The population of Wokingham and the surrounding areas will pass 200,000 in 10 years, it has been predicted.
Wokingham Borough covers the eponymous town, the Reading suburbs of Earley, Woodley and Shinfield, and surrounding villages.
According to projections by the Office of National Statistics (ONS), the population is expected to grow by 12.2 per cent less than 10 years from now.
The population of the borough was 181,383 people in 2022, which is expected to grow by 22,105 to 203,488 people in 2032.
The majority of that growth will be driven by people moving from other council areas in England to Wokingham Borough.
The biggest factor in this population change is net internal migration, which will increase the population by 11,353 people.
The ONS predicts substantial population transfer in Wokingham Borough, with 135,003 people moving to the area and 123,650 people moving from the area between 2022 and 2032.
This would result in a net increase in the population of the borough by 6.3 per cent.
The prediction is also based on projections for births and deaths, with births outstripping deaths, contributing to a population increase of 1.9 per cent.
Between 2022 and 2032, the ONS expects there to be 14,378 deaths and 17,853 deaths in the area.
The immigrant population in Wokingham and the Reading suburbs is also predicted to increase, adding thousands to the population of Wokingham Borough.
The ONS website states: “Net international migration is projected to increase the population by 8,768, with 20,537 people moving to the area and 11,769 people moving from the area between 2022 and 2032.
“This would increase the population in Wokingham by 4.8 per cent, compared with an increase of 6.5 per cent in England.”
One way Wokingham Borough is expected to lose population numbers is through people moving to Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, the other nations that make up the UK.
This is called ‘net cross-border migration’ in the ONS data.
While 4,145 people are expected to move to Wokingham Borough from the other UK nations, that will be outstripped by the 5,521 people expected to leave, resulting in a net reduction of 1,377 people.
Wokingham Borough Council has engaged in strategic planning in recognition of this population growth.
Its existing Local Plan encourages developers to build homes in defined areas it calls strategic development locations (SDLs).
The SDLs in the borough cover North Wokingham, which is largely complete, South Wokingham, Shinfield Parish and Arborfield Garrison.
The council is currently undertaking a Local Plan Update process, which involves a proposal for nearly 4,000 new homes south of the M4, called the Loddon Valley Garden Village project.
It also has a years-long new roads programme in an effort to speed up journeys and ease pressures on the existing highways network.
Completed projects include the Shinfield and Arborfield relief roads.
The council is moving forward with its project to construct the South Wokingham Distributor Road, which will run parallel to the London to Waterloo railway line and serve the South Wokingham SDL.
