Latest news from Finchampstead - May 2026

We should see a lot of progress this year with Arborfield Green and Finchwood Park facilities, including the grass pitch refurbishment, sports pavilion and more allotments. I have been pushing hard for the legal dispute to be resolved on the new tennis courts and hope this will be resolved for the tennis season.

The site of the new community centre, between Sainsburys and the gym, should be cleared this summer. Wokingham Borough Council has taken over the project and, with our local parish councils, will now finalise the design. The community centre will be in addition to a new nursery and pre-school. Bohunt Sixth Form will open this September, and I am expecting news on plans for the Finchwood Park primary.

The South Wokingham Distributor Road project at the Finchampstead Road end opened early in March. I talk regularly with Thames Water in relation to their work on Bearwood Road and Barkham Road, and with the project team who are working hard to build the new connections that will go from Tesco around the south of Wokingham Town, to ensure that disruption is kept to the minimum. Passenger numbers continue to grow on the Leopard 3 bus service, and I hope to have some good news soon on the first phases of improved cycle connections to Wokingham.

To help make our communities safer and nicer to live in, the council is intending to set safer speed limits in town and village centres, residential neighbourhoods and to review rural minor road speed limits. You can read more about this by searching online for “Wokingham safer streets”. You can nominate areas which you think need review, for consideration alongside priorities for change from parish councils. The consultation on initial priorities is open until 1 May.

Councillor Adrian Betteridge
Liberal Democrat councillor for Barkham and Arborfield