 Preferred future HQ accommodation agreed
We've agreed to review our office accommodation, including opportunities to move our Shute End headquarters to smaller and more energy-efficient premises.
Like many organisations, we changed how we worked during the Covid-19 pandemic, and this has continued since then, with more people working flexibly and remotely. Our Shute End offices cost more than £1 million a year to run and it won't meet future legal energy standards, so we must rethink our position.
This is especially important given the unprecedented financial challenges we face, and we want to use your money responsibly and reduce costs where we can to protect vital services.
Our preferred option is 28 to 38 Peach Street in Wokingham (the former Marks and Spencer building) and we're now looking into this further, though no final decisions are made and we wouldn't expect to move until early 2027.
We're also looking at community hubs, with greater flexibility and the opportunity to work more closely our with partners and the wider community.
You can read more on our website.
 Bohunt sixth form gets the go ahead
Bohunt Wokingham School is set to expand with a new 300 place sixth form and 150 additional places for younger pupils.
Our decision-making executive recently agreed to increase its financial contribution up to £5.25million. The project will be delivered in partnership with Bohunt Education Trust, who are joint funding the expansion.
The new sixth form will have 300 places for pupils in the rural south of Wokingham Borough, which is currently lacking a sixth form.
Currently most students attending the Bohunt Wokingham School continue their education at other schools and colleges outside the borough, so the expansion will allow more of them to remain nearer home.
More places for 11 to 16-year-olds is also included in plans and a commitment to further improve the school’s facilities for children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND).
Find out more about the sixth form expansion at Bohunt Wokingham School on our website.
 Free advice to make your home more energy efficient
We’ve launched our new Home Decarbonisation Advice Service which helps you get practical, impartial advice on the changes you might make to your properties.
The service will give you a better understanding on how you might improve the energy efficiency of your home and the potential benefits these could give from carbon emissions to financial savings.
There are also details about support schemes you may be eligible for, such as the ECO Flex scheme which offers free, or subsidised, home insulation to qualifying households.
We’re also offering residents with an address in the borough free access to the Parity Projects Plan Builder App. This online estimation tool is aimed at those of you who have your own money to invest in projects to improve your home but are unsure on what you could do or the potential savings these might give.
Read more about this new service and how to access it here.
 Bus firms all aboard on recovery plan
A long-term effort to improve Wokingham Borough's bus services and help them recover from the impact of the pandemic has arrived at its next stop.
We’ve reached an “enhanced partnership agreement” with local bus operators, which is a legal document that sets standards and makes clear how any grants will be spent.
It calls for a high-quality, more accessible bus network and an increase in passenger numbers plus a reduction in air pollution, carbon emissions and traffic congestion. It sets nine goals including restoring services to pre-pandemic levels, faster journeys, simpler fares and more.
We did this to secure Government funding towards the goals of our Bus Service Improvement Plan (BSIP), which we published earlier this year. The Department for Transport (DfT) has so far awarded us £401,322 to start making these a reality.
It’s all part of our wider efforts to make walking, cycling and taking public transport more attractive, which will reduce pollution and congestion and help us honour our climate emergency commitments. For information, see our My Journey Wokingham page.
 Take the cost of living survey ahead of winter
The higher cost of living continues to impact our residents and communities.
We want to know how you're feeling after the summer and looking ahead to the winter.
Higher bills, housing costs and weekly shops are adding up to make things more difficult for residents.
Take the survey and tell us your views. The survey closes on 9 November.
What you might have missed
|
