Wokingham council news
Wokingham council news, newest first: decisions, budgets, council tax, bins and services, each linked to the council's own papers.
Top story
Wellington Road Flats Approved: 21 Social Rent Homes
21 council flats for social rent by Wokingham station were approved on 14 October. Who gets them, how they are paid for, and what the town council objected to.
More stories
Libraries
Wokingham Libraries: Council Asks About Self-Service, 10 Nov
The draft library strategy asks residents to rate six ways of running libraries, including self-service and volunteer support. Comments close at 23:59 on 10 November.
Transport
Wokingham Speed Limits: 5 Areas Picked, Comments by 9 Nov
Wokingham town centre, Twyford, Finchampstead, Silverdale Road and Hare Hatch are first in line for lower speed limits. Comments close at midnight, 9 November.
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.
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.
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. The decisions now stand, with no call-in recorded.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Bins
Wokingham Bin Collection Days: 5.30am on Bank Holidays
Wokingham empties black bins fortnightly, green bags the alternate week and food waste weekly. Bank holidays are worked as normal, but bins go out by 5.30am.
Parking
Parking in Wokingham: New Tariffs, and Where It Is Free
Wokingham car park charges rose on 1 July 2026: £1.60 an hour in town, £8 all day. Sundays and bank holidays are charged. Five council car parks stay free.
Council Tax
Wokingham Council Tax Bands 2026/27: Woodley Pays Most
Wokingham's average band D bill is £2,497.70 for 2026/27, up 5.12%. Full band A to H tables for all 17 parishes: Woodley pays £86 more than Barkham.
Bins
Wokingham Christmas Bin Collections 2026: Dates Not Out Yet
Wokingham Borough Council has not published its Christmas 2026 bin dates. Last year every round from 25 December slipped a day and catch-up ran to 10 January.
Schools
Wokingham School Term Dates 2026/27: Half Term 26 October
Wokingham's October half term is 26 to 30 October 2026 and the Christmas break starts 21 December. Eight big schools set their own; two finish on 11 December.
Recycling
Wokingham Tip Opening Times: 8am to 6pm Winter, Book First
Wokingham has no tip of its own. Smallmead and Longshot Lane open 8am to 6pm from October to March, need a booked slot, and shut at 4pm on Christmas Eve.