Toutley East development – reserved matters application
The Toutley East development relates to construction of 130 residential units and a 70 bed care home on land adjacent to Toutley Depot, accessed from Twyford Road. The development received outline approval in July 2022.
WBC have subsequently submitted a reserved matters application for the 1st stage of the development which covers the “Main Infrastructure” (primary access road into and out of the site, the acoustic bund/barrier, flooding attenuation, a pumping station and substation provision).
Site areas covered by the reserved matters application:
Click here to see the masterplan for the site.
Further documents for the outline approval and reserved matters can be accessed via the WBC planning portal.
The application details are subject to consultation until 25 Jan 2023.
St Cecilia’s Primary School – opening Jan 2023
We have just heard from the head of the new school located in Emmbrook Place (St Cecilia’s Church of England Primary School) that they have now agreed with WBC and DfE that they will be opening in Jan 2023 for KS2 children (ages 7 – 11), subject to passing their pre-opening inspection.
The school had previously indicated that they would not be opening until Sep 2023, subject to sufficient applications, but it has emerged that there are limited spaces in the area for the KS2 children triggering the earlier opening for that age group.
See below the flyer about the opening and opportunity to attend open events.
At this stage we are still awaiting information about the opening of the new community centre attached to the school and who will be running the centre. This is a decision to be made by WBC and we will continue to push for further information.
Old Forest Meadows – Deer bench improvements
Many will be familiar with the deer-bench in Old Forest Meadows, which was hewn from a large oak removed as part of the Matthewsgreen housing development.
The work was completed by a local sculptor back in 2018 and more recently water had started collecting on the seat. We are pleased to announce that, following requests by the ERA, WBC have recently completed some work to re-level the bench which should help mitigate against further water damage.
Emmbrook Residents Association AGM (May 2022)
Following the absence of an AGM for the last two years, due to COVID, we will be holding our next AGM on 10 May 2022. The AGM will be held in the Emmbrook Village Hall, Emmbrook Road from 8pm. The official business should last about an hour with an opportunity to mingle afterwards over some wine and nibbles.
This will be our first AGM since very sadly losing our much treasured chair Paul Gallagher. As we have been unable to replace Paul in the role of chair (they were very big shoes to fill), we intend to continue operating the ERA as a collective committee, and will be seeking to update the constitution accordingly.
We will also be providing an update on our activities over the past few years and our plans going forward. We encourage all our members to attend, and for those residents who are not members please do come along to hear more about what we do and hopefully we can encourage you to join up.
WBC Local Plan Update (11 Jan 2022)
WBC launched a new consultation on the revised Draft Local Plan on 22 Nov 2021.
The consultation period ends at 5pm on 24 Jan 2022.
The revised plan (previously consulted on in Mar 2020), which has been caused by the Ministry of Defence’s objection to the proposed “new town” at Grazeley due to its proximity to the AWE at Burghfield, includes sites identified for further development within or adjacent to Emmbrook, notably: 15 properties behind Toutley Hall on Old Forest Road, and 130 dwellings plus a 70 bed care home on land to the east of the Toutley Depot. The later is currently subject to a planning application (ref 211777).
Don’t miss your opportunity to tell WBC what you think, complete the online survey here.