Welcome

Welcome to the website of the Emmbrook Residents Association.

We would welcome any comments you might have, especially if you have any suggestions for improving or expanding the content.  Please email your ideas to the webmaster, Chris Mallett, who will be pleased to hear from you.

We look forward to continuing to bring you news and views on matters of interest to the residents of the Emmbrook area.  For the latest news on what’s been happening in our area, please see below ……

What’s New

Development of 53 properties off Old Forest Road (7 Jul 2025)

You may well have seen the article in Wokingham Today about an application recently submitted for this development, or have seen some other posts on social media.

This is a matter we have been watching closely over the last month, and since the application was submitted on 25 Jun, we have been working closely with neighbouring residents to prepare a detailed response to WBC. This was submitted on 7 Jul 2025 and can be found in the planning section.

Whilst development on this site has been agreed by WBC, as part of their Draft Local Plan, we have serious concerns about the developers proposal to access the site from Old Forest Road. We consider the only viable and sustainable option is access from Toutley Road (NWDR).

A summary of our concerns is provided below, and we would encourage residents to submit their comments to WBC on the planning portal using planning application number 251421. The deadline is 24 Jul 2025.

ERA key concerns about the application:

  • NWDR was designed to take traffic from new developments. Access to OFR is not sustainable
  • Access to OFR will result in significant additional traffic through already congested Emmbrook
  • Will result in substantial detriment to existing residents and environmental impact
  • Access road is non-standard width, meaning large vehicles will be unable to pass each other
  • It requires the removal of at least 3 mature trees, one protected with TPO since 1990
  • Applicant has not properly assessed trees to be removed
  • Applicant has accepted that removal of the trees represents a significant ecological impact
  • Toutley Hall is a WBC Building of Traditional Local Character, which is impacted by the road
  • Applicant has accepted that Toutley Hall will be harmed by the proposed access road
  • Does not provide good access to cycling infrastructure, which the NWDR would
  • Application doesn’t properly address access, flooding and privacy issues for existing properties
  • Road safety issues have not been fully addressed for the access to East Toutley Hall
  • The noise assessment is flawed and fails to properly consider impact to existing residents
  • There is no assessment of light pollution impact to local residents

Emmbrook 6th Form building – initial funding approved

During Feb 2025 a petition was started, by parents of children attending The Emmbrook School, demanding that WBC commit to funding the construction of the new 6th Form building promised in 2022 after the school agreed to accept additional pupils.

Planning permission for the new 6th Form building was approved in Mar 2023, and since then ERA has been monitoring the situation with local councillors.

In Jan 2025, the WBC Executive Committee clarified that agreement had been reached with Circle Trust (the multi-academy trust which operates The Emmbrook School, as well as St Crispins School, Emmbrook Infant and Junior Schools, as well as several other primary schools) that WBC were committed to funding the project, subject to two conditions: (a) Funding is approved in 2026/2027 budget (to be agreed Feb 2026); and (b) the WBC review of school place provision (including post-16 education), supports the need for the expansion works being carried out at Emmbrook School.

It remains unclear to ERA why agreement was reached to delay funding, and hence construction of this project, noting planning was approved in 2023. It has however been noted that WBC agreed the transfer of the St Crispins Sports Centre to the Circle Trust. We therefore reasonably infer that the delay to the funding of the Emmbrook 6th Form building was likely linked to that commercial arrangement.

At the WBC Executive meeting held in 19 Jun 2025, it was confirmed that WBC had approved funding to enable preparatory works to begin on the development and construction of the 6th Form building. It was also noted that this was to maintain planning permission, as work would have to commence no later than Mar 2026 (3 years after planning approval).

Approval of the enabling works is a positive outcome, and does provide a degree of reassurance that this project will go ahead, but we understand that full approval is still subject to the conditions referenced in the executive meeting in Jan 2025, and we will be following this carefully to ensure WBC continue to stand by their original commitment.

Air Quality Monitors – Emmbrook Road (Jun 2025)

Residents are likely to have noticed the air quality monitor located on Emmbrook Road, near the schools. Residents have rightly raised concerns over how frequently it is showing a “sad face” and questioning what that means in terms of pollution.

We are aware that the sign is part of a programme, which started in Apr 2025, to monitor pollution levels outside 4 schools including Emmbrook. The monitors are understood to be monitoring air quality (nitrous dioxide – NO2 and particulate emissions) and a “sad face” is displayed when the levels are above the World Health Organisation recommended safe level.

We have approached WBC for further detail on these monitors, and the results. The response we received was:

“The signs monitor their area and every 15 minutes they take an average of the readings and adapt the sign accordingly. One of the things that is confusing people is that they do not change instantly reflecting what people can see happening. Pollution levels are impacted by many things, including wind speeds, time of day and other weather patterns.

We recently had a case where extremely high levels of pollution were detected by the signs, at the time it was a very still day, no breeze at all. It took nearly 1hour 45 minutes for those pollutants to dissipate. Anyone viewing the sign an hour later might not have known what had happened previously so they would assume the signs to be faulty. The other impact is pollution levels rising in early evenings. This happens during weather inversions, this (on a bigger scale) is what causes smog.

The signs monitor multiple levels of pollutants, currently they are only display happy/sad in response to N02.”

Emmbrook Village Hall AGM – Tue 17 Jun (7:30pm)

EVH will be holding their AGM on 17 June and are encouraging all users/residents to attend. Please see their flyer and agenda.

AGM – Thursday 15 May (8pm)

We are holding our 19th AGM this Thursday at the Emmbrook Village Hall from 8pm. All members are encouraged to come along, hear a little about what we have been up to and discuss plans for the future over some wine and nibbles.

If you’re not a member yet, feel free to come along to learn more about what we do to represent the residents of Emmbrook, and the benefits of membership. This year we are voting on suspending membership fees, so what better time to join up.

Wokingham Society – South Wokingham talk

WS are holding an illustrated talk about the changes over time to the land to the south of Wokingham. It is open to all at the Society’s Open Meeting, 7.45 pm for 8.00 pm on Tuesday 18 March 2025 at the Town Hall, Market Place, Wokingham. For further details please see their flyer.

ERA Quiz Night – save the date – 18 Oct 2025

We have confirmed the date of our next Quiz Night. This is a very successful fundraising event for the ERA and, as those who have attended before will vouch, a very entertaining evening with a tasty fish and chip supper. Please save the date and further details on how to book will follow later.

Annual General Meeting – 15 May 2025

Our next AGM will be held on 15 May 2025 at the Emmbrook Village Hall, starting 8pm. We encourage all our members to attend and also those who are keen to find out more about what the ERA does and the benefits of membership. We will also have some wine and nibbles on hand to keep you refreshed.

This year will will also be considering and voting on a moratorium to membership fees, for both existing and new members. So, what better time to join the ERA!

Cantley parking charges – proposals dropped

On the 23 Jan 2025 WBC voted to introduce parking charges for Cantley Park, and confirmed their intention to carry out a consultation with residents. Many concerns had previously been raised by communities using the facilities at Cantley, particularly in relation to the impact to volunteers who contribute many hours to the activities and impact to attendance for these popular sporting and recreational facilities.

The ERA shared these concerns and also raised concerns about the impact to local residents where visitors to Cantley were likely to try and avoid parking charges by using local roads to park instead.

We are therefore very please that WBC announced on 12 Feb 2025 that they will not now introduce the parking charges at Cantley. They said:

“We’ve listened to your concerns and feedback, and we’ll work with the sports clubs and others who use it regularly to ensure it stays financially viable. We don’t want to limit people’s opportunity for sports and leisure, but we have to generate an income to ensure future generations can enjoy all Cantley offers”

Based on these comments we are satisfied that parking charges will not apply for the foreseeable future, but will monitor the situation closely.