Arborfield and Newlands Parish Council Annual Report - May 2026

Through a close working relationship, I can make sure the views of the parish council are
represented in the borough council and explain what the borough council is doing and why.
With council funding under ever-increasing pressure, close relationships are fundamental to
delivering the best possible services to local people. The leader of the borough council
highlighted this as one of his top 3 priorities at the WBC annual council meeting last week.
Arborfield and Newland and our neighbouring parishes are changing as a result of existing
and proposed future developments. I appreciate that many would prefer this not to be the
case, but we do need more housing for local people. The council’s policies will increase
significantly the amount of new housing classed as ‘affordable’, and the amount of social
housing which developers are required to build.

The future Local Plan, which determines where new development is best suited to happen,
includes both Loddon Garden Village and Barkham Square in our neighbourhood. Planned
developments with good facilities and connections are infinitely preferable to the developer-
led building which would result were we not to allocate sites against the government dictated
housing numbers. I see our role as councillors to make sure the developments and
consequences are managed for the benefit of the whole community, existing and new, whilst
opposing development which has not been properly assessed or planned.

Development has some positive. We have a huge increase in the publicly accessible open
space in our area. Almost 60 acres around West Court Manor is now open to the public, and
even bigger areas will open at Rooks Nest Farm and north of the River Loddon. There will
be more routes for people to walk, cycle or wheel for local journeys or for leisure. We will
get another 4 new local schools in addition to the 2 in the former Garrison, and great new
sports facilities in the Arborfield Garrison development. Healthcare provision remains a big
issue with the regional NHS still in denial, which I am working with council officers and our
MP to try and get sorted.
My other role on the council is to lead on Highways and Transport issues, in which there is
seldom a quiet day. Some more road improvements will come with future developments,
and the council is investing significantly more in road maintenance, but accommodating the
number of cars is a challenge. We need to make sure that new local facilities are built in a
timely way and that it is easy and safe for people to walk, cycle and use the buses.
Passenger numbers on our local bus service, the Leopard 3, are growing rapidly, in part
thanks to funding from housing developers. New developments will include safe cycling
routes internally and help fund connections between settlements.
Finally, I am delighted to introduce my new fellow councillor Mohima Bose, elected this
month, who brings a fresh perspective to our role representing you locally. Please do
contact either of us if you think we can help you with any local issues. Our email addresses
are below.
Councillor Adrian Betteridge