 Helping school to take on more sixth form students
Funding has been secured to help The Emmbrook School deliver the expansion of its sixth form offer.
The Wokingham secondary school will be able to take on up to 60 additional students with a new unit opening at the start of the school term in September 2027.
We've provided £3.837 million to fund the main part of the project, which involves removing an existing administration block and replacing it with a two-storey building, with work starting this summer.
The new unit will include a social space, study area, classrooms, toilets and administration area. There will also be accessibility ramps to ensure it is inclusive access for all students, as well as features to make it more energy efficient.
Alongside the sixth form project, the school has expanded to eight-form entry, with an additional 150 places across the other year groups provided.
 Approaching finish line on new link road
The new link road that forms part of the South Wokingham Distributor Road project is due to open from 6pm on Friday (29 May).
This runs from the junction with Easthampstead Road up to what will be the South Wokingham Distributor Road. Turning right will take you to the Waterloo Road roundabout, while to the left will be our site access while construction continues.
As part of the permanent arrangement, each end of the link road will be a junction with traffic lights.
Although we are still constructing the Central Section of the distributor road, there needs to be lights at the northern end of the link road. This is to maintain site access.
The link road is an important element to the changing layout in this area, with part of Easthampstead Road permanently becoming a cul-de-sac.
Through traffic will instead use the link road, which will also provide access to the new housing coming to South Wokingham.
Like the distributor road, the link road will be 30mph and there will be shared pedestrian and cycle facilities. These will be the length of the road on one side and more than half of the other side.
 Road treatment schedule kicks off this summer
We've started our annual maintenance treatments on the roads and footways to keep them in good condition.
In some cases, we'll be stripping down worn-out surfaces and resurfacing them with an entirely new layer of asphalt.
But that isn't always necessary, especially if they're less heavily worn, and there are alternatives which offer better value for money.
That includes surface dressing, where we press new layers of chippings and bitumen into the existing surface to seal it and prevent further damage.
This year, we're trialling retexturing, which involves blasting the surface to restore its roughness and make it easier for tyres to grip.
We have to use our limited resources carefully, and these treatments cost significantly less than a full resurfacing, as well as producing fewer emissions.
This allows us to invest in resurfacing areas which need it most, while improving conditions on as many other roads as we can.
 Provider appointed for SEND hub
We have appointed Activate Learning as the provider for the new post-16 Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) hub, which will be at the former home of Wokingham Library.
Activate Learning is an award-winning education and training group with colleges in Berkshire, Oxfordshire and Surrey.
The hub in Denmark Street will support up to 40 young people aged 16 to 25. It will see the upper floor of the former Wokingham Library transformed into a state-of-the-art learning environment
Improvements will be made to the building to make it more energy efficient and the interior will be redesigned.
It will include a teaching and office space, a small gym, an independent working area, a catering area and vocational subject classrooms.
 Investment in specialist affordable homes
Plans to bring more specialist affordable housing to Wokingham town centre will be taken forward.
Eleven housing units are set to be created at Seymour House, off Denmark Street.
We’ll invest £3.5million in the project to create safe, high-quality homes for stable and safe accommodation for residents.
Priority groups include care leavers, adults with learning, mental health and physical disabilities, as well as older people.
It will increase the number of homes we have for these residents provided at social rents, to support the needs of the people who will live there when the conversion is complete.
This will reduce reliance on out of borough placements, which are often higher cost.
 Improving access at Twyford Station
We're working with Great Western Railway (GWR) and others, including Twyford Parish Council, on a long-term effort to relieve parking pressures at Twyford train station.
This includes exploring potential sites for extra spaces in the local area, though all have their own challenges. GWR is seeking Government funding to provide 50 more bays in the former coal yard, but there's no other capacity on site.
We're considering how on-street parking restrictions near the station could be improved to increase space for passengers while still meeting residents’ needs.
We’re also working to improve bus provision to Twyford, and intend to work with GWR for safer bus passenger and pedestrian access to the forecourt.
A previous funding bid for a new cycle route from Woodley and Charvil was unsuccessful, but we'll keep looking at how this can be built, and GWR is looking at opportunities for improved cycle parking.
Once we have a clearer idea of what's feasible, we expect to share preferred options for initial, informal consultation among station users and residents.
|
