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We’ve relaunched our Infrastructure News updates as part of changes to our regular email newsletters.
It'll be in your inbox every four weeks on Wednesdays with updates on development and construction projects across the borough.
This includes investment in roads, new community facilities, green spaces and more, including at our strategic development locations. This time we’ll update you on projects from the last few months, which you might have missed.
There’s a host of new or updated newsletters to sign up for on our website. You can adjust your subscriptions using the link at the bottom of this newsletter at any time.
 Disruption coming as new road takes shape
Through the first half of this year, our partners at Balfour Beatty have carried out initial preparatory works to build the South Wokingham Distributor Road.
Main construction is now about to start, with the new road expected to open by the end of 2026 and all works due to finish by early 2027.
From mid-to-late next month, we're expecting to close the eastern end of Molly Millars Lane as we improve the junction with Finchampstead Road.
This scheme, called Western Gateway, also includes closures on Finchampstead Road from early September until early March 2026.
Later this year, as part of the main road build, we're expecting to close part of Easthampstead Road from north of the level crossing to Heathlands Road.
Important announcement coming soon - don't miss out!
There's loads more information about the new road, and the disruption we're expecting, in our latest South Wokingham community newsletter.
We'll be confirming a date for the Western Gateway closures very soon, so please consider subscribing if you haven't already.
 New sixth form expansion starting soon
Work to build a new sixth form building and facilities at Bohunt Wokingham School, in Arborfield Green, begins this summer.
Students and staff have helped shape the design and facilities as well as the name for the new sixth form, which will be Bohunt Wokingham Sixth or BW6.
We’re contributing up to £5.25million towards the project and this will be completed in partnership with Bohunt Education Trust, which is 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.
The project also includes expanding the existing school to allow for another 150 school places in years seven to 11, as well as providing additional support for pupils with special educational needs and disabilities.
 Residents move in as regeneration progresses
Dozens of residents have now moved into their new homes at the Gorse Ride regeneration in Finchampstead.
They are the first residents to move into their new homes during the current phase of work, with 37 homes now handed over.
Coming next will be eight more houses and two apartment blocks, which will provide 59 more homes for rent and shared ownership. These are now watertight, with internal fit out and utilities being fitted for each property.
The current phase is taking place in the former Firs Close and Dart Close area and has now been renamed by the local community as Primrose Crescent and Daffodil Drive.
The Gorse Ride regeneration is one of our flagship housing projects and will see 249 new modern homes built, most of which will be affordable, to meet growing local demand.
 Memorial woodland to open later this year
Following the community planting sessions held at the Covid Memorial Woodland in Finchampstead, a visit was recently undertaken with The Woodland Trust.
We aim to open to woodland later this year, giving people a place to come and pay their respects to those they lost during the pandemic.
Wildflower seeding will take place later this spring and summer, and we'll be installing footpaths and signage to help residents visit the woodland.
Around 6,700 trees have been planted at the site, which is to the north of California Country Park.
About 1,000 of these were planted during community sessions, which more than 150 residents joined to help our countryside services team.
The creation of the Covid Memorial Woodland has been made possible with the support of The Woodland Trust's Emergency Tree Fund.
 Care places for residents who need support
We’ve purchased another care home as we continue to invest in facilities to support older residents who need help.
The Hollies Care Home, a 58-bedroom care home in Burghfield Common, will now be run by our social care provider Optalis. It follows our purchase of Bluebell House Care Home, in Wokingham, in 2023.
Our borough has an aging population, so demand for high-quality, affordable residential and nursing care is growing.
By investing in The Hollies, we’ve made more of this provision available to our residents, ensuring they can stay within their communities through all stages of their lives.
We’ll work with residents and their families, as well as care home staff, to ensure a smooth transition for everyone.
 Expanded bus service launches
An expanded Leopard 3 bus service for Shinfield, Arborfield, Finchampstead and Barkham started last month.
Reading Buses is now running the service up to every 30 minutes on this section between 6.30am and 7pm, and on Saturdays between 8am and 6pm.
The Sunday timetable has also been improved, with buses now running directly to Wokingham hourly between 8.30am and 8pm.
Thames Valley Science Park in Shinfield will now be served by buses that run to and from Wokingham on Monday to Fridays, providing a new direct link.
There'll still be buses up to every 15 minutes between Reading and Shinfield, via Royal Berkshire Hospital, with minor changes to allow for the route extensions.
 Options for creating more SEND places
We’ve taken the next steps in making sure the area has enough special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) school places.
Our executive agreed a new SEND sufficiency statement at a meeting last month.
This outlines how many SEND places we expect our residents to need over the next five years, and presents options to provide them as quickly as possible.
Funding must be found to create these places, and this is the next step if our full council agrees to progress the sufficiency statement. At this stage, we expect we'd need to invest £15.2million.
We'll consider this as part of our medium-term financial planning, subject to detailed business cases and further assessment of costs.
 The Swift Tower soars at Dinton Pastures
Next time you're at Dinton Pastures Country Park, look out for a striking new addition on Black Swan Island – the Swift Tower!
The country park in Hurst is already a favourite feeding ground for migratory swifts, which swoop over the lake for insects.
These birds prefer nesting in tall structures, so the eight-metre-high tower’s open location is ideal for helping them hunt and hopefully settle. Head over to Facebook or Instagram to see some fantastic pictures.
Swifts are sadly on the red list for conservation, with numbers down 62 per cent since 1995. Providing safe nesting spaces is crucial to their survival.
The tower includes a built-in caller that plays at dawn and dusk to attract returning swifts and encourage colony-building over time.
We partnered with artist, Will Nash, known for creating beautiful, functional sculptures, to install it. Funded by developer contributions, this is just one of many projects we deliver each year to support biodiversity across the borough.
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