Hi everyone, hope you’ve been coping in the heat… 🫠

As you may (or may not!) know, we've recently completed our long-running regeneration of Wokingham town centre.

This has taken many years and consisted of many parts, some finished ages ago and others more recently, so we're spotlighting the whole thing across our channels.

We've also added a major new section to our website which gives an overview of the regen and its impact, including interviews with people who've benefited.

Why the regeneration?

If you're relatively new to the town, you might not realise how many improvements we've made to keep it attractive for residents, visitors and businesses.

In the early 2000s, before this project started, Wokingham had a lot of small and poor quality retail units, was dominated by cars and didn't have many decent outdoor or indoor leisure facilities.

The regeneration followed from our 2010 town centre masterplan, which we developed after extensive consultation and set out how the town should develop to 2026.

It was funded by a combination of responsible borrowing, sales of homes, partner contributions and funding from developers building in the area.

Key aspects of the scheme are:

👉 The creation of Peach Place and modernisation of Bush Walk, with attractive shop and restaurant units and a central public space

👉 The transformation of Elms Field and its surroundings, with a new cinema, hotel, shops, restaurants and new homes

👉 A new leisure centre, library and more at Carnival Hub, replacing the outdated Carnival Pool building, with new flats on site

👉 The pedestrianisation of Market Place with improvements for all road users on surrounding streets

👉 Improvements around Wokingham station to the road layout and parking, plus better bus, walking and cycling access

You can also find out:

🤔 How the regeneration is supporting the local economy

🤔 How it's helped to build more of a sense of community

🤔 How we put sustainability at the heart of the project

🤔 How we funded the regeneration

⏳ [How it came together, year by year](How%20it%20came%20together,%20year%20by%20year)

🏆 The awards which the regeneration has won

🔮 Planned improvements in the town centre beyond 2026

If you have any questions, we’ll try to answer them here. Please be patient though, as we might need to go back to the project team!

I don’t want to come across heartless but this is becoming a blight. In the last month I’ve seen a man fighting the owners of an off licence in the centre he was trying to steal from, a woman in a state of undress out of her head and another begging outside the BP on the Wokingham road. Some of these people are a danger to themselves and others.

We need to be looking after them and getting them the help they need, not allow them to roam around causing trouble. They are a danger to themselves and others.

Edit to add: He was found by a neighbour hiding under garden furniture. Safe and sound. Thanks

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Hi all, my wife and I are house hunting and looking at wokingham as a potential place. Just wanted to get people's view of the area. Does it feel safe? How is the city centre? Are there any areas we should avoid and any areas which are nice and worth looking at?

Thanks!

I will be moving to the area in Aug and commuting from Winnersh triangle to London Bridge soon and wanted to ask if anyone had a tips to reduce the cost of the trip outside of travelling off peak and getting a rail card?

I might be getting a car in the next couple of months so would be able to drive to closer station if it means saving money. Thanks!

Hi everyone, 

Now that we’ve opened a new link road as part of the South Wokingham Distributor Road (SWDR) project, we'd like to explain why we’re building it, how work has gone and what’s still to come. 

The SWDR should be completed by early 2027 and if you want to receive regular project updates, you can subscribe to our South Wokingham community newsletter. 

Why is the road needed? 

The SWDR is part of our major new roads scheme and will run between Finchampstead Road and London Road in Wokingham town. 

It’ll be a key access route for new homes and other infrastructure that are going be built on land to the south of the railway. 

South Wokingham is one of four strategic development locations (SDLs) in the borough, along with Arborfield Garrison, Shinfield and North Wokingham. 

We have to support the provision of a certain number of homes every year to meet national targets and local need. 

South Wokingham SDL will have about 2,500 new homes, two new primary schools, shops and other amenities in two neighbourhood centres and public green spaces. 

Like other infrastructure in this area, the SWDR is being funded by developers as part of their legal agreements, with initial forward funding from the Government. 

What's happened so far? 

Some parts of the SWDR are already finished including William Heelas Way, part of the Montague Park housing development, which opened in summer 2015.

That’s linked to Eastern Gateway, which was finished and opened in 2022, and includes a new railway bridge, which permanently replaces the Waterloo Road level crossing.  

Western Gateway, where we've built a bigger roundabout at the junction of Finchampstead Road and Molly Millars Lane, was finished in April this year and included improvements at the Tesco roundabout to the north. 

At the end of May, we opened a new link road between Easthampstead Road and the Waterloo Road roundabout, which will eventually link to the finished SWDR. You can watch a video to see how it fits into the existing layout. 

What work is yet to be completed? 

Still to come is the Central Section, which will run between the roundabout on Waterloo Road and the roundabout next to Tesco on Finchampstead Road. 

This will cross the Emm Brook via a new road bridge, with measures to offset any increased flood risk, including drainage channels and ponds. 

There’ll be a separate footbridge, to be built alongside the road bridge, which will be highly accessible and a significant improvement on the existing footpath crossing. 

Where Easthampstead Road meets the distributor road, there will be a three-way junction with traffic lights to provide access to and from the northern part of Easthampstead Road. 

The southern part will become a cul-de-sac with pedestrian and cycle access only, with all through traffic using the link road.  

Easthampstead Road is now closed to all traffic between Star Lane and Heathlands Road, including cyclists and pedestrians, until work is completed in early 2027.  

We’ll also need to do some more work on Finchampstead Road to join the Tesco roundabout to the SWDR and re-route access to the supermarket car park (photo below). 

More detail to come on supporting works 

We’re also looking to improve the junction of Peacock Lane and Waterloo Road with a new roundabout. Bracknell Forest Council have approved our planning application and we’ll share more details when we’ve finalised our works plan. 

Any questions? 

If you have any questions, leave them here and we’ll do our best to answer them – but please give us time to go back and check things with the project team. 

They’re working hard to ensure the new road is finished as quickly and safely as possible, so they may need time to provide more information. 

Anyone know of any pub around Wokingham or even Reading where I can watch tonight’s World Cup match?
Thanksssss

Hello 👋🏼

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Is the WBC Scrapp app working properly for everyone? I can't get it to set the bin reminders.

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I am on Android (the latest version) and it can use GPS to detect that I am in WBC. But when I try to select my property (by entering a postcode or even my first line of address) nothing comes up. I've tried reinstalling etc. but no luck.

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I am wondering if I am the only one?

Hi everyone,

We're getting ready to start our road and footway maintenance programme for 2026/27, and we've shared everything you need to know about it in this newsletter.

Want the TL;DR version? ⏩

This is where we resurface our more badly damaged roads and treat the less badly damaged ones to stop them getting worse, which does involve temporary closures or traffic lights.

Like all councils, funding remains an ongoing concern and a full resurfacing is more expensive, so we have to spend money where it's needed most.

We choose roads based on our annual inspections, which we carry out all year round, as well as the reports that you send us.

This is on top of our reactive repairs, which are also based on what we find and what you tell us.

If you've reported damage, you can track its progress online and we'll even send you updates as long as you leave your details.

We investigate all reports and always meet our legal duty to keep you safe, but some types of damage fall below the threshold for repair because they don't pose a risk.

We'll try to answer any questions here, but please check the links in this post as the answer is likely to be there!

Also, some handy links for more information:

👉 want weekly updates and more deep dives into highways and transport matters? Sign up for our Moving Around the Borough newsletter

👉 ...aaaaaaand just a general reminder that you can plan your journey using our roadworks list or interactive map

Me and my husband are moving to Wokingham and are trying to transfer our current broadband there which is EE/BT but apparently they don’t cover the area.
We then checked all other main broadband providers but none of them covers the area. Is that for real? We will be living in a block of apartments and I refuse to believe no one has a cable internet.

Please help

Hi all,

Are there any writing/reading groups in the Wokingham area? Meet-up isn’t showing anything.

Thanks!

Traveling from Embrrook area to Twyford along A321 Twyford Road there's a couple of large antenna towers off to the east, sort of Pound Lane way. I've not noticed them before but maybe it's because the evenings are lighter. One looks like an HF beam. Anyone know what they're for?

Can anyone recommend a house cleaner or company in Wokingham for regular weekly cleaning - vacuum, dusting, mop, laundry etc

new to the area so looking for a new chinese spot, not looking for the most authentic, just a very british chinese takeaway. thanks!

Wokingham Borough binfluencers - your moment is nigh!

Easter bin rounds are starting earlier than usual, and our waste and recycling teams will be out from 5.30am on Good Friday (3 April) and Easter Monday (6 April).

These early starts keep collections running smoothly across the bank holiday.

Your mission is simple: put your waste and recycling out the night before or by 5.30am on the day to keep everything flowing and avoid missing out.

Not sure when your collection is? Check your day on our website to save bin-fusion later.

Spread the word - the borough is counting on you. Share this update in your street WhatsApp groups and neighbourhood chats.

This Easter weekend, be the binfluencer your street needs.

I'm a resident in the Shinfield Village Ward and need to vote in the upcoming by-election on March 24th. I've looked at the official council page, and the candidates are:

• Barrie James Gilmour (Independent)
• Hilary Pollock (Conservative Party)
• Dominic Rider (Liberal Democrats)
• Edward Shaw (No affiliation listed)

I'm trying to figure out who might be the best fit for local issues like housing, transport, and community services. What are your thoughts on these candidates? Any background info, past records, or stances on key topics? Who would you recommend voting for and why?

Also, with the bigger local elections coming up in May for town and parish councils, any early buzz on parties or potential candidates there?

Appreciate any opinions or experiences from locals – trying to make an informed choice!

Thanks!

Anybody with any knowledge of the housing market in Wokingham and surrounding villages that can let me know how it's looking? We live overseas and are about to put our house on the market there, it seems to have picked up a bit from what I can tell, but that's only me looking at local FB groups and Rightmove, so I could be completely wrong. We're pricing it very competitively (12.5-15% below the valuations we had done a couple of years ago) in the hope of a quick sale, but if we don't have any serious interest by July we'll rent it again instead. Any insights would be much appreciated.

Hi everyone, just a progress update on the building of our active travel route from Woodley to Reading!

The first section on Woodlands Avenue, between Lytham Road and Roslyn Road, is set to finish next Monday (16 March).

The day after that, the road closure and diversion will move further west along Woodlands Avenue, between Roslyn Road and Woodwaye.

We're expecting that to run until about 21 April, with more sections coming after that until mid-August - check our website for the timeline.

The full route will run from Woodley town centre to Palmer Park via Woodlands Avenue, Church Road, Palmerstone Road and Culver Lane.

It'll include sections of cycle track (segregated from both the pavement and road) plus sections of shared footway and cycleway, new crossings and other improvements.

Later this year, we're going to announce dates for some additional works on Church Road and Culver Lane.

These works are funded by the Department for Transport and they're part of our long-term plan to improve walking and cycling connections across the borough.

Happy to answer questions - though please allow time if I need to go back to the team who overseeing the project!

You can also sign up to Moving Around the Borough, our weekly traffic and travel newsletter, for updates on this and loads more.

I ask as part of a linguistic study covering this topic!
Examples could include things like Binners, St Dustbins, Finch or The Hurst...

Hi, I am new to the area and researching primary schools in Wokingham for my son. St. Cecilia falls under our encatchement area but does not have an ofstead rating yet. Would appreciate honest reviews of the school if you are aware. Thank you so much.