Arborfield was our first family home in 1996 before moving to Wokingham Town, where I am a town councillor.
I served 20 years as an Army engineer, leaving as a Lieutenant Colonel before a second career managing large projects in industry. Our children went to local schools. When they left the nest in 2018 my wife and I took early retirement to do more in the local community and use our experience to help others. I am a director of a local sheltered housing organisation, I campaign for improved facilities for walking and cycling and coach junior cycling with the Sprockets cycle club based at Bohunt School.
After years of gridlocked discussions, the Lib Dems have finally brought about an agreement between Wokingham Borough Council and the Bohunt Trust to expand the school, delivering extra year 7 places and the long-awaited sixth-form facility.
Inflation has almost doubled the cost of the Bohunt Sixth Form project, leading to delays. The previous administration had agreed a budget of £5,700,000 but the latest estimates are for a real total of £10,500,000! The Lib Dems are committed to delivering the Sixth Form but finding that extra money isn’t easy. Bohunt and Wokingham Borough Council have now both committed extra funding and are working together to find the best way forward, with a number of options being assessed. The complex work on to evaluate these should be completed this Autumn. The school's latest intention is to open the sixth form in September 2025.
The location plan for the new schools at Rook’s Nest Farm has another unexpected upside in that even more of this valuable site will be made available for community use, in addition to the Covid Memorial Wood planned for the area of the farm adjacent to California Country Park. Ideas for this extra space include a further extension to the memorial wood, space for allotments, a community orchard, or some community sports space. A decision on these alternatives will be made once the layout for the school site has been finalised. Local councillor Ian Pittock says, “Two years ago, we were aghast at plans for 270 houses on the site. This is a much better outcome.”
With planning consent granted for the district centre, Sainbury’s have now made a formal application for their new store at Arborfield Green. This great new shop should be open for business early in 2025 – making Arborfield a real community at last!
Your Lib Dem councillors led the way in opposing the unwanted speculative development plans at Edney’s Hill. You can never say ‘never’ with developers, but for now at least, the local green fields continue to be protected.
Barkham Lib Dems are delighted that the planning authority has refused permission to build 40 homes on the green space at Edneys
Hill. Councillor Ian Pittock says, “The community really pulled together in opposing this speculative application. We are mindful that the developer could try re-applying with an alternative scheme, but the principle that this is not a suitable development location has been decided by the council. “Your Lib Dem councillors will continue to support the community view.”
The Arborfield Green district centre has been gridlocked for years but the Lib Dems have managed to push the developer Crest Nicholson and Wokingham Borough Council into delivering long-overdue commitments to the community. Planning consent for the new District Centre was given last October and work should start later this year.
When the Lib Dems took over at Wokingham Borough Council in May 2022, the whole project was stuck, and local people felt powerless and deserted. Newly-elected Lib Dem councillors in Finchampstead and Barkham have worked to get Arborfield back to the top of the council agenda by working hard with council officers to take a more robust approach and get the developer back on track.
After 18 months of hard work, building for the District Centre is now due to start early Spring 2024. This means that an application can come forward for the new supermarket, also expected to start building at the same time. With funding for the expansion of Bohunt school also agreed, things are finally looking up for people at Arborfield Green. Lib Dem parliamentary candidate for Wokingham, Clive Jones, says, “Of course there is still some way to go before community facilities at Arborfield are completed, and it’s all taken far too long. “But I am very pleased at how the Lib Dem team at Wokingham Borough Council have shaken things up and got things moving again after so many years of drift and delay.”
Firstly I'd like to say a huge thank you to the people of Wokingham who have put their trust in me and elected me to represent you in parliament as the first ever Liberal Democrat MP for Wokingham
Stephen Conway's interview with the local paper.
As the local elections draw near, it is a good time to reflect on some of the good things that the council has achieved over the last two years under Lib Dem leadership.
All my working life was spent communicating with the public (or ‘customers’!) in an open and honest way and I find myself at a loss to understand why politics needs to be different.
Barkham Solar Farm, the first of its kind in Wokingham Borough, is now expected to generate an income of £2.7 million a year, more than five times the original forecast.
This means that, in addition to generating enough green renewable energy to power thousands of homes, Barkham Solar Farm will also generate an income of circa £2.74 million a year, which can be used to help fund essential services.
Our volunteer deliverers are the backbone of our campaign. Thank you if you can help!
