Home Page - Blagrove Meadows

Welcome

We have been working on our proposals for Blagrove Meadows, which are to create a beautiful new part of Wokingham on the south west edge of the town featuring a mix of new homes, green open spaces and community facilities.

We submitted an outline planning application in 2022 (ref: 222306) and have recently been working to respond to feedback received on the application.

We have made amendments to our previously proposed masterplan following feedback from council officers, the local community and other stakeholders, and have submitted our revisions, additional information and technical evidence to Wokingham Borough Council.

You can view the original proposal prepared prior to the 2022 submission in our virtual exhibition here.

Our team is happy to answer any questions you may have, so please do get in touch. Please register for updates below so you are kept up to date as the consultation and application progresses.

Site masterplan - Click to enlarge

About Berkeley

Berkeley Group builds homes and neighbourhoods across London, Birmingham and the South of England. Our passion and purpose is to build quality homes, strengthen communities, and make a lasting positive difference to people’s lives.

At Berkeley we are committed through Our Vision to create places that stand the test of time, transforming underutilised land into unique, well connected and welcoming places where people and communities can thrive. Berkeley has an exceptional track record which ranges from outstanding new neighbourhoods at Woodhurst Park, Warfield, Taplow Riverside and Eldridge Park, Wokingham, to award-winning regeneration schemes in London such as Woodberry Down and Kidbrooke.

The places we create are built by partnering with local people, community groups and councils, so that they have amenities and infrastructure that are valued locally, connected and well related to their surroundings.

Taplow Riverside - Click to enlarge

Our proposals

After consultation last year, our proposals have been amended to respond to feedback. Our updated proposals are:

Housing

A mix of 350 new homes as before, with affordable homes that will include both homes for rent and shared ownership. This will include a proportion of apartments, smaller two- and three- bedroom houses, and larger family homes.
As part of the affordable homes, we are proposing 8 flats for supported and specialist accommodation for vulnerable adults, which have been identified as being required in the area. These are proposed to include space for care and support on site with details to be agreed with the Council at the ‘reserved matters’ planning stage.
A 68-bed care home to assist in meeting local needs. There is a need for additional care home accommodation in the Wokingham area to meet the long term requirements of the community, and the land for this will be offered to the Council specifically to assist in providing for specialist elderly and dementia care.

Hollyfields Play Area - Click to enlarge

Landscape & Biodiversity

A c.9-hectare Suitable Alternative Natural Greenspace (SANG) will be created. SANG provides mitigation against potential increased visitor numbers to protected habitats, in this case the Thames Basin Heaths, as well as creating a valuable new public green space with new and enhanced habitat for wildlife that is open to all. The plans for this new greenspace have been refined and include increased tree planting, new areas of hedgerow, and various wetlands. Walking routes, including a new woodland walk, will be incorporated.
Alongside the SANG we are proposing two new play areas, allotments, and community orchards.
The newly accessible public green space will connect to existing nearby open spaces, such as Lesley Sears Field and Viking Field to the east, as well as linking to public rights of way.
The proposals have been designed to deliver a biodiversity net gain (BNG), increasing the biodiversity value of the site compared to the current conditions. Existing wildlife habitats, such as badger setts, will be respected and protected. Mature trees and planting will be carefully maintained wherever possible, and net tree numbers will increase, alongside new hedgerow planting across the site.

Edenbrook Country Park - Click to Enlarge

Infrastructure

We have designed the new access from Barkham Road to minimise its impact on existing trees and have included a range of measures to maintain current drainage and ecological connectivity.
We have responded to the detailed feedback provided by Wokingham Council regarding access, and are working closely with the highways department, which has been provided with additional details. This includes our proposal for the existing bus route on Barkham Road to be diverted into the site.
The site will be accessible through a variety of transport modes, including by public transport, by car, by cycle and on foot.
As before, our proposals include downgrading a section of Blagrove Lane to be cyclists and pedestrians to help conserve its character with vehicles to use a new alternative route within the proposed development.
There will be cycle storage and electric vehicle charging for every home.
Financial contributions will be made to support local infrastructure via the Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL).

Cranleigh Play Area - click to enlarge

Sustainability

The homes will be designed to be sustainable and meet or exceed the latest standards. The buildings will be designed to have an efficient building fabric so that less energy is used overall in addition to incorporating new technologies such as photovoltaics and heat pumps. Altogether, these steps are expected at outline stage produce a 21% reduction in CO2 emissions against the baseline standard. Details will be confirmed at reserved matters stage.
Water efficiency will be maximised for all homes.

Taplow Riverside - click to enlarge

Consultation

We are committed to working with the local community wherever possible and keeping people informed about our plans.

Wokingham Borough Council will be undertaking a statutory consultation on our revised submission. You will be able to respond to the consultation via the Wokingham Borough Council’s website. If you would like a direct link to the application online when it is uploaded, please register for updates below.

Your feedback is important as it will shape our proposals in line with community needs. Please do contact us with any queries or comments.

Register for Updates

Please see our Privacy Statement for information

Chelgate Limited collects personal information when you register on this website or lodge comments about the proposed development. By completing this form you agree to Chelgate Limited processing your data and sending you information (if you have provided an email address) about the project on behalf of Berkeley Homes.

Under the General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2000, we have a legal duty to protect any personal information we collect from you. We will only use personal information you supply us for the reason that you provided it for. We will only hold your information for as long as necessary to fulfil that purpose. We will not pass your information to any other parties. All employees and contractors who have access to your personal data, or are associated with the handling of that data, are obliged to respect your confidentiality. If you have any concerns please contact our Data Protection Officer on 020 7939 7980 or data@chelgate.com.