 Funding boost sets road on track to completion
We've successfully applied for a £29.6 million contribution from Homes England, the Government's housing and regeneration agency, towards the completion of the South Wokingham Distributor Road (SWDR).
The SWDR will run from Finchampstead Road, near the Tesco superstore and the junction with Molly Millars Lane, roughly parallel to the railway line before joining London Road, just west of Coppid Beech roundabout.
Two sections are already completed: William Heelas Way off London Road, which serves the new Montague Park housing estate and school, and the Eastern Gateway which links to a new roundabout on Waterloo Road.
The SWDR will serve the 1,800 or so new homes which will be built south of the railway line, to meet local demand and Government expectations. A share of funding will come from developer contributions.
There'll be wide verges with trees along its length to provide drainage and encourage walking and cycling, with pedestrians and cyclists given priority at junctions. Work is set to start later this year and we expect it to open in 2026.
The consultations on our new Local Transport Plan, which will guide all aspects of getting around the borough, and plans for a new cycling and walking route between Winnersh and Wokingham town, finished earlier this spring. We're looking through your comments and we'll announce more soon.
 Click the image above to watch a virtual fly-through of the planned facility
VIDEO: Museum's high-tech research hub agreed
We've given planning permission for the Natural History Museum to build a new research centre and access road at Thames Valley Science Park in Shinfield.
This multi-million pound scheme will ensure some 28 million specimens, about one-third of the museum's collection, can benefit future generations.
Following our decision, building work should start early next year and finish in 2027, with everything up and running by 2031.
The transfer of the specimens, spanning more than four billion years, will be the largest ever move of natural historical specimens in the world.
The centre will support research into climate change, which we strongly support as we've declared a climate emergency and pledged to support the borough towards becoming carbon neutral by 2030.
The project will be funded by the Government and is being developed in partnership with the University of Reading, which owns the science park.
 Kew Gardens could lay down roots in Shinfield
The Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew, better known as Kew Gardens, also hopes to move its collections of dried plant specimens to Thames Valley Science Park.
Its trustees agreed the move in principle in 2021, saying the move will allow it to care for and grow its seven million-strong collection into the next century.
The Shinfield site was named as a preferred location earlier this year and the trustees' contractors are now drawing up plans for a purpose-built herbarium.
The project will be drafted in partnership with scientific experts and would depend both on Government funding and us granting planning permission.
The trustees say the scheme would be a "centre for excellence" in research and training and could accommodate staff, students and visitors.
We'd hold a statutory consultation before making any decision and the applicant would be expected to hold its own pre-application consultation.
 New café and bar aims to be heart of community
A popular local café and cocktail bar has opened a second branch at the School Green Centre in Shinfield.
Crumbs, which launched at Crockhamwell Road in Woodley in 2019, welcomed its first guests at the centre last Saturday (4 May) and owners Jamie and Amy are looking forward to meeting their new customers.
As well as selling a range of hot and cold treats, Crumbs is a community hub for events, parties and more.
The School Green Centre, which is run by Shinfield Parish Council, was funded by developers as part of their planning obligations linked to new housing in the area.
It has three large modern halls for hire, meeting rooms, a small library run by us, a children's area and courtyard garden and also houses the parish council's offices.
Did you enjoy the spook-tacular Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire? Parts of this were filmed on location in Wokingham Borough and at Shinfield Studios, which is also part of Thames Valley Science Park, and Winnersh Film Studios.
 Thriving clinic is just what the doctor ordered
One of Wokingham's newest businesses is helping to ensure that the town centre's future looks healthy.
The Wellness Clinic Wokingham, based at Elms Walk in Elms Field, offers a range of private health and wellbeing services including GP services, vitamin therapies, ear wax micro-suctioning, blood and allergen tests and aesthetic treatments.
Managing director Graham Pope said: “We're so pleased to be working in partnership with our local community in Wokingham. Since we opened in November, residents have shown amazing support and interest in our services.
"We'd urge anyone who is at all worried or concerned about their health to come and see us, because early intervention can really make a difference.”
The retail units at Elms Field are part of our multi-million pound regeneration of the town centre, also including the Peach Place and Carnival Hub developments.
The newly-formed Ascendancy Partnership Trust has been approved to run two new schools for children with special educational needs and disabilities. These schools are proposed at Rooks Nest Farm, bordering Barkham and Finchampstead, with an expected opening date of September 2026.
 Grant powers our electric vehicle dreams
We’ve been awarded £264,000 by the Government to install more electric vehicle (EV) chargepoints in Wokingham Borough.
This comes from a Department for Transport (DfT) fund set up to help councils improve provision in areas that don’t have off-street parking. We’re looking at locations now and hope to appoint a supplier later this year.
The DfT has already given us £282,000 to plan the roll out of new chargepoints. This latest grant will fund installation work, with match funding from the supplier.
It’ll help us work towards our climate emergency goals without impacting our own finances, and we can’t spend the money on anything else.
If your area doesn’t have much off-street parking, and you’d like a charger nearby, please email us to be considered.
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