 Photo by Darren McQuade (www.darranmcquademagic.com)
Spooktacle unfolds at new community cinema
A new £300,000 community cinema has opened thanks to a joint venture between Shinfield Parish Council and Shinfield Studios.
It held its launch event on Friday, 4 October with a red-carpet reception attended by more than 100 guests.
They were greeted by a magician and entertainers dressed as the Ghostbusters, along with their car ECTO-1 and ghosts from the franchise including Slimer and Stay-Puft the Marshmallow Man.
Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire was filmed at the studios on Thames Valley Science Park last year, along with other high-profile productions.
The new cinema is based at the School Green community centre, which opened in partnership with the University of Reading in 2021 as part of the new development taking place at Shinfield Parish.
Its Ryeish Green room has been equipped with retractable rows of seating and a reinforced floor plus a new screen and projector. You can watch a drone fly-through of the finished cinema by Reading Drones.
A new centre of creative excellence
The studios were required to provide the new cinema as part of their legal agreement with us when we gave planning permission for their main complex in 2021.
It's now the UK's largest new film and TV studio, totalling a million square feet with 18 sound stages, including two of the biggest in the country at 43,000 sq ft each.
 Research centre also in the pipeline
The Natural History Museum's plans for a new collections, research and digitisation centre at Thames Valley Science Park have hit another milestone.
We've just completed a legal agreement with the museum following our decision to approve the scheme in principle last year.
This means we've been able to issue a decision notice for work to go ahead.
The centre will help researchers around the world tackle the biggest issues of the day including climate change, which lines up with our own ambition to do all we can to fight the climate emergency.
Work is progressing well on a new Lidl supermarket, which is being provided at land near Beke Avenue, and we're expecting an opening date to be confirmed soon. Provision of a supermarket was part of our vision for this area, linked to the new housing that has been built over the past decade or so.
 Above: Langley Mead nature park near Shinfield, which was provided as part of the new development
New Local Plan sets out vision for future growth
We've agreed to move forward with our new Local Plan by submitting it for independent examination - and you can find out more about what we're proposing on our Engage Wokingham Borough page.
The plan sets out all aspects of how our borough should develop until 2040. This includes acceptable locations for new housing, and policies to:
- secure quality community infrastructure, funded by developers
- provide affordable homes, so future generations can live and work locally
- protect green spaces across the borough
- ensure zero-carbon development where possible
As well as explaining what's in the plan, we'd like to dispel some of the myths around the planning process and explain why our proposal is the best option for preserving our excellent quality of life.
There's also a summary of the benefits that our current Local Plan has provided. This is why we propose a similar approach, incorporating some large-scale development, in the new version.
We've published the draft plan for comment on its soundness and legal compliance, and we're accepting responses until Wednesday 13 November.
We've already consulted extensively on details like the proposed housing sites and incorporated your feedback where we can.
 Above: another nature park near housing in North Wokingham, which was funded by developer contributions
A new garden village and more
Our new Local Plan includes proposals for a new community of 3,930 homes known as Loddon Garden Village.
This would be established on land south of the M4 between Shinfield, Arborfield and Sindlesham, owned mostly by the University of Reading as part of its Hall Farm site.
The garden village could benefit from a wealth of infrastructure including new primary and secondary schools, a bridge over the motorway and ample public green space including a new country park along the River Loddon.
Land is also identified for 1,100 additional homes within our existing South Wokingham major development, plus a further 900 homes at our Arborfield Green major development and another 1,000 at smaller sites across the borough.
Proposing large-scale development makes it easier to help the new communities thrive by securing improvements to infrastructure.
This approach has proven successful in the past and, when we consulted, most people said it was their preferred way for us to manage development in the future.
We're hosting two drop-in information sessions about the Local Plan on:
- Tuesday 29 October (4pm to 7pm), Pound Green Room, School Green Centre, Shinfield, RG2 9EH
- Thursday 31 October (6pm to 9pm), council offices foyer, Shute End, Wokingham, RG40 1BN
You'll be able to talk to officers and councillors about the plan, and how to respond. If you can't make those dates, we can speak to you on request at our offices on Tuesday 5 and Wednesday 6 November (9.30am to 4.30pm).
 Primary school proposal comes forward
A detailed planning application has been submitted for a new primary school, to be funded by developer contributions, in Spencers Wood.
The school, which is part of our current Local Plan and has outline permission, would be based off Fullbrook Avenue and Hyde End Lane. If it's approved, the scheme will move forward when there is enough demand in the area.
It would have a single form of entry and capacity for up to 210 pupils. There would also be 30 nursery places and provision for certain special educational needs.
It would have sports facilities, a hall, play areas and more, and wider community uses for these will be considered.
A full version of the plan seen above can be seen on page 13 of the application's design and access statement (PDF document).
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