update%20Revised%20Growth%20Strategy.pdf