We’ve now entered the pre-election period so this newsletter will only be sent on Fridays until early May. Then we'll be back to our normal Tuesday and Friday morning sending schedule.
Memorial woodland agreed, set to open by 2024
We’ve agreed to plant a commemorative woodland honouring those who lost their lives in the Covid-19 pandemic at Rooks Nest Farm in Finchampstead, with work hopefully starting in September to finish in early 2024.
The 7.7-hectare plot at the site’s south-eastern corner would become an extension of California Country Park to the south.
It would be planted with about 6,600 native trees, plus additional wildflower seeding. A sculpture or other memorial would be installed with two benches and footpaths.
Wokingham resident Tony Weston has written to his local councillor to say: "I feel so happy to see what the council is doing in memory of those lost to Covid and those they left behind. It will be nice to have somewhere to go and reflect as I couldn't be there when Covid took my Dad."
And better green spaces and habitats on the way
New woodland and wildflower meadows could be created, and existing woodlands improved, at Ashenbury Park in Woodley as part of a proposed pilot scheme to increase the borough's biodiversity.
If this scheme is successful, it could lead to further improvements to the borough's green spaces in future.
Changes to waste collections given go-ahead
You’ll be getting a wheelie bin for general waste next year.
Changes have been agreed for the borough’s waste and recycling collections, starting from next summer (2024).
When this is implemented, general rubbish will be collected one week and recycling the next, while food waste will continue to be collected every week.
It will encourage residents to recycle more, reduce the amount of waste produced and separate out their food waste for recycling, helping to save £1 million per year within two years.
Bringing a new library to the heart of Twyford
We are delighted to share an update on the progress being made to provide a permanent home for Twyford Library.
By restoring The Old Polehampton Boys School, one of the borough's most historic buildings, we hope to deliver a library that residents have long campaigned for, as well as a hub for the community.
Earlier this year, we confirmed we had leased the building for 99 years at a peppercorn rent from the Polehampton Trust.
The work includes a modest single-storey extension and an accessible entrance, providing additional floorspace. We will make the building as energy efficient as possible given the constraints of the Grade II listed building and the site.
Since late January, the site has been set up and preparations are in place for groundwork investigations to be carried out shortly. Work to lay the foundations for the new extension will start in the next few weeks.
Parking increases, new powers, cycling plan agreed
We’ve also agreed to a number of changes and plans relating to our roads, car parks, footpaths and cycleways.
Decisions have been made on us taking on new powers to enforce certain driving offences (known as moving traffic offences), as well as final sign off for our high-level plan for future improvements for walking and cycling.
It was also agreed car parking fees in Wokingham Borough will increase for the first time in five years so that roads and footways are well maintained without affecting vital frontline services. You can get more details from these below:
£3million investment in housing to help refugees
We’ve been awarded £3.1million to help towards us buying 17 homes to help combat the housing shortage for refugees from Ukraine and Afghanistan in the borough.
This is thanks to Government support for those under the Ukraine and Afghan resettlement scheme as part of their £500 million Housing Support Fund.
This week plans for the purchase of the homes, topped up by £2million from developers’ contributions to affordable housing, plus borrowing of £3.7million.
The grant from the government has been allocated to buy at least 15 two to four bed family properties, as well as two multiple-occupancy four bed properties for Afghan refugees in bridging accommodation.
We’ve looked at the current families in the borough and will look to purchase six two-bed properties, seven three-bed properties and four four-bed properties.
All properties will be let on an affordable rent for a maximum of three years, when the current Ukrainian Visa scheme ends). They will then become part of our general housing stock available to others in need of affordable housing in the borough.
Helping Freely Fruity continue to blossom
New community orchards could start to blossom across the borough, thanks to our partnership with Freely Fruity to establish a new tree nursery on land between Barkham and Finchampstead.
The new orchard will sit alongside the site earmarked for our first solar farm and compliments our plans to plant thousands of new trees across the borough, helping improve biodiversity and reducing local carbon emissions as the trees grow.
The land will be used by Freely Fruity to propagate new saplings with a range of fruit trees proposed including apples, plums and pears of all different varieties.
Freely Fruity will continue to work closely with local schools, businesses, churches and communities to plant new community orchards across the borough. Once grown, fruit from the orchards will be donated to local food banks and charities.
What you might have missed
Here are some of our updates from the last week:
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