Let’s get behind the Denmark Street plan

TOMORROW and Saturday, Wokingham’s town centre will look a little different. The news that Denmark Street will be partially pedestrianised on Friday and Saturday should be welcomed. It is a trial and for limited hours, but it’s enough to see what difference it would make, not just to the new normal, but in the longer-term too. We love shopping in Wokingham, Woodley and Twyford. Each has their charms and each their benefits. We should be proud of the range of independent shops, chain stores and, yes, the charity shops and coffee shops. But both Twyford and Wokingham suffer from not being able to offer a completely safe shopping experience. While Twyford’s crossroads are an essential route through the village, Wokingham town centre can, with some ingenuity, be bypassed. It will get easier once the new distributor roads are complete, but for nowwe have to make do. The plan to allow pedestrians to use the road, and cafes and bars to create pop-up pavement cafes is a great one. Yes, it will be a little different, but we think once we’ve given the changes a go we will wonder why we’ve never done it before. Let’s give it a go with confidence.