 New publishing schedule, but we'll stay in touch
We hope you've enjoyed reading your Shinfield Parish newsletter, which has been bringing you the latest updates from this growing new community on Tuesday evenings every eight weeks.
We're contacting you today to pass on some news about your local district centre, which is set to include a Lidl supermarket, and also to let you know about a change in how often we're publishing. For the time being, we'll be emailing whenever we've got an important update instead of sending newsletters to a fixed schedule.
This is because, with much of the housing allocated to this area now built and occupied, we don't expect as many announcements in the coming months. However, we're happy to revisit this as the situation requires.
We're still committed to communicating with you and promise to keep you posted on anything that could affect you, or where you have a chance to share your views.
Until then, please consider subscribing to our other Wokingham Borough Connect newsletters on subjects like traffic and travel, sport, leisure and health, rubbish and recycling and much more. Press the button below to sign up.
 Supermarket looking to open Shinfield branch
Planning permission is being sought for a Lidl food store at the district centre in Shinfield village, on land off Hollow Lane and north of Beke Avenue, near the community centre which opened last year.
The store (full version of above image in link) would be built on a 0.7-hectare plot and would have a 1,305 sq m sales floor including an in-store bakery, with two electric vehicle charging points outside and space for solar panels on the roof.
There would be 87 parking places including disabled and parent-and-child bays, which the applicant says will be more than enough to meet demand throughout the week, as well as stands for 14 bicycles and good pedestrian access including two new crossings to the north and east of the site.
The applicant says it would create about 40 full-time and part-time jobs.
Long-awaited plans coming to light
This scheme was agreed in principle some years ago as part of an application for new housing in Shinfield Parish, one of four locations earmarked for major development under our Local Plan covering the 2006-2026 period.
We're only considering details like the layout, scale, external appearance of the buildings and landscaping and we're taking your comments on these until next Wednesday (28 September).
We required a supermarket alongside new homes so people wouldn't have to travel far for their shopping and ideally not drive, in line with our aims of improving air quality, tackling the climate emergency and enabling healthier lifestyles.
Looking forward, we're lobbying the Government for a change in how new homes are allocated across the country so that the borough takes a fairer share.
 Bus routes saved after urgent council decision
Bus links serving Shinfield and other villages south of the M4 have been saved after we agreed to subsidise alternative routes. We've extended our contract with Reading Buses until 31 March, rescuing much-needed services connecting the area to Reading and Wokingham town.
Under the new arrangement, which will be funded with developer money, the operator's 7 and 8 have become a revised extension of the Mereoak Park and Ride 600 service with two hourly buses running about 30 minutes apart. These start early and finish late from Monday to Saturday.
One serves Swallowfield, Spencers Wood and Three Mile Cross before travelling along the A33 into Reading, while the other runs from Reading to Three Mile Cross and Spencers Wood, then on to Thames Valley Science Park in Shinfield via Hyde End Road and Fullbrook Avenue.
Meeting today's challenges to save buses for tomorrow
Bus operators still face severe challenges as passenger numbers remain lower than before the coronavirus pandemic while operating costs like fuel prices are going up. Future Government support is unclear so local solutions must be found.
We're working closely with operators and other partners, like the University of Reading, to come up with a long-term plan but if this is going to succeed, we need everyone to use buses wherever possible.
We're committed to promoting active and sustainable travel as a way of tackling congestion, improving air quality, addressing the climate emergency and helping people to be healthier, so please help us to keep these vital services going.
Young people returning to school can make the most of Reading Buses' reduced Boost fares, both in term-time and over the holidays.
Free help getting around more sustainably
Between 3 and 21 October, residents of Shinfield West and surrounding areas may be visited by door-to-door travel advisors working on behalf of our My Journey Wokingham active travel team.
If you wish to take part in this free service, they're here for a short chat about how you currently travel around the borough and how you could walk, cycle, take public transport or car-share more often.
For more information and resources including cycle maps and a bus journey planner, check out the My Journey Wokingham website.
 Read all about it! New micro library opens
Residents of Shinfield will be able to borrow a wide range of books closer to home thanks to a new micro library in the village.
The self-service facility at the School Green Centre will be open seven days a week to meet demand from the area's growing population. It offers about 2,000 books in a range of genres for adults and children although residents must visit one of our larger libraries for the full range of services.
This is the first micro library to open in the borough, which is already served by branches in Finchampstead, Lower Earley, Spencers Wood, Twyford, Wargrave, Winnersh, Wokingham and Woodley. There is also a pop-up library in Arborfield, which is open from 9.30am to 12.30pm on Mondays and Saturdays.
The School Green Centre is the home of Shinfield Parish Council, which was our partner in providing it, and the Robyn’s Nest Café so this will be a valuable addition.
The centre opened last year and was funded by contributions from housing developers with the University of Reading providing land.
 What's to come in Shinfield parish
The new community at Shinfield parish is served by six nature parks: Langley Mead, which is now being upgraded and expanded from 18 hectares to 40 hectares, plus The Ridge off Hyde End Lane, May's Farm Meadows, Five Acre Field, Clares Green Field and the newest at Parklands off Bakingstoke Road.
We're getting ready to take over management of Parklands, a 1.6-hectare green space with new trees and hedges, footpaths with bridges and two ponds which form a wet grassland area to provide a home for many local species.
This new community is also home to the Thames Valley Science Park, where the British Museum is now building an Archaeological Research Centre and hopes to begin moving items from its collection over early next year.
The Natural History Museum is also planning to open a global research and digitisation centre which would support a range of projects, including efforts to tackle climate change, though this is subject to planning permission.
Work is well under way on Shinfield Studios (pictured above), which we gave permission for last year. This will have 18 sound stages with workshops and support facilities, all in buildings designed with sustainability in mind, to support the production of world-class film and television projects.
The junction of Church Lane and Basingstoke Road in Three Mile Cross is about to be improved by housing developers, which we required as part of their permission for new homes, and we'll carry out further upgrades in that area when this is done.
 Help us make it easier for you to walk and cycle
Don't forget there's still time to share your views on our Local Cycling and Walking Infrastructure Plan, which proposes improvements across the borough and will help secure Government funding in years to come.
Although your opinions are strongly encouraged at this early stage, these are only suggestions and no money is set aside to take them further. If we wanted to pursue any of these ideas in future, we'd consult you again.
Proposals in Shinfield parish include reducing the speed limit on several main roads to 30mph, as well as to 20mph outside Crosfields School on the A327 Shinfield Road, and installing segregated cycle tracks.
We're accepting comments on our Engage Wokingham Borough platform until Sunday, 2 October.
Thank you for subscribing to this newsletter. We assure you that we'll be in touch again when there's more to report.
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