 Welcome
Welcome to the first edition of your relaunched Shinfield Parish major development newsletter, which will come to you on Tuesday evenings every eight weeks.
We’ll keep you in touch with the latest goings-on in your neighbourhood, including fun events for all the family and the arrival or improvement of parks, roads, schools, sports grounds and other amenities – many of which are secured through funding from developers building new homes in the area.
Our Wokingham Borough Connect email newsletters cover a range of topics, from local event listings to the latest on rubbish and recycling and much more. You can sign up using the button below.
 Hollywood on the horizon for science park
Plans to build a world-class film and television studios at Shinfield are closer to rolling into action after our planning committee resolved to approve an application by Shinfield Studios for its Creative Media Hub.
The 85,000 sq m complex would be built in partnership with the University of Reading on part of the Thames Valley Science Park south of the M4, which is earmarked for employment use in the council's local plan, plus additional land north and south of Cutbush Lane.
It would be used to produce major international films and television programmes and would have 18 film stages and eight workshops to support set production plus office facilities and other supporting infrastructure.
The developer would have to improve surrounding infrastructure for the benefit of the wider community, including a number of high-quality biodiversity projects, so the scheme would deliver significant economic, social and environmental benefits.
It’s expected to create 1,500 new jobs with a similar figure arising from indirect employment generated by its use. Construction would generate a further 1,400 jobs and a similar number indirectly.
In the meantime, a temporary film studio was awarded planning permission earlier this year and is now largely finished and partly occupied.
 Want to work in film and television?
Following the recent launch of the Cine Valley film and television hub at Thames Valley Science Park at Shinfield, a series of free workshops is now being offered to help local people break into creative media.
The workshops are being staged by the University of Reading and Resource Productions in partnership with us Borough Council to connect residents of all backgrounds with jobs in the industry.
They'll offer the knowledge, skills and networks you need to get work and are open to all borough residents aged 19 and older.
They'll take place at the university's Minghella Studios, off Whiteknights Road in Reading, from 5pm to 7pm on 25 November and bookings must be made by this Sunday, 31 October by emailing shweta.ghosh@reading.ac.uk
 Community centre close to opening
The new community centre at Shinfield is set to open by the end of next month.
Shinfield Parish Council and our teams have been working together on this exciting project to bring a new social and community hub to the heart of the village.
It will be known as the School Green Centre, after its location, following a recent poll by the parish council to involve villagers in naming it.
The centre will have three large halls plus smaller meeting rooms for hire, a library and a kitchen as well as housing the parish council offices. The on-site café will be run by Robyn's Nest, of Berkshire.
An opening date is not yet confirmed but there will be an official launch with a family fun day and a calendar of events will be announced soon. Enquiries for hire bookings are now being taken.
The community centre is part of the borough council's major development south of the M4 including new homes, a district centre in Shinfield village with a supermarket and other shops, a neighbourhood centre at Spencers Wood, the Shinfield Eastern Relief Road and more.
It was built by Life Build, which started work in August last year, and part funded by housing developers' contributions with land provided by the University of Reading.
 Spook-tacular half-term fun
Our My Journey team is staging two exciting children's activities in the Shinfield area this week.
From now until 6 November, they can take part in an autumn cycle trail which starts and finishes at Oakbank School in Ryeish Green and travels around Croft Gardens in Shinfield.
If they can find, answer and return our 10 puzzle questions, they could win one of several prizes kindly donated by David Wilson Homes.
And until Sunday (31 October), they can take part in a Halloween themed competition at the Croft Gardens play area.
We've put up posters and are challenging youngsters to find them all, match the pairs and spot the odd one out – and once again, prizes are up for grabs.
For more on this and many other My Journey events across the borough, visit the My Journey Wokingham website.
New school embarks on second year
 Alder Grove Primary School in Shinfield, which welcomed its first pupils in September 2020, celebrated a successful first year and the beginning of its second with an official opening ceremony and community fayre on October 2.
The state-of-the-art Church of England school, run by The Keys Academy Trust, was built as part of the Shinfield Parish major development and will grow into a free school with 420 school places and 26 nursery places.
Alder Grove is part of the Shinfield Meadows development, being created by Linden Homes, Bloor Homes and Bovis Homes to provide 1,200 new homes, a food store, commercial and communal space and recreation grounds.
These facilities are funded through developer contributions as part of our four major developments at Arborfield, Shinfield and North and South Wokingham.
It includes an investment of almost £100million in new schools with seven new primaries in total plus the Bohunt Wokingham Secondary School at Arborfield Green which opened in September 2016.
The school has thanked its Parent Carer Staff Association Committee and all other volunteers for their hard work and effort in staging the opening ceremony and fayre.
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