 Millions invested to support our communities
More than £34.8 million in developers’ contributions towards infrastructure was raised to support the borough during the 2022/23 financial year.
The sum, secured through legal agreements and statutory contributions linked to planning permissions for new housing, will fund amenities like schools, bus services, leisure facilities and more without putting pressure on our own limited finances.
Almost £10 million was raised through the Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL), a charge on new development based on type, location and size. The remaining £24.9 million came from Section 106 agreements, which cover the costs of affordable housing and other site-specific improvements.
Over the same period, more than £31 million was invested in making the borough a better place to live and work - comprising more than £8 million in CIL and £22.9 million in Section 106 money.
A summary of how this was spent can be found on our news site, or view the full breakdown in the annual report.
 More time to comment on transport vision
We've extended our consultation on a new strategy that'll help us improve local walking and cycling routes as well as bus services, roads and more.
You can now give your views on our revised Local Transport Plan (LTP) until Friday 8 March. This is a “big picture” strategy which aims to make all forms of travel healthier, safer and greener - and will help us get external funding to achieve this.
It aims to make it easier for you to walk, cycle or take public transport, while providing better travel connections in rural areas and reducing problems like congestion and air pollution in more built-up areas.
It also recognises that active travel can’t always replace driving, and should help us secure Government funding for more electric vehicle chargepoints in areas where they're most likely to be used.
The LTP would sit alongside other documents like our Local Cycling and Walking Infrastructure Plan (LCWIP), which supports things like our ongoing plans for a new active travel link from Winnersh to Wokingham town.
Some of our footpaths and cycle routes can help you beat the traffic and even get there quicker than driving, as new research by our My Journey Wokingham team shows. We're continually working to improve our borough's active travel links, with external grants and funding, through our Local Cycling and Walking Infrastructure Plan (LCWIP).
 New heart for village coming soon
Works to improve California Cross in Finchampstead, at the junction of Nine Mile Ride and Finchampstead Road, started earlier this week and we're expecting them to finish in September.
The project, which is funded by developers and was drawn up following public consultation, will make the area more pleasant for everyone, especially pedestrians and cyclists, as well as improving the look of the area.
We'll ensure access to the nearby shops and Nine Mile Ride Primary School is maintained at all times, but you might have to follow a planned diversion if you're travelling through this area.
The design includes features which have successfully worked in many other areas and even won awards. These include:
- Additional crossings raised to pavement level, and with contrasting designs
- Crossings at right angles, which those with impaired vision may prefer using, at the entrances to the junction
- Widened access at the parade car park, with entrance and exit switched
- Cosmetic improvements including new streetlights, planting and bollards, and totems co-designed with Nine Mile Ride School and Gorse Ride School.
Find out more and follow the project's progress on our website or sign up for detailed updates in our new fortnightly California Cross newsletter.
Did you know? There's a new daily circuit training class at the BXGFIT boxing gym, which opened in 2022 as part of the Peach Place development in Wokingham town, while children's activity parties are now available at the Dinton Activity Centre near Hurst on both Saturdays and Sundays. The centre opened in 2021 and was our borough's first net-zero carbon building.
 Greener spaces to support wildlife and finances
An innovative scheme to make Ashenbury Park in Woodley more welcoming to wildlife while potentially supporting our finances is moving ahead.
We're planning to plant more than 1.7 hectares of native British trees to extend the existing woodland, plus another 4.8 hectares of wildflower meadows.
This is part of a trial initiative to improve natural habitats and help countless species thrive in the park, a concept known as biodiversity net gain (BNG).
If successful, it could lead to further enhancements at other green spaces across the borough, allowing us to become a provider of "BNG units" to developers.
New laws require developers to increase biodiversity at their sites by at least 10 per cent, which is measured against a Government-agreed metric.
Where they can't meet this, they can instead purchase BNG units from other landowners who've made biodiversity improvements on their own land.
You can find out more about the Ashenbury Park proposals and share your thoughts before the end of this week (Sunday, 18 February).
 Grant to help us keep our future green
We've received Government funding to help us ensure that new development in Wokingham Borough continues meeting high standards of sustainability.
The national Planning Skills Delivery Fund has agreed to support our planning sustainability officer's post for another year.
Since we filled this role in September 2022, it has played a major part in ensuring that planning applications have as little environmental impact as possible.
It also supports our own strategies like our local plan, a "big picture" document guiding how and where all kinds of development should be allocated. This is currently being updated, with more news expected later in the year.
The role helps our efforts to tackle the climate emergency and achieve carbon neutrality, as well as preparing for new rules to ensure development creates more habitats for wildlife.
We'd rely on external consultants without this in-house expertise, which would cost more - so this grant offers vital savings at a financially challenging time.
We recently approved a planning application to continue developing the Winnersh Film Studios project at Winnersh Triangle. Along with the ongoing works at Shinfield Studios, part of our major development at Shinfield Parish, this scheme will help to create jobs and support the film, television and other creative industries in Wokingham Borough.
 Solar farm switch-on just two years away
Green renewable energy will be generated in Barkham as early as summer 2026 at a new solar farm.
We’ve signed an agreement with Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks (SSEN) guaranteeing a switch on-date for our first solar farm. This means we can can move ahead with completing the site surveys and tendering for the solar panels.
We’ll be able to connect to the national grid in two years’ time, more than a decade earlier than the 2037 date we were advised of last spring.
This marks the culmination of months of lobbying for reform in the energy sector, along with discussions with SSEN and the National Grid on why this important scheme should go ahead as soon as possible.
Initial work will include a series of archaeological trenches to the south of the site, near the path beside California Country Park. These works mark the location of the new woodlands which will be planted later in the year.
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