Council services
Profile of Wokingham Borough
Made up of 17 parishes and towns, each with their own distinctive character, the community we serve is an area of great diversity. It offers a unique blend of countryside and town, historic features and up-to-date facilities, big business and market town trading.
Characteristics
- Despite being near the nation's capital and home to modern employment areas, the Borough is noted for its charming woodlands, heaths, peaceful rivers and secluded villages
- The historic market town of Wokingham, the picturesque riverside villages of Sonning and Wargrave and the rural communities of Finchampstead and Remenham contrast with the more modem developments of Lower Earley and Woodley
- The River Thames forms a natural boundary to the north of the Borough between Remenham and Henley - the district actually hosts the world-renowned Henley Regatta course
- The scenery to the south of the Borough is characterised by miles of mixed woodlands, where remnants of the old Royal Chase of Windsor Forest are interspersed by scented pinewoods and extensive plantations of conifers - many of the roads run through splendid avenues, of which Wellingtonia Avenue at Finchampstead is perhaps the most impressive
Local Economy
- The Wokingham Borough is a prosperous area with a thriving economy, very low unemployment and a concentration of multi-national companies, in and around its boundaries
- Companies include Microsoft and Oracle - much of the University of Reading is also within the Borough
- There are a number of industrial estates, providing opportunities for small and medium sized companies to expand
- The area is economically buoyant with growth sectors of the economy well represented eg. information technology and communications
- Development land for employment and housing is constrained - there is competition between the two for available space.
- Labour supply and skill shortages, transportation difficulties and the high cost of housing typify the problems experienced
Employment
- Labour Market Statistics published in April 2005 show only 796 people registered as unemployed and claiming unemployment benefits – 0.8% of the resident working age population
- In the region as a whole and in the Borough specifically, many firms report skills shortages
Demographics
- The population is relatively young compared with the rest of Berkshire
- Other key characteristics of households in the Borough revealed by the 2001 census are that fewer than 4% of households include lone parents with dependant children; over 83% of the adult population are owner occupiers and the ethnic minority population has increased over the last decade with 6.1% of the population being non-white
Wealth and deprivation
- The 2001 census found the Borough to be the healthiest in the country with only 4.6 % of the population reporting 'not good health' as well as the highest number of people in good health
- Ownership of two or more cars/vans is the third highest in the country
Population growth
- During the 1980s, Wokingham was the second fastest growth area in the country, behind Milton Keynes
- From 2006 to 2016, 27,000 new homes are proposed for Berkshire in the draft regional guidance
Housing
- The housing growth has taken place on three major developments: Lower Earley, Woosehill and Woodley Airfield, providing accommodation for 27,500 people - each development includes shopping and community facilities, primary schools and open spaces for recreation
- The challenge facing the Borough is to balance the need for housing development against the protection and enhancement of the pleasant semi-rural environment
- The Wokingham Borough is vulnerable because it lacks brownfield sites and protected areas compared with other parts of Berkshire
- There are 2,900 council houses, spread throughout the Borough - they are generally in a good state of repair and there are no concentrated areas of deprivation, measured against government indices
