Council seeks views on new Eastern Gateway road plans
PLANS for one of the borough’s major new roads are set to go on display from next week.
An exhibition detailing the proposals for the second phase of the South Wokingham Distributor Road (SWDR), known as the Eastern Gateway, will be held in the area where the road is planned to be located. The planning application is due to be submitted this autumn.
The suggested route would run south from the new Montague Park housing development, over the Waterloo/Reading railway line on a new bridge, and then link to Waterloo Road. The current Waterloo Road level crossing would then close once the new bridge is open, with all traffic including pedestrians using the new one instead.
The road is being designed to cater for the 2,500 new homes in the South Wokingham Strategic Development Location, which includes the Montague Park development.
Later phases of the scheme would continue to a new junction at Easthampstead Road and onto Finchampstead Road, connecting to the existing Tesco roundabout.
The exhibition is due to take place at Montague Park Primary School, in William Heelas Way, between 11am and 6pm on Wednesday, June 28, 4pm to 9pm on Thursday, June 29, and 9am to 1pm on Saturday, July 1.
The exhibition display boards, leaflet, FAQ, and feedback form are also due to be available online for four weeks, from 29 June to 27 July, on the SWDR pages on the borough council’s website.
Visitors will be able to ask questions about the proposed route of the SWDR Eastern Gateway, which was refined following public consultation in 2014, and also find out more about the site investigations, as well as design and analysis being carried out for the Environmental Statement and Environmental Impact Assessment to accompany the planning application.
The exhibition is not a consultation, although people will be able to make comments about the planning application on a questionnaire available at the exhibition or on the council’s website until 27 July. This feedback will be summarised in the Statement of Community Engagement document submitted as part of the planning application.
Formal feedback into the plans, which planners will take into consideration, must be lodged during the four-week statutory consultation period after the planning application has been submitted.
“This exhibition is an opportunity for you to get an up-to-date picture of the scheme and the considerable work carried out preparing for the planning application before it is submitted,” said Cllr David Lee, executive member for strategic highways at Wokingham Borough Council.
“Your feedback at this stage, whether you attend the exhibition or see it on our website, will be included in the planning application itself.
“But once the application has been submitted, you can also lodge formal feedback which the planners will consider as part of their decision.
“Local residents and businesses have been heavily involved from the start and we want this to continue.”