 New publishing schedule, but we'll stay in touch
We hope you've enjoyed reading your North Wokingham newsletter, which has been bringing you the latest updates from this growing new community on Tuesday evenings every eight weeks.
First off, we want 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, along with most of the planned amenities, we don't expect as much news in the future. However, we're happy to revisit this if needed.
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.
 Progress on the development so far...
The major new community at North Wokingham, consisting of just over 2,000 homes with accompanying amenities, was outlined in our Local Plan - a document shaping development across the borough over the 2006 to 2026 period.
We had to produce this to meet housing numbers imposed by the Government but we secured funding for the infrastructure from the developers - and looking forward, we're still fighting hard to get a fairer deal on new homes in future.
The community is served by four new nature parks, Old Forest Meadows, Ashridge Meadows, Kentwood Meadows (pictured, courtesy of Thames Basin Heaths Partnership) and Keephatch Meadows.
These will be followed by a 4.5-hectare nature park at Ashridge Farm, which will have two ponds with a total area of about 1,500 sq m and will bring the total amount of new green space to more than 35 hectares.
There's a district centre with a Your Co-op food store, which opened at Queen's Road in Matthewsgreen earlier this year, and the Oakingham Belle pub in Oak Avenue, and the development is served by the North Wokingham Distributor Road.
Funding from developers also paid for the high-tech new play area at Cantley Park, just outside the North Wokingham development.
 More services and amenities to follow
St Cecilia's Church of England Primary School, also on Queen's Road, is built and ready to open when there is need for it. This will be run by the Keys Academy Trust and will also have a community centre.
We're working with developers on plans for a new play area in the Matthewsgreen area and are close to finalising this, with drawings expected to follow soon.
Also in the pipeline is a 68-bed specialist dementia care home at Toutley East, which is set to open in 2025 after the business and procurement case were approved and outline planning permission was granted.
The scheme includes up to 130 new houses and apartments alongside the care home, and infrastructure like improved access to the site, open spaces and better pedestrian routes to connect to the wider area.
Subject to detailed planning approval, building work could start next year. The scheme will meet growing demand for both affordable housing and specialist care.
 Your views could shape green travel route
We're looking for your views on an upcoming phase of our greenways scheme, a network of mostly traffic-free routes to improve active travel within the borough.
At 7.45pm next Tuesday (27 September) we're hosting a meeting at Emmbrook Village Hall to discuss a proposed section running from Cantley Park at Milton Road, in Wokingham town, to Woosehill Meadows.
Officers will be on hand to explain the options and ask your views, and anyone wishing to attend should contact our project officer or drop in on the night.
The plan is part of a wider route linking Cantley Park with Arborfield Cross, with other sections to follow through the surrounding countryside including woodland at Fox Hill and along Coombes Lane and Coles Lane with a new bridge at the ford.
We plan to build several greenways over the next decade or so. The first, running from Arborfield to Finchampstead via California County Park, opened in 2020.
It's part of our goal to get people out of their cars and travelling actively to reduce air pollution, help tackle the climate emergency and help everyone live more healthily.
 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.
Examples in North Wokingham include improvements to the junction of London Road and Oak Avenue and provision of a two-way cycle track between Longdon Road and the North Wokingham Distributor Road.
We're accepting comments on our Engage Wokingham Borough platform until Sunday, 2 October. You'll need to sign up so we can check responses are genuine but this is free and takes only seconds.
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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