Page 1187 - Reading Mercury

Wed 10th Nov
TANNERY SAVED FROM A HIDING
HISTORICAL TOWN BUILDING WON’T BE DEMOLISHED
An historical town building has been saved from demolition after developers and
planners failed to see eye to eye. Millgate Homes had applied to demolish the former
tannery in Eyre Court, Finchampstead Road, Wokingham, so it could redevelop the
site as flats. But a meeting of the development control sub-committee, held on
Wednesday Nov. 3rd put a halt to the bulldozers. The committee felt the size of the
new building—housing 10 flats—would cause problems for existing residents—it
would be a loss of light for neighbouring residents. It was decided that negotiations
had gone on long enough and the application was refused.
It was thought that the building may have been one of Wokingham’s original silk
mills but investigations failed to prove this and conservationists were unsuccessful in
their bid to name the site as a listed building.

st
Wed 1 Dec
TOWN’S POLICE STATION IS AXED
The axe is set to fall on Wokingham’s police station despite months of speculation
and top-level denials. Speaking exclusively to the Wokingham Times yesterday,
Inspector Paul Cassell confirmed the Rectory Road station would be replaced with a
town centre ‘one stop shop’. He told of how morale had been hit hard but he said that
in the Wokingham force remained the most dedicated officers he had worked with.
The decision to close the station follows a nationwide review of the viability of
police-owned buildings. The proposals to open a police shop—which will be staffed
by civilians and open the same hours as the existing station—were unveiled by
Inspector Cassell at a meeting of Wokingham Town Council’s finance and general
purposes committee last Tuesday. The committee decided to write to Chief Supt.
Morrison of the Reading with Wokingham police area offering space in the town hall
as a possible shop base.

NEW LIBRARY STARTED
The first chapter in the construction of Wokingham’s new library began recently. It
is hoped that building work will be completed to enable readers to start borrowing
from the super-library in autumn 1996. The new premises will be on the former G. K.
Motors site on the corner of Denmark Street and Langborough Road. It promises to be
three times the size of the current facilities in Montague House and thousands more
books are to be bought.
Berkshire County Council sold the Montague House site to developer Peter Luff
who has plans to build a Waitrose super-store there. The project has been financed
through money from the sale and funding from the Wokingham district and town
councils.
Montague House will continue to serve as Wokingham’s library until the new
building, where work started on September 11th, is finished.

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