The Wokingham Society

Local Plan Update

Work has been underway for some time on a new Local Plan which will shape the future of Wokingham Borough.

This new Local Plan will guide where and how growth will take place in the borough in the years up to 2036. The Borough Council is obliged to plan for more housing, always a complex and controversial subject. It also needs to plan for new employment, schools, roads, parks, shops and community facilities necessary to create places people want to live, work and do business.

The Local Plan must continue to take into account changes to national planning policy and guidance. Different national administrations over the past three years have made it very difficult to keep up with the policies that are needed to guide the issues that a Local Plan needs to address. As a result the Borough Council had to postpone consultation on a final draft plan scheduled for summer 2022 in order to address new government guidelines.

An updated Local Development Scheme has been issued in August 2023and indicates that the final draft Local Plan will be issued for consultation in November 2023 and sent to the Planning Inspectorate in the summer of 2024, with a view to it being adopted by the end of 2025.

Meanwhile the Council conducted a consultation on a Revised Growth Strategy for the local plan between 22 November 2021 and 24 January 2022. It asked for views on some key changes in the approach to development across the borough. The responses received will be reflected in the draft Local Plan.