Wokingham Borough Council serves around 175,000 residents in Berkshire, South East England. One of the least deprived areas in the country, Wokingham benefits from its location in the Thames Valley tech corridor with excellent transport links.
The committee discussed a wide range of procurement and service-delivery issues. The biggest commercial theme was the future of 28-38 Peach Street, where members debated disposal, redevelopment, mixed-use and housing options, and the need to test the market while managing parking and community impact. Housing regulation issues were also prominent, including remediation of compliance data, a stock-condition survey out to tender, and system changes to the NEC housing platform. In transport, the committee reviewed the local transport plan, with references to bus service tendering, active travel schemes, road safety work, and data improvements. There was also a policy update on renters’ rights and enforcement.
The meeting covered several major procurement and funding decisions, including new school resource units, retaining Shute End as headquarters, a new local plan timetable, a consultation on revised Community Infrastructure Levy charges, a Thames Valley spatial development strategy partnership, and bus infrastructure works on the A4. Members also discussed adult social care pressures through Optalis, SEND deficit recovery, and capital and treasury outturns showing significant borrowing, grant-dependent investment, and the use of internal balances to manage financial pressure. Several public questions highlighted council administration issues, signage delivery problems, and the Community Infrastructure Levy, but the clearest procurement-relevant decisions were around infrastructure, education provision, and property/financial management.
The committee reviewed year-end performance KPIs, with significant discussion on waste, homelessness, FOI demand, sickness absence, and a reduced business-rates retention settlement. It then considered the future headquarters decision, recommending Wokingham remain at Shute End for at least ten years with around £800,000 of planned capital investment, while also noting an AV replacement contract due in August 2026 and a need to improve car parking and building usability. Members also raised concerns about forward programme accuracy and scrutiny coverage.
The committee’s main procurement-relevant discussion centred on SEND recovery following a critical Ofsted/CQC inspection, including urgent work on wheelchair services, EHCP quality and annual reviews, a new QA framework, and a local SEND reform plan with potential funding implications. Members also discussed school inspection support, budget deficits in maintained schools, possible local authority trust structures, part-time timetable guidance, family help and safeguarding reforms, short breaks provision changes, and a new JSNA to shape future commissioning and service planning.
The meeting considered a new premises licence for Old Blades Garden for Henley Royal Regatta hospitality/bar operations. The key issues were a proposed increase in capacity from 500 to 1,000, extension of alcohol and entertainment hours, noise control, crowd safety, access/egress, and concerns about spillover into Remenham Lane and the towpath. The applicant said the proposal largely formalises an existing 999-capacity arrangement already operated under a TEN, with no material change in operations, while objectors sought tighter conditions, especially on noise and public nuisance.