Page 1083 - Reading Mercury

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Thur 23 Sept
FAR REACHING CHANGES FOR WOKINGHAM
SWEEPING changes which could have far-reaching effects on Wokingham’s town
centre are revealed today (Thursday). The face-lift proposals are contained in
preliminary reports prepared by Wokingham District Council following a growing
concern that the town is being choked by increasing trade and traffic. Ten years ago,
the town centre served a catchment population of 15,000. Today that figure has
doubled to 30,000, and it is this massive growth which is responsible for most of the
problems. The Wokingham Town Map, approved in 1966, is still used as the basis for
controlling development within the town. Basically, however, the map does little
more than zone areas for different forms of development and is largely out of date,
failing to take account of such developments as Woosehill and the designation of the
Wokingham Conservation Area.
Chief planning officers of both the district and county council now accept that a new
plan setting out clear policies is urgently required. The first step in tackling the
problem has come with the publication this week of two reports, one dealing with
traffic and pedestrian movement, and the other with-conservation.
The traffic report concerns itself with the movement of pedestrians and vehicles of
all types within the town centre. Some of the problem spots identified are Peach
Street, Market Place and Rose Street. The report states: The town centre with its
historic narrow street pattern, has grown commercially with a substantial increase in
the number of businesses and a shift in retailing towards the larger shops and
supermarkets. This has led to more and larger service vehicles entering the town.
Activity
Market Place, the centre of bustling pedestrian activity, is seriously affected by this
traffic, which passes on all sides of the Town Hall. A serious safety hazard exists with
people trying to cross to and from the market stalls.
The main shopping area of the town—Peach Street—also suffers from very heavy
loads of traffic with the result that the two sides of the shopping street are severed.
Footpaths are too narrow to carry the large numbers of pedestrians and again there is a
constant safety hazard.
Rose Street, one of the most important historic streets in the town, suffers from a
multiplicity of traffic functions. The report suggests that the primary objective of
future policy should be to pedestrianise the Market Place and adjacent parts of
Denmark Street. This objective cannot be achieved until the Inner Distribution Road
scheme is carried out, the first phase is scheduled to commence in about five years’
time.
In the meantime, a programme for immediate action is suggested, which includes:
• New kerbing and increased paving at the junction of Broad Street with Rose
Street, Broad street with Market Place, and Peach Street and Market Place.
• Parking restrictions in The Terrace, Wescott Road, Denton Road, Shute End
and parts of Station Road.
• “Residents Only” parking restrictions in Sturges Road and Crescent Road.
Closure of Luckley Path to vehicles.
• “Nose-in” parking to be removed outside 54-72, Peach Street for safety
reasons.
On the question of car parking, the main parks open to the public are managed by the
district council, whose policy is that they should be self-financing. In order to ensure more
efficient use of the town’s parks, it is proposed that differential rates of charging will be

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