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Earley

Earley extends northwards from the River Loddon across the Bath Road to its northern boundary at the Thames, and extends westward to border Shinfield at the A327. Within its boundaries lies Whiteknights Park, the University of Reading campus.  Thames Valley Business Park, home to major international companies including Oracle and Microsoft, is in Earley, as is the Sutton’s Business Park.

The town also includes the area of Maiden Erlegh Park, an ancient woodland with an associated lake, which has been designated as a local nature reserve.

Although almost half of the population of over 32,000 residents live in Lower Earley - an area of modern housing started in the 1970s - Earley, which is mentioned in the Domesday Book, does have older housing, some of which dates from the 16th century or earlier.

In addition to Maiden Erlegh Park there are other areas of public parks, sports pitches and open spaces provided by the Borough Council or the Town Council. The Borough Council-owned Loddon Valley Leisure Centre is situated at the Borough Centre. On the same site is the Asda Store, Trinity Church, a public library, the Youth and Community Centre, a doctor’s surgery and one of Earley’s public houses. There are more shops at the Silverdale Road Shopping Centre and at the Three Tuns cross-roads on the Wokingham Road.

Many of the old lanes, in the 1,000 acres developed as Lower Earley, were retained and there is a network of paths and cycleways. These link with public parks and this network, together with the paths through the Community Woodland being planted on the southern boundary of the parish by the Borough Council, provide many new opportunities for summer strolls as well as longer walks.

Leisure facilities and parks

The Town Council runs a number of parks, open spaces and leisure facilities including:

  • Sol Joel Park – an 18 acre park off Church Road, Earley, with four football pitches, two cricket squares, two all weather sports courts and substantial skate park, children’s play area and a pavilion.

  • Maiden Erlegh Park – a 14 hectare site that gained Local Nature Reserve status in 1997 and is looked after by Earley Town Council’s park rangers service and water bailiffs.  The park can be accessed from Instow Road, Beech Lane and Lakeside.  The lake is big enough to require licensing under the Reservoirs Act and is subject to annual inspection by an engineer. Fishing is a popular activity, and permits can be purchased from the Town Council Offices. The reserve is used extensively by students and schoolchildren for field projects.  An Interpretation Centre is located by the Instow Road entrance which houses a lecture room, educational work shop, tool store and garage for the Council’s tractors and boat.  The park also boasts a butterfly garden and a wildflower meadow.

  • Meadow Park is a six acre park with accesses from Roman Way and Meadow Road. It has children’s play equipment, general play area, a picnic area, a sensory garden, shrub beds and a wildflower area.

  • The Town Council has community centres at Radstock Lane and Maiden Place and rooms are available for hire there, as well as at the local churches - Trinity, St Peter’s, St Nicholas’, the Salvation Army Citadel and Our Lady of Peace. Playgroups and meetings for people who are elderly are held in most of these. All services/ bookings should be made through the Town Council Offices on (0118) 986 8995.

 

The Town Plan for Earley was published in 2007 and is also available on Earley Town Council's website. It will be reviewed at least every two years to ensure that the objectives of the Council meet the aspirations of local residents.

Other facilities run by the Council include a lawn cemetery at Mays Lane and an allotment site at Culver Lane.  The Town Council runs play clubs offering full day care at Easter and summer and the Town Council also provides a Help Shop at the Council Offices from which residents can access most local government services.

For a more detailed history of Earley, visit Earley Town Council's website.

View an interactive map of Earley for more details.