Wokingham News
The latest Wokingham news: planning decisions, council and crime updates, business and community stories, each linked back to its official source.
Top story
Woodley Job Fair 12 October: 8 Employers, No Booking
Free job fair at the Oakwood Centre, Woodley, on Monday 12 October, 10am to 2pm. Wates, Mace, Optalis and the University of Reading are among eight employers.
More stories
Arborfield
Arborfield Green Community Centre Now Due to Open in 2028
Arborfield Green's community centre is now targeted to open during 2028, with planning due in early 2027. Architects are appointed and about £13,000 is spent.
Council
The Cowshed Wokingham: Rubra 2 Decision Due in November
The council will decide the future of Rubra 2, The Cowshed's rent-free home, in November. Its leader says the charity cannot stay. What happens next.
Planning
South Wokingham 215 Homes Approved: 45 for Social Rent
Miller Homes has approval for 215 homes by Wood's Farm, 75 of them affordable and 45 for social rent. Its next filing, on materials and parking, is open to comment until 15 October.
Business
A&G Whites Butchers Opens at Squire's Wokingham
A new butcher's counter has opened in the food hall at Squire's, Heathlands Road. Alanah Wyatt, 4th generation of the Porky Whites family, took over after JL Butchers closed.
Council
Barkham Solar Farm: Contract Signed, Building From November
Equans starts building Barkham Solar Farm in November, eight months after grid rules paused it: 43,000 panels, a new greenway and £1m a year for the council.
Schools
Beechwood Primary Woodley Ofsted: Expected in All Six Areas
Beechwood Primary in Woodley, Requires Improvement in 2023, now meets the expected standard in all six Ofsted report card areas. Open mornings from 7 October.
Food hygiene
Wokingham Food Hygiene Ratings: 41 Fives, Three Rated 1
41 of 48 Wokingham borough food businesses inspected since 21 July scored 5. Three got a 1: a Hurst inn, a Three Mile Cross pub and a Peach Street takeaway.
Council
Wokingham Council This Week: £24m Homes Plan Approved
Wokingham's Executive approved £24m to buy council homes and sent Sonning's plan to a referendum. Call-in runs to 2 October; next week's diary is almost empty.
Politics
Thames Water CEO Challenged to Earley and Woodley Q&A
Cllr Mike Giles has written to Thames Water's chief executive asking him to face residents at a public Q&A before the end of 2026, citing 254 sewage discharges.
Crime
Wokingham E-fit Appeal After Old Forest Meadows Exposure
Thames Valley Police have released an e-fit over an exposure incident at Old Forest Meadows on 30 June, 80 days after it was reported. Here is the appeal.
House prices
Wokingham House Prices July 2026: £496,537, Down £4,445
The average Wokingham home sold for £496,537 in July, down £4,445 in a year. Flats fell hardest, down 3.5 per cent, and June's figure has been revised down.
Council
Wokingham Council Rules Out Parcel-Style Report Tracking
Residents wanted to track a council report like a parcel. Wokingham says each system link costs £50,000 and the whole job over £500,000. Decision Thursday.
Schools
Emmbrook Sixth Form: 60 More Places, Building Starts
Builders are on site at The Emmbrook School for a £3.837m sixth form block opening September 2027. The school already has 1,354 pupils in space built for 1,219.
Politics
Earley and Woodley Lib Dems Select Cllr Mike Giles
The Lib Dems have picked Oxfordshire cabinet member Mike Giles to fight Earley and Woodley, a seat where they finished third in 2024 on 13% of the vote.
Schools
Bohunt Wokingham Sixth Opens: 300 Places in Arborfield
Bohunt Wokingham Sixth has opened in Arborfield with room for 300 students, the first sixth form in the borough's rural south. Open evening is 15 October.
Community
Twyford Age Concern to Close: Bids Open Until 4 October
Organisations have until 4 October to bid to keep an elderly day service running in Twyford, after Age Concern Twyford said it will close after 38 years.
Transport
Wokingham Disabled Bus Pass: 9.30am Rule Goes in 2027
From 1 April 2027 a Wokingham disabled bus pass works before 9.30am anywhere in England, not only on buses boarded in the borough. Senior passes do not change.
Roads
M4 Crash Between Maidenhead and Winnersh: Woman Dies
A woman in her thirties died on the M4 westbound between junctions 8/9 and 10 on Wednesday night. Thames Valley Police wants dashcam footage from that stretch.
Housing
Wokingham £24m Housing Plan: Up to 165 More Homes
The council would buy up to 70 homes and fund 95 more. 1,319 households wait on the register; 131 children are in temporary accommodation. Vote 24 September.
Transport
Wokingham £41m Road Plan: £20m on Repairs, 20mph Zones
Almost half the borough's new Department for Transport money goes on carriageway maintenance. There is £1.2m for 20mph zones and £406,178 for the Earley footbridge.
Schools
Bearwood Primary School Move: Have Your Say by 1 October
The council wants to move Bearwood Primary from Sindlesham to a new 210-place school in Spencers Wood. Its old site would become an 80-place special school.
Business
Wokingham Care Home: 64 Beds, 100 Jobs, Opens Early 2028
Boutique Care Homes broke ground on 3 September at 171 Evendons Lane. The 64-bed Evendon View is due to open in early 2028 and to employ around 100 people.
Schools
Wokingham SEND places: 600 new, first hub opens this term
The first of 600 new SEND places opens this term above the old Wokingham Library. What the council's £40m plan builds by 2029, and what it has not named.
Parking
Wokingham Parking: Free Overnight Would End Under Plan
The council's draft order scraps the free 10pm to 6am window in every chargeable car park and charges £1.20 from 8pm to 8am. Comments close 9 September.
Community
Wokingham's Covid Memorial Woodland Opens 27 August
A woodland of around 7,000 trees north of California Country Park opens with an evening commemoration on Thursday 27 August, 6.30pm to 7.30pm. Parking is charged.
Schools
Wokingham GCSE Results 2026: 79% Pass English and Maths
Wokingham's provisional 2026 GCSE figures put 79% at grade 4 in English and maths, above a rate stuck at 77.3% for two years. We checked the national comparisons.
House prices
Wokingham House Prices June 2026: Berkshire's Steepest Fall
The average Wokingham home sold for £498,941 in June, down £15,997 in a year. It is the only Berkshire area falling faster than 3%, while England rose 1.8%.
Planning
Wokingham Call for Sites Closed: Next Stage 5 October
The call for sites shut at 23:59 on 1 September. The next chance to comment is the scoping consultation, 5 October to 16 November 2026. Full timetable to 2029.
Schools
Wokingham Ofsted Report Cards: 41 Grades, 2 Need Attention
Six borough schools now have report cards. Of 41 graded areas, 11 are Strong standard, 28 Expected and two Need attention. Safeguarding was met at all six.
Planning
Wokingham Local Plan: Inspectors Delete Landscape Policy
Inspectors have told Wokingham to delete its valued landscapes policy, raise the affordable housing threshold from 5 homes to 10 and delay Loddon Valley.
Schools
Wokingham A-level Results 2026: 31.8% at A* or A
Wokingham entries hit 31.8% at A* or A against 28.3% nationally, but only 0.3 points above the South East. Holt, Piggott and Blue Coat figures in full.
Transport
Free Bus Travel for Wokingham Kids Runs Until 31 August
Children aged 5 to 15 ride free from any bus stop in Wokingham borough until 31 August: ask the driver for a ticket. How it works and what's excluded.