Wokingham borough council has confirmed that planned work on Easthampstead Road in Wokingham is set to be delayed until next year.
At a recent full council meeting of Wokingham borough council, Cllr Rebecca Margetts asked Cllr Adrian Betteridge, the executive councillor for active travel, transport and highways: “On the south Wokingham distributor road web page on the council website, it states that Easthampstead Road will be closed between Star Lane and Heathlands Road with a diversion in place from early Winter 2025 into 2026.
“Please can the lead member for highways provide further details about this.”
In his reply, Cllr Betteridge said: “These were the original provisional dates as part of the project, and I am sorry that they have not been previously updated.
“In line with my response at July’s meeting, Easthampstead Road is expected to be closed from April 2026, thus avoiding a simultaneous closure with Finchampstead Road.
“The exact dates are not yet finalised between the contractor and the council, and there are some dependencies on other parties.
“Our current expectation is that the work will commence in April 2026, and an exact date will be communicated when available.
“As you say, the website has now been updated to reflect this position and thank you for alerting the team to this issue.”
Cllr Margetts said: “That has provided some reassurance because lots of residents are battling through various road closures and diversions at the moment to get into Wokingham Town.
“I am already aware that businesses in Wokingham are seeing the effect of these road closures with a reduction in footfall.
“ Will this Council consider initiatives such as free Christmas weekend parking to support businesses at this difficult time to try and proactively support them in the coming times with this reduced footfall?”
Cllr Betteridge said: “I am very aware of congestion. In fact, on the first day of the new roadworks I went on my bike and cycled every route in and out of Wokingham.
“Suffice to say that people were happy to stop and talk to me along the road because they were not going anywhere fast.
“I do understand. I am pleased to say that things are much better now, albeit with one of the two main roads into Wokingham to the south closed, we are suffering from congestion.
“In terms of the impact on the town centre, the people I have spoken to have not commented on a big difference.
“Congestion is still bad in the morning and in the evening peaks, but during the day is generally ok, but we will obviously continue to talk with businesses and residents on this subject.”
