Join Woodley Town Mayor, Cllr Janet Sartorel, and Woodley Town Deputy Mayor, Cllr Juliet Anderson for a quiz night to raise money for the Mayor’s chosen charity:
Woodley Lunch Bunch
The event opens at 7pm, with a prompt quiz start at 7.30pm
£6 per ticket (plus booking fee)
Teams of up to 8 per table
Cash bar on the night with nibbles on all tables
Raffle tickets can also be purchased with cash to win some fantastic prizes! (£1 per ticket/£5 per strip)
Come and show off your general knowledge and raise money for a well-deserved cause which supports many of Woodley’s residents.
Housing plays a huge role in the health, environmental, social and economic well-being of everyone who lives in the borough. It is more than just bricks and mortar; everyone is affected by housing.
Wokingham Borough Council is in the process of updating its Affordable Housing Strategy and its Young People’s Housing Strategy and would like to seek your views as to whether you think the Council is prioritising the right areas and has identified the right actions to work towards tackling these priorities.
Apply for latest round of Community Diversity Grants
The borough’s Equality Forum has re-opened the fund for applications and is offering a total of £2,500
Community groups are being urged to apply for the latest round of Community Diversity Grants being made available.
The borough’s Equality Forum has re-opened the fund for applications and is offering a total of £2,500. Any new or small community voluntary organisation can apply for a maximum grant of £500 to help with things such as developing the organisation, holding events and increasing employment opportunities of protected characteristic communities in the borough.
Applicants will provide innovate and imaginative approaches to promoting inclusion and commit to tackling inequality and discrimination locally. Organisations can apply by downloading the application form from Wokingham Borough Council’s website.
A panel from the forum, which has more than 30 members from a diverse range of groups, will decide the successful applications.
Alice Kunjappy-Clifton and Emma Cantrell, joint chairs of the Equality Forum, said: “We are delighted to see another round of funding open, giving even more community groups the chance to enhance the local offer available to minorities in Wokingham Borough.
“A great deal of good has already been done thanks to previous rounds of funding. These small grants make a big difference to smaller, underrepresented communities. We’ve seen from the grants awarded what a lasting impact the money can make.”
Previous grant recipients
The previous round of applications closed in October last year and saw another £2,500 awarded. The successful organisations were:
Berkshire LGBT+ Parents Network
Me2 Club
Parenting Special Children
Project Salama
Headway Thames Valley
The first batch of grants were awarded towards the end of 2022. Almost £5,000 was given to nine organisations making a difference locally. Case studies on how the money has been used can be found on the council’s website.
The initiative is funded by the council and is part of its Equality Plan 2021-25, where it has pledged to act on its commitments to equality, diversity and inclusion in the way it plans, delivers and shapes its services.
Cllr Rachel Bishop-Firth, executive member for equalities, inclusion and fighting poverty, said: “The benefits of the money awarded through Community Diversity grants are widespread and I am excited to see another round of funding has opened for applications.
“Providing a meaningful impact to underrepresented communities in the borough is a huge part of the council’s ongoing commitment. These community groups know how to help people and tailor proposals to meet their needs. I look forward to seeing lots of applications.”
Applications must be submitted by 5pm on Thursday 8 February.
Our grants
During the current financial year, Woodley Town Council has allocated funds to make the following grants:
Community Grants – Up to £250, for community groups / organisations either based in or supporting residents of Woodley, to fund one-off costs such as specific projects or purchases.
Individual Grants – Up to £100, for individuals under the age of 21 living in Woodley, excelling in sporting or cultural activities, to fund representation at county, regional, national or international events.
Youth Grants – Up to £3,000 (although exceptions will be considered), for organisations, to assist and facilitate projects that reach, engage and support young people (those aged 21 and under) in Woodley.
Annual Grants – No cap, for fully constituted ‘not for profit’ organisations either based in or supporting residents of Woodley, to fund annual running costs or specific projects.
Please visit the Grants section on our website for more information, including how to apply and when.
Plans for new woodland and wildflower meadows at Wokingham Borough Council-owned Ashenbury Park are moving forward under a trial scheme that could benefit the whole borough, both environmentally and financially.
Planting and seeding at Ashenbury Park in Woodley is set to start in early spring and continue throughout the year. This is part of a pilot initiative to make the site more welcoming to wildlife by improving and enriching its natural habitats, a concept known as “biodiversity net gain” (BNG).
The pilot was approved by Wokingham Borough Council’s (WBC) decision-making executive in March last year and, if successful, could lead to further enhancements at other green spaces across Wokingham Borough.
Protecting green spaces and raising funds
By improving the biodiversity of its existing properties, like countryside parks, public open spaces and farmland, WBC hopes to become a provider of so-called “BNG units” to developers.
These will soon be created under new Government rules aimed at offsetting the impact of development, and ensuring a positive outcome for the environment, by creating new wildlife habitats, restoring degraded ones and improving existing ones.
The new rules, part of the Environment Act 2021, will require all new developments to provide a BNG of at least 10 per cent. This is measured against Government standards and must be protected for at least 30 years.
Developers must assess their sites after completion and, if they find biodiversity has improved by less than 10 per cent, they must provide additional BNG units off-site to make up for it.
They can buy BNG units from any landowners, including local authorities, who create and maintain new or enhanced biodiversity habitats. The landowners are required to monitor their own sites to ensure their improvements are succeeding.
The first step in a green transformation
Wokingham Borough Council intends to plant more than 1.7 hectares of native British trees, likely including oak, alder, birch, wild cherry, hawthorn and more, to extend the existing woodland at Ashenbury Park and link up the two adjacent local wildlife sites.
They would offer significantly more natural habitats and provide valuable food sources to help countless species thrive, from insects like stag beetles, butterflies and caterpillars to birds and other animals like squirrels, badgers and deer.
Another 4.8 hectares of wildflower meadows are proposed between the new and existing woodlands, where the soil is not deep enough for tree planting. These will be made up of colourful flowers like oxeye daisies, common knapweeds, lady’s bedstraws and bird foot trefoils to provide new nectar sources for insects. The existing paths will be kept as mown paths, so residents can roam freely and enjoy nature without disturbing the wildlife.
Residents, especially frequent park users, and other interested parties can learn more about the proposals and designs and share their thoughts on WBC’s Engage website.
The plans are based on detailed studies of how welcoming the park already is for wildlife, as well as its soil and landscape. The improvements would cover most of the site, though the children’s play area and the events field would stay as they are.
A win-win for everyone
Cllr Ian Shenton, executive member for environment, sport and leisure at WBC, said: “We expect the biodiversity net gain scheme to offer a win-win for everyone – not only developers, but also residents, us as a council and the environment.
“This innovative scheme would help raise much-needed funds to create and enhance some of our green spaces, which will be maintained for at least 30 years. Our environment, including wildlife species, would therefore be improved and protected at no cost to us at all.
“We know how important our green spaces are to residents, and this scheme would help balance our need to protect and enhance the natural world around us with the demand for economic development that new development brings.
“The pilot at Ashenbury Park will help us test local demand for the biodiversity net gain scheme and give us hands-on experience in how to deliver it for the benefit of the borough, and more importantly our finances in this challenging time.”
Woodley Town Council Parks & Green Spaces
You can find out which parks and green spaces we manage in Woodley, HERE.
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