Progress is being made to replace an old building supplies firm with a care home in Woodley.
A developer won permission to build a 68-bed care home at the former Travis Perkins following a Wokingham Borough Council planning meeting last year.
The site, near the Bull & Chequers pub, has been disused since the firm relocated in 2021, with the vacancy attracting anti-social behaviour.
During the planning meeting when the care home was approved, councillor Alison Swaddle (Conservative, Bulmershe & Coronation) said an illegal encampment had “made life hell” for neighbours.
She welcomed the development to help secure and improve the area.
Cllr Swaddle said: “They [neighbours] were really keen that development came in. They didn’t want housing, but they were pleased with the care home because we’ve all got parents who are aging, grandparents, who want to stay local.”
The meeting took place last April, and now more details of the project have been approved – allowing it to progress.
These details relate to vehicle access, a bat licence determining the development will be acceptable, protection for trees on the site, and sustainability measures to control carbon emissions.
Bat protection measures have been laid out by Natural England, which involves a licensed ecologist talking to contractors laying out best practice for spotting bats during the demolition phase.
A total of 24 parking spaces will be provided, with three of these being disabled spaces.
All neighbouring trees are off-site, with the developers laying out in a report what measures will be undertaken to protect them. These include putting up barriers for the entirety of the construction phase.
The details were approved by Wokingham Borough Council’s planning department on Monday, March 24.
You can view these detailed applications by typing references 250342 and 250208 into the council’s planning portal.
The project had previously proved controversial, with councillors rejecting it in November 2023, judging that the proposed care home would overlook neighbours’ homes creating a ‘harmful sense of enclosure.’
The applicant, Propco Woodley Green, appointed a new architect to make adjustments to the design, and engaged with neighbours.
There was also concern that the project would increase pressure on NHS services.
The Buckinghamshire, Oxfordshire and Berkshire West Integrated Care Board asked council planning officers to secure £58,752 from developers towards new infrastructure to support patient services.
It had raised concerns that the Loddon Vale GP practice is under pressure due to a number of upcoming developments in Woodley.
Any monetary contributions the developer will make are negotiated in a section 106 legal agreement with the council.
