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.

Wokingham Borough Council has £41 million of government road money to spend by March 2030, and it has now written down where it intends to put it. Almost half goes on maintaining the carriageways.

The Local Transport Delivery Plan went to the Community and Corporate Overview and Scrutiny Committee on Monday 7 September. The Executive is asked to approve it on 24 September. The final plan has to reach the Department for Transport by 31 October 2026, or the money is at risk.

Where the £41m goes

The plan lists each scheme with a cost. The ten biggest capital lines are these.

The ten largest capital lines in Wokingham's four-year transport plan

In full, with the amount coming from the Department for Transport fund:

  • Carriageway maintenance, £20,085,183. An ongoing programme across the whole borough, April 2026 to March 2030. The scheme’s total estimated cost is £20,485,183.
  • Asset maintenance, £3,830,217. Held back to be allocated in future years, from April 2027.
  • Crash barrier replacement, £2,400,000, out of a £2.7m total.
  • Highways drainage, £1,660,000.
  • Junction and corridor schemes, £1,380,000. Sites to be chosen from studies run over the next three years. Delivery is not due to start until April 2028.
  • Cycling and walking schemes from the borough’s LCWIP, £1,298,000, out of a £1.63m total. The plan says these will be reprioritised after a members’ meeting held in April.
  • 20mph speed limits, £1,200,000. See below.
  • Town centre traffic management, £1,134,179.
  • Bus stops, £1,080,864.
  • Traffic signal upgrades, £1,020,081, out of a £1.48m total, replacing old and obsolete equipment.
  • Bridge maintenance, £969,000.
  • Walking and cycling quick wins, £947,000. Removing physical barriers, improving crossings, widening footways, tightening junctions, laying tactile paving.
  • Safer routes to schools, £850,000, out of a £905,000 total.
  • New crossings, £535,000, out of a £699,498 total, from the council’s request programme, worst sites first.
  • Earley footbridge, £406,178. See below.
  • Local safety schemes, £400,000, out of a £439,130 total.
  • Accessible and zero emission bus vehicles, £400,000.
  • Future bus schemes, £372,609, from April 2028.
  • Mereoak park and ride access, £234,061, from April 2029.
  • Twyford station forecourt and Station Road, £215,000.
  • Twyford station improvements, £200,000, out of a £2.3m scheme. See below.
  • Street lighting column testing, £86,300.
  • Embankment works, £86,300.
  • Lower Earley bridge bearings, £71,000. See below.
  • The Straight Mile embankments, £60,000. See below.
  • Park and ride signage, £45,000.
  • Traffic monitoring network, £50,000, out of a £91,057 total.

The footbridge that would otherwise close

The Earley footbridge crosses both the railway and the A3290. The plan gives its postcode as RG6 7DY, and says it saves a significant distance for Woodley residents walking to the station.

The council’s own wording is unusually direct. The scheme “is to repair the existing bridge which urgently requires attention, it would otherwise be closed for the foreseeable future.” The work is programmed for April 2026 to March 2027.

The full repair is costed at £3,085,820. Only £406,178 of that comes from this Department for Transport fund.

Two structures the council is watching rather than fixing

Two further entries buy time rather than a repair.

  • The Lower Earley bridge bearings, postcode RG41 5QS, have “reached the end of their serviceable life”. The £71,000 covers design work, monitoring and interim repairs. The plan says this is expected to keep the road across the bridge open until money is found to renew the bearings.
  • The embankments on The Straight Mile, postcode RG10 0NE, “are moving”. The £60,000 covers design, movement monitoring and ad hoc repairs to the slopes and the carriageway, again until further funds are allocated.

20mph limits and traffic out of the town centres

The £1.2 million 20mph line is a programme, not a fixed list of roads. The plan says areas will be chosen “through data and consultation with all relevant stakeholders”, and that it will also include speed limit changes on rural minor roads. Delivery is shown as starting in August 2026 and running to March 2030.

The £1,134,179 town centre line is aimed at reducing traffic in the borough’s town and village centres. An initial study decides what happens where, starting with Wokingham town centre. The plan says it is anticipated to include:

  • potential bus gates
  • modal filters
  • possible road closures
  • improved bus waiting areas
  • new pedestrian and cycle facilities

The sample postcodes given for the scheme are RG40 1XS, RG5 4JB, RG6 5TT and RG10 9AB. Development runs to March 2029 and delivery to March 2030, so nothing here is imminent.

Buses, and a tender in November

Bus service support is revenue rather than capital, and sits inside a separate £4.59 million revenue settlement covering 2026/27 to 2028/29.

  • Existing routes: £1,816,949 of council contribution, against a £6,779,863 total.
  • New and enhanced routes: £616,815, against a £630,000 total. The plan says this could add two new services, subject to tender prices and an award in November 2026.
  • Across the three years, the plan expects the budget to cover 21 local bus routes.

On the capital side, the £1,080,864 bus stop line is specific about what it buys: an audit of existing routes, 35 real time information stops upgraded with audio compatible screens and audio buttons, audio added to 10 further stops, 10 brand new stops identified by gap analysis, and 14 more stops given shelters, kerbs and seats.

A further £400,000 goes towards accessible features and zero emission vehicles. It has been split across 10 route specifications currently out to tender, with services due to start in April 2027. The council says it will not know how many vehicles benefit until tenders are awarded in November 2026.

Twyford station

Twyford station gets two entries. The first, £215,000, is to rework the station forecourt so buses can enter and turn around, developed with Great Western Railway, Network Rail, Great British Railways, Twyford Parish Council and local residents.

The second is larger and much less certain. Station improvements are shown at £2.3 million, of which only £200,000 comes from this fund. The plan says the rest “is to be confirmed and could be between £2.3M and above £5M depending on final plans and other stakeholders”, and is expected to come from third parties.

Why the money arrived this way

In December 2025 the Department for Transport told councils it was consolidating five separate grant categories into two: a Bus Services Fund and an Integrated Transport Fund. Wokingham submitted a draft plan in March 2026, which released its first 2026/27 payments.

The capital allocation rises each year:

Year Capital allocation
2026/27 £7,930,965
2027/28 £9,705,547
2028/29 £10,854,669
2029/30 £12,524,791

The report is candid about the strings attached. A memorandum of understanding with the department sets conditions on performance monitoring, outcome reporting and carbon assessment. The council notes a risk of “funding clawback, reduction, or additional conditions of delivery” if outcomes or reporting are not met.

Two figures explain the pressure. The borough’s population rose 15.0% between the 2011 and 2021 censuses, from about 154,400 to about 177,500. That was the third largest percentage increase in the South East, where the regional rise was 7.5%. Rail movements across the borough’s six stations reached 4.79 million in 2025, against 3.4 million in 2000.

What it means for you

  • If your road is in poor condition, the plan does not name it. Carriageway maintenance is a single £20m borough-wide line with no scheme list attached, so the annual programme is still the thing to watch.
  • If you cross the Earley footbridge, the council has now said in writing that without this work it would close for the foreseeable future. The repair is programmed to finish by March 2027.
  • If you want a 20mph limit on your street, there is money for it and no list yet. The plan promises data and consultation before areas are chosen, and delivery runs to 2030.
  • If you use a bus, the November 2026 tender award is the date that matters. Two potential new services, the 10 route specifications and the accessible vehicle funding all hang on it.
  • If you drive into Wokingham town centre, bus gates, modal filters and possible road closures are on the table, but only after a study. Nothing is decided.
  • If you want to comment, the Executive meets at 7pm on 24 September and is open to the public. Questions to the Executive close at 10am on 15 September.

For what is dug up where right now, see Wokingham roadworks and travel. For services from the station, see Wokingham train times to London.

Sources