Two classrooms, 48 homes and a new care centre feature in this week's planning round-up.
Bucklers Park gains extra homes and open space
Plans have been approved for 29 extra homes at Bucklers Park on the former TRL test track land, with a previously planned municipal depot dropped in favour of more play space for children. Officers say the visual impact is limited because surrounding woodland screens the site and key boundary trees are being kept. Ten of the new homes will be affordable. Councillors visited the site on 16 May and voted unanimously to approve the scheme on 21 May.
Landscaping signed off for new care home
Bracknell Forest Council has approved detailed landscaping tied to the redevelopment of the former St Margaret Clitherow Roman Catholic Church in Ringmead, Hanworth, into a 72-bed care home. The decision discharges condition 20 of permission 23/00560/FUL, covering planting and long-term landscape maintenance. Drawings for planting beds, tree species, boundary treatments and a revised maintenance plan were accepted, though formal discharge may still need further applications.
SEND school upgrades progress
Wokingham Borough Council approved two linked schemes to expand specialist provision at Bulmershe and Keep Hatch. The projects add teaching accommodation and related works to increase local places for children with special educational needs and disabilities, with emphasis on safeguarding, controlled access and improved outdoor learning. They are expected to cut reliance on costly out-of-borough placements and ease pressure on mainstream classrooms.
Former garden centre set for 19 homes
Wokingham councillors approved 19 homes at Ladds Garden Village, between the A4 and Scarletts Lane in Hare Hatch, following demolition of the garden centre buildings. Members voiced concern about sustainability because the area has only one bus per hour, but approved the plans unanimously. The scheme replaces hardstanding with housing, landscaping, open space and drainage, and promises biodiversity net gain plus contributions to healthcare, green infrastructure, off-site affordable housing and travel measures. Highways officers had objected on accessibility grounds, but officers said traffic will not increase compared with the site's previous commercial use and that overall benefits outweigh the harm.
Ted O'Neill, Local Democracy Reporter
