 Woodley’s new woodlands and wildflower meadows
Plans for new woodland and wildflower meadows at a treasured green space are moving forward under a trial scheme that could benefit the whole borough, both environmentally and financially.
Planting and seeding at Ashenbury Park in Woodley is set to start in early spring and continue throughout the year.
This is part of a pilot initiative to make the site more welcoming to wildlife by improving and enriching its natural habitats, a concept known as “biodiversity net gain” (BNG).
The initiative is supported by new laws which forces developers to pay for biodiversity improvements off-site elsewhere if they cannot provide them on housing sites. Developers can buy these from landowners, like the council, to make up for it.
The pilot was approved in March last year and, if successful, could lead to further enhancements at other green spaces across the borough.
We intend to plant more than 1.7 hectares of native British trees and another 4.8 hectares of wildflower meadows.
 Changes to polling places following consultation
Changes to the polling places used in Wokingham Borough have been adopted for future elections following public consultation held late last year.
Last year, an independent review was carried out by the Local Government Boundary Commission for England (LGBCE). This means there will now be 18 wards in Wokingham Borough, with each represented by three councillors.
In addition, a new parliamentary constituency, Earley and Woodley, has been created alongside the existing parliamentary constituency of Wokingham. This came after a different review by the Boundary Commission for England.
As a result of both independent reviews, the council had to consider carefully where new polling districts were needed. The final proposals contain three changes to the initial proposal set out in our earlier consultation:
- Residents in Arborfield Green will vote at Arborfield Village Hall instead of Barkham Village Hall as it is a more convenient location for the majority of voters
- Residents in Loddon ward of Woodley will vote at the closer polling station. Voters in the north of the ward will go to a new polling station at Woodley Airfield Centre while other voters will go to Woodley Baptist Church
- Residents in Twyford South will vote at Stanlake Pavilion instead of Hurst Village Hall as it is a more convenient location for voters
Ready to vote in May?
Visit our webpages on changes to elections and voting for more information. Key details include:
 A new future for social care
We’ve signed up to a new charter to support the future of adult social care in the borough.
The Social Care Future Charter was inspired by the national Social Care Future movement which seeks to change the way people think about social care. The document has been developed with groups of residents and organisations with different experiences of social care in the borough.
Four residents from the Social Care Future Core Group, which has been established to support the delivery of the vision, presented the document to councillors at a meeting last week.
The new charter has an emphasis on finding a way to ensure people who draw on social care support are central to the decisions being made about their support, sharing power as equals and enabling everyone to live ‘gloriously ordinary lives’.
We’re encouraging residents, organisations and businesses across the borough to sign up to the charter to show their support for its aims.
 Temporary closure to level crossings in Wokingham
Network Rail has planned closures to the Wokingham Station level crossing (Barkham Road) and Star Lane crossing (Easthampstead Road), with some of the work starting on Friday (26 January).
This is to carry out the final stages of a re-signalling programme, which will see new equipment and a renewed track installed. To carry out this work, level crossing closures and rail replacement services will be in place.
Level crossing closures
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Wokingham Station - closure planned from 10pm on 26 January to 4am on 19 February
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Star Lane - closure planned from 10pm on 2 February to 4am on 19 February
Diversion routes will be clearly signed and can be seen by visiting the links above.
Rail replacement
Rail replacement buses will be in place from 11 February to 18 February.
National Rail recommend using its journey planner to find out the best way to travel during these times.
Planned industrial action
Industrial action is due to take place, including strikes and overtime bans, between 30 January and 6 February, which may disrupt train journeys. See the National Rail service page for more information.
What you might have missed
- The Ruscombe Neighbourhood Plan was adopted at our full council meeting on Thursday (18 January). It will be taken into account when we decide planning applications in that area
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Check our jobs board for our latest vacancies including roles in homelessness prevention, social work, environmental protection, finance and more
- Wokingham Volunteer Centre has its next volunteering fair in Wokingham on Saturday 10 February. Lots of local organisations will be there to show how you can give something back to the community
- If you’re looking for work or a new role, don’t forget we’ve got our next job fair alongside more than a dozen local employers in Woodley on Thursday (25 January), from 10am to 1.30pm at the Oakwood Centre (RG5 4JZ)
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