Council builds green routes for borough

PLANS are being made to allow residents to safely walk from Arborfield Green to Cantley Park, thanks to a council-run Greenways Project.

The aim is to connect footways together and create new ones, so that residents can use traffic-free routes to get between major developments that have been created in recent years.

The first phase, California Way, is already in use and links Arborfield Green with the FBC Centre via California Country Park.

The second phase will link Arborfield Green to the new development at North Wokingham via Cole Lane, Coombes Lane, Foxhill, Woosehill and Cantley Park.

The first section creates a new greenway route through Cantley Park and Matthewsgreen, and links to Woosehill.

Although the route is largely fixed, Wokingham Borough Council is asking for comments to help shape final decisions on the route and detailed design.

Cllr Parry Batth, executive member for environment and leisure at WBC, said: “The greenways project is a great benefit to our residents.

“We will have a network crisscrossing the borough of walking and cycling paths to give our residents an alternative to their cars.

“Not only will this help cut down on congestion, but it will also improve our air quality and the health of our residents.”

He added: “The Covid-19 pandemic has really shown us how important our health and wellbeing is. The greenways network will be such an asset to our communities once it is built – we will all be able to commute to work or school, get to the shops, and go enjoy our beautiful countryside, all without the need to our cars.”

Funding for the schemes comes mostly from developers’ contributions, as part of the major new developments at Arborfield, Shinfield and North and South Wokingham.

Due to the Covid pandemic, no public information sessions are planned. Instead, the council is asking residents to submit any comments or suggestions regarding this section of the route by Monday, August 31.

For more details or to make a comment, log on to wokingham.gov.uk and click on consultations, call 0118 974 6000 or email greenways@wokingham.gov.uk