RESIDENTS hoping to take a country walk from the Tesco Wokingham roundabout towards Ludgrove School have been shocked by what they’ve seen.
The area is now a construction site.
People have been sharing photos and expressing their horror at the transformation.
A month ago they could access a tree-lined track through paddocks, to one of Wokingham’s remaining green areas.
Now the area beside the supermarket is water-logged, muddy, and bare.
To make way for the central section of a new South Wokingham Distributor Road, in recent days Wokingham Borough Council’s project partner Balfour Beatty has cleared the ancient trees, permanently altering the site.
Many have flocked to social media to share their frustration and dismay.
“It was such a beautiful walk, and now it’s gone,” says one.
“I live near the area, and all we hear now at night is the chopping down of trees.”
Others say the photos have made them weep, and that the scene resembles the scouring of The Shire in Lord of the Rings.
Many ask why all the trees had to be removed, and why now, when birds are nest-building.
“Why couldn’t they keep some of the mature trees like they have on the Bulmershe College estate?” asks one.
Another points out that removing all the trees is folly.
“Tree roots drink up excess flood water,” they say.
“As well as destroying wildlife habitat, removing all the trees increases the likelihood of flooding.
“It’s short term planning for houses rather than long term planning, and common sense has gone out of the window.”
Wokingham Borough Council (WBC), in its residents’ newsletter explains that the finished road will serve 1,800 or so new homes to be built to the south of the railway line.
The Central Section will run from the Waterloo Road roundabout to the roundabout near Tesco, on Finchampstead Road.
The council says it will improve the junction of Molly Millars Lane and Finchampstead Road (Western Gateway) as part of the project.
But people are worried about the impact the development will have on traffic flow.
They express concern about the extra traffic that can be expected on roads already heavily congested at peak times, which they say can only be expected to get worse.
WBC says the current Molly Millars Lane mini roundabout will be upgraded to a full-size roundabout to increase traffic capacity, and that the railway bridge could be widened at a later point subject to funding and agreement with owners Network Rail.
In answering people’s concerns about the destruction of wildlife, and residents’ access to green spaces, the council says: “The current footpath closures will run until the end of this month, and we’ll announce what’s happening after that in due course.
“This project has a landscaping strategy including new trees, hedges, wide verges and flowers along the route of the new road as well as in the nature parks.
“As with all schemes like it, it’s required to provide an increase in biodiversity compared with what existed before.”
Residents say, however, that ancient trees cannot be suitably offset with the planting of new ones.
“The new planned nature parks are bound to be smaller than the areas wildlife had before,” says one.
“There isn’t enough land for both housing and nature.”
For information, visit: wokingham.gov.uk/roads/major-projects and search for south wokingham distributor.
The project plans (approved in 2019) can be viewed at: planning.wokingham.gov.uk and search for planning application: 192928.
