Taken from Wokingham Borough Council News Centre.
During the last five years Wokingham Borough Council has been regenerating Wokingham town centre to help deliver on the masterplan vision for a vibrant and economically successful town centre, as well as helping it adapt to how people are using their town centres differently and to support local growth from housing developments to the edges of the town.
Wokingham Borough Council is keen to hear what local residents and visitors to the town think of the changes made and are asking them to share their feedback in a new survey which launches today (Monday 13 December).
What do we want to know?
“It’s really important that we can get feedback from people on the regeneration process now whilst their memories are still fresh,” said Cllr Stuart Munro, executive member for business and economic development. “We’re proud of what we have achieved in Wokingham town centre but we know it doesn’t stop here.
“We want to hear from people what they think of the town centre, what do they think has worked well, what they think could have been done differently and whether they think more could be done to attract people to the town and continue to improve the visitor experience for all. We’d also like to hear what they think should be priorities for improving or developing other town and district centres, something which we will be looking at as part of the Local Plan update during the coming years.”
During the last five years we’ve been regenerating Wokingham town centre ?
We’ve launched a survey to find out what people think of the changes made and to help us roll out future projects ?
Follow this link to find out how to share your feedback ?https://t.co/QJSdS3Fb1Z pic.twitter.com/UHy94zMQlM
— Wokingham Borough (@WokinghamBC) December 13, 2021
How has the regeneration changed Wokingham town centre?
Changes delivered through the regeneration include a new public square with shops, bars, restaurants and homes at Peach Place; new shops, cafes, Everyman Cinema, Aldi Foodstore and Premier Inn hotel surrounding a landscaped park with a destination play area at Elms Field. And, currently on site now, the new Carnival Hub which brings together a larger leisure centre, library and cultural use and apartments next to the Carnival multi storey car park.
Alongside this the borough council has worked closely with partners such as Wokingham Town Council and Network Rail to improve areas like the Market Place and Wokingham train station.
The regeneration has been funded by profits from selling residential properties on the site and income from commercial rents, with excess income returning to the council to fund projects and services for residents across the borough.
Completing the survey
Feedback from the survey will be used to help review the regeneration works and will also help shape future masterplanning and infrastructure projects across the borough, tying in with the current consultation on the updated Local Plan.
The Wokingham town centre Regeneration survey can be found on the council’s Engage Wokingham Borough site.
People have until Monday 17 January 2022 to submit their feedback.
