Local Green Space Designation

The Growth and Delivery Team of Wokingham Borough Council have asked for suggested areas to be designated as Local Green Space.
To be designated as a Local Green Space it must be:

1. In reasonable close proximity to the community it serves
2. Demonstrably special to a local community and holds a particular local significance, for example because of its beauty, historic significance, recreational value (including as a playing field), tranquillity or richness of its wildlife
3. Local in character and is not an extensive tract of land.

The Draft Local Plan for Wokingham Borough suggests only one area in Earley be designated as Local Green Space. In February, Earley Town Council made a written submission that this be extended to 12 sites - see policy HC4 on page 3.

Earley Environmental Group has used its collective knowledge of Earley and submitted its own response to this consultation. An extract from this submission says:

We are aware that Earley Town Council wrote to the Borough in March requesting that 11 additional sites be given local green space designation. The EEG supports the Town Council in its request. The EEG has, however, undertaken its own assessment of the green spaces within the Earley area and has taken an approach that both encompasses the Town Council’s proposals and enables many local green spaces to be combined to form Green Corridors and Green Routes within and across the area. Our assessment has highlighted how important it is to designate such areas as Local Green Space and thereby provide extended wildlife habitats and recreational facilities for the benefit of the residents of Earley and neighbouring areas.

The EEG’s proposed green areas for Local Green Space designation are as follows:

click on each entry to see a map of the area

1. Thames Riverside Green Corridor
2. London Road Green Corridor
3. Bulmershe Green Corridor
4. Sol Joel Park Open Space
5. Reading University Campus Open Space
6. Meadow Park Open Space
7. Maiden Erlegh Local Nature Reserve Open Space
8. Redhatch Copse Open Space
9. The Thames Water Reservoir Open Space off Elm Lane
10. Chalfont Park and Woods Open Space
11. Pearman’s Copse Local Nature Reserve Open Space
12. Lower Earley Meadows and Woodlands Green Corridor(Map A and Map B)
13. Lower Earley Events Field Open Space
14. Rushey Way Green Route.

The EEG’s assessment of each of these sites is given in the Table below. The assessment has been based on the criteria for the designation of Local Green Space status used in the Borough Council’s Topic Paper ‘Local Green Space’ dated January 2020. We have not confined our assessment to green areas within Earley but have extended into adjacent areas in order to complete corridors and routes. The EEG’s approach demonstrates the need for innovation in creating Green Corridors within urban areas and for the Borough to formally identify, adopt and protect the following locations as such:

• Thames Riverside running the extent of the river between Kennet Mouth and Sonning Bridge, including LGS09 in WBC’s Topic Paper
• London Road green area running along the southern side of the A4 London Road between Shepherd’s Hill Roundabout, the A3290 Roundabout and The Drive
• Bulmershe-Highwood green area running between Reading Road and the A3290; LGS07 within WBC’s Topic Paper;
• Pearman’s Copse running north of Lower Earley Way (West) between Beeston Way and Shinfield Road
• Lower Earley Meadows and Woodlands running alongside the River Loddon and the eastern and southern boundary of Lower Earley between Loddon Bridge (at Wokingham Road) and Danehill.

You can read EEG's full submission, which includes the full assessment of each site.