 Magazine dropping on doorsteps
The Winter 2021 edition of Wokingham Borough News, our magazine for residents, should now be landing on doormats across the borough.
This edition includes updates on Addington School’s sensory garden, Cantley Christmas market, careers in social care and much, much more.
If you’d prefer to read an electronic version, you can find a PDF version of the magazine, as well as back issues, on our news site.
 Latest on Covid-19 omicron variant
The Covid-19 situation is moving at pace, following the spread of the Omicron variant in England. There have been multiple announcements from Central Government in recent weeks, and we know it can be difficult to keep up with these. So, we’ve summarised some of the key information below:
- From Friday 10 December, face coverings are required in most indoor public places, and on public transport
- From Monday 13 December, you should work from home if you can
- From Monday 13 December, the Covid-19 Booster programme is open to everyone aged 30 and over, it will open up to over 18s from Wednesday 15 December
- Monday 13 December the Government temporarily suspended ordering lateral flow test kits online due to high demand. You can still collect test kits at your local pharmacy with a collect code, and some of our community sites (no collect code needed)
- From Tuesday 14 December, double jabbed contacts of a Covid-19 case should take a daily lateral flow test for seven days. Those not fully vaccinated should continue to self-isolate for 10 days
- From Wednesday 15 December, Covid Passes will be required in certain places where large crowds gather
For the latest information locally and nationally, please keep an eye on our Facebook and Twitter feeds. You can sign up for our weekly Covid-19 email update, containing all the latest information, using the button below.
 Give your views on Wokingham town centre changes
We’ve regenerated Wokingham town centre in recent years to support local growth. Now we want hear what you think of the changes made and are asking you to share your feedback in a new survey which launched earlier this week.
The changes include a new public square with shops, bars, restaurants and homes at Peach Place. At Elms Field there are new shops, cafes, Everyman Cinema, Aldi foodstore and the Premier Inn hotel surrounding a landscaped park with a destination play area.
And the new Carnival Hub is currently under construction which brings together a larger leisure centre, library and cultural use and apartments next to the Carnival multi storey car park. Alongside this we have worked closely with partners such as Wokingham Town Council and Network Rail to improve areas like the Market Place and Wokingham train station.
The regeneration has been funded by profits from selling residential properties on the site and income from commercial rents, with excess income returning to the council to fund projects and services for residents across the borough. You can give us your views on the changes via the button below.
 Special protection for borough's green spaces
We’ve proposed 79 green areas across the borough for special protection from development to keep them safe for future generations. The sites could be formally designated Local Green Spaces, meaning they’d be offered a similar level of protection to land in the Green Belt.
We’re proposing this as part of the revised growth strategy for our updated Local Plan, a document that will shape the future of housing and other forms of development across the borough for years to come, and want to know what you think.
The sites are in or near Woodley (13), Earley (12), Wokingham town (10), Finchampstead (eight), Twyford (eight), Barkham and Ruscombe (five each), Arborfield and Winnersh (four each) and Hurst and Shinfield (one each).
The full list includes Elms Field and the Keephatch Park nature reserve in Wokingham town as well as Hazebrouck Meadows in Barkham, Dinton Pastures near Hurst, California Country Park in Finchampstead, Maiden Erlegh lake and nature reserve in Earley and numerous playing fields and recreation grounds across the borough.
As with the current Local Plan, the revised growth strategy proposes concentrating most development in large-scale new communities to ensure high-quality infrastructure is provided and developers are made to pay for it. Have your say by visiting our new Engage Wokingham Borough platform.
 New homes help residents thrive in Finchampstead
It’s been six months since residents started to move into their new homes at Arnett Avenue, the first phase of our fantastic Gorse Ride regeneration project. Our partners Loddon Homes are landlords on these new properties.
One of the new residents, who moved into one of the new houses in Arnett Avenue has high praise for the regeneration team.
“I am registered blind and I needed somewhere separate in my garden for my guide dog Freddy to do his business,” says Steve Bowers, who is also chairman of the Gorse Ride Steering Group.
“I happened to talk to the foreman about this and the next thing I knew, they had built a pen for Freddy, which also included a drain. The service has been amazing. Everyone at Loddon Homes is so friendly and approachable and our local housing officer always responds quickly.”
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