Woodley Town Centre Boosts Shopper Experience!

The town centre in Woodley is set to receive fresh attention, with a focus on improving the experience for shoppers.

Woodley town centre is set for a refresh, with a push to make the shopping experience better for locals.

The Woodley Precinct is the main hub for shoppers and people using services, and is almost full — it has an occupancy rate of approximately 95 per cent. Businesses there include Bosco Lounge, Costa Coffee, Domino’s Pizza and Robert Dyas, alongside independents such as the HK Superstore, Home & Gifts and the Yaprak restaurant.

Wokingham Borough Council says it is focusing on breathing more life into the precinct as part of its town centre strategy and has appointed a ‘town centre officer’ to help drive improvements.

At the full council meeting, Cllr Caroline Smith asked what positive impacts the strategy will have after coronavirus changed working and shopping habits. Cllr Mark Ashwell, the council’s executive member for economic development, replied:

“Since the strategy was approved for Wokingham, Woodley and Twyford, our Economic Development team has been working closely with town and parish councils and with local partners to support their businesses. “We have already delivered two successful campaigns, one for Mothering Sunday and another called Love Your Town. “That campaign did not just promote our towns, it gave us fantastic new images and even drone footage that we can use in the future. “A major step forward has been appointing a dedicated Town Centre Officer, someone who has been building strong relationships with local stakeholders. “Alongside that, we have developed a Year One action plan, which focuses on three key things: Producing detailed reports and studies to guide our decisions; Setting up a town centre Strategic steering group; and Providing ongoing support, networking and practical help for our local businesses. “Now, like town centres everywhere, we face the challenges you describe, cost of living pressures, changing shopping habits and evolving ways of work, but we are taking these challenges seriously.  Our plan is about helping our towns adapt, thrive and continue shopping and continue supporting local businesses for the longer term. “We have made great progress, but there is still a lot of work to do and together, we can make our towns centres vibrant, resilient and a place which we are all proud of.”

Afterwards, Cllr Greg Bello, who represents Woodley, said two-thirds of people want more specialist and independent stores in the precinct and asked what the council is doing to deliver that. Cllr Ashwell replied:

“The appointment of our Town Centre Officer, with the spotlight on Woodley, is going to be a great start point for that. “You have got various different landlords there.  We do own as a Borough Council some property there as well so, we are just going to work hard now at putting that strategic plan together.”

Cllr Ashwell gave those answers at the council meeting on November 27.

James Aldridge, Local Democracy Reporter