r/wokingham
▲ 7 r/wokingham
Looking back at the regeneration of Wokingham town centre
Hi everyone, hope you’ve been coping in the heat… 🫠
As you may (or may not!) know, we've recently completed our long-running regeneration of Wokingham town centre.
This has taken many years and consisted of many parts, some finished ages ago and others more recently, so we're spotlighting the whole thing across our channels.
We've also added a major new section to our website which gives an overview of the regen and its impact, including interviews with people who've benefited.
Why the regeneration?
If you're relatively new to the town, you might not realise how many improvements we've made to keep it attractive for residents, visitors and businesses.
In the early 2000s, before this project started, Wokingham had a lot of small and poor quality retail units, was dominated by cars and didn't have many decent outdoor or indoor leisure facilities.
The regeneration followed from our 2010 town centre masterplan, which we developed after extensive consultation and set out how the town should develop to 2026.
It was funded by a combination of responsible borrowing, sales of homes, partner contributions and funding from developers building in the area.
Key aspects of the scheme are:
👉 The creation of Peach Place and modernisation of Bush Walk, with attractive shop and restaurant units and a central public space
👉 The transformation of Elms Field and its surroundings, with a new cinema, hotel, shops, restaurants and new homes
👉 A new leisure centre, library and more at Carnival Hub, replacing the outdated Carnival Pool building, with new flats on site
👉 The pedestrianisation of Market Place with improvements for all road users on surrounding streets
👉 Improvements around Wokingham station to the road layout and parking, plus better bus, walking and cycling access
You can also find out:
🤔 How the regeneration is supporting the local economy
🤔 How it's helped to build more of a sense of community
🤔 How we put sustainability at the heart of the project
🤔 How we funded the regeneration
⏳ How it came together, year by year
🏆 The awards which the regeneration has won
🔮 Planned improvements in the town centre beyond 2026
If you have any questions, we’ll try to answer them here. Please be patient though, as we might need to go back to the project team!
u/WokyBoroughCoun — 10 days ago
FREE Comedy Show 23rd July!
My 3 person sketch comedy group are putting on our first show in Reading, for free! This is ahead of our upcoming proper shows in Camden and Bristol in the Autumn.
16+ ish but that's just a recommendation; nothing except strong language and edgy humour.
Fun & free event to enjoy on a summer evening.
Genre: Dark Comedy; think Monty Python meets South Park
Date: Thursday 23rd July 2026
Time: 7pm-8pm
Location: Reading Biscuit Factory - RG1 7QE (5 min walk from Reading station)
DM me on here and use my response as your free ticket!
edit: Might slow down with responses, need to check the pre-existing guest list, will get back to you 48 hours!
u/Charming_Yak_5000 — 11 days ago
▲ 0 r/wokingham
Homeless in Wokingham
I don’t want to come across heartless but this is becoming a blight. In the last month I’ve seen a man fighting the owners of an off licence in the centre he was trying to steal from, a woman in a state of undress out of her head and another begging outside the BP on the Wokingham road. Some of these people are a danger to themselves and others.
We need to be looking after them and getting them the help they need, not allow them to roam around causing trouble. They are a danger to themselves and others.
u/Legitimate_Swim8110 — 11 days ago