Broken Brow, the Thames Path and the Coal Woodland constitute a green lung bordering the River Thames. It is edged by mature woodland and provides a rich habitat for wildlife, including: birds, reptiles, small mammals, bats and insects.

This stretch of the Thames riverside is well used and enjoyed by nature lovers, joggers, cyclists, families, dog walkers alike. It is currently under threat.

What is the threat?

In 2018 Wokingham and Reading Borough Council tried to build a concrete flyover alongside the Thames and bridging over the Kennet mouth, through Coal Woodland. Known as the East Reading MRT the road would have been a bus, cycle and pedestrian route fed by a new Park and Ride at Broken Brow (behind the Wokingham Waterside Centre, off the Thames Valley Park roundabout). The scheme contravened many local and national planning policies designed to protect precious green space.

The people of Wokingham and Reading stopped the MRT flyover, but incredibly the fight is not over.

Sadly the East Reading MRT is still in Reading’s New Local Plan and Wokingham have declared their section of Thames riverbank as safeguarded for strategic transport network improvements.

Help us protect Reading & Wokingham Thameside from development. Permanently!

Now that the fight against the MRT is over we are focussing on how to protect the riverside for future generations. Key to this is an acknowledgement from Wokingham and Reading Councils that the area is ‘Local Green Space’ and will not be developed.

Local Green Space designation is a way to provide special protection against development for green areas of particular importance to local communities. (gov.uk local green space guidance ).

What has prompted our campaign? Why the urgency?

In Wokingham Council’s 2020 ‘Local Green Space Topic Paper’ the riverside was not recommended as Local Green Space.

The evidence presented in the paper was partial, misleading, factually incorrect and completely omitted any mention of the enduring efforts of local people to protect the space over decades that provides ample proof of the importance of the space to local people.

Why We Need Funds?

We know that there are thousands of people on Social Media who support SOAR's campaign. We now need to reach the tens of thousands in the area who are still unaware that the riverside is still under threat. Please give what you can to fund an advertising campaign to reach those who would be concerned as you are, if only they knew.

If you believe that this precious Thames riverside land should be for everyone, please make a donation and share this campaign with your friends and family.

Thanks in advance for your support

Links to Wokingham’s Topic Paper and to Reading’s draft Transport Strategy.

Our website https://saveourancientriverside.co.uk/.