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University statement concerning the Shinfield Eastern Relief Road planning proposal – University of Reading

Following encouragement from the Local Planning Inspector's report into the current Wokingham District Local Plan, the University Of Reading has now submitted a detailed planning application for a relief road to the east of Shinfield. The proposal involves a new roundabout on the A327 to the south of Shinfield, close to the Magpie and Parrot. The relief road then runs to the east of Shinfield, crossing beneath Cutbush Lane in Cutting, then across to the M4, to the south of which it is joined by a link from the improved Shinfield Road/Cutbush Lane junction. The relief road then crosses the M4 by way of a dual carriageway bridge with two lanes in each direction, and links into the new roundabout immediately north of the M4. The proposal comprises approximately two kilometres of roadway and two new bridges and will take between 50 and 75% of through traffic away from the centre of Shinfield. This will provide significant opportunities for environmental enhancement in the centre of Shinfield. Although a full Environmental Assessment was not considered necessary either by Wokingham District Council or the Government Office for the South-East, there have been detailed assessments of archaeology, ecology, noise and cultural heritage carried out. The scheme will be extensively landscaped; there will be provision for four badger tunnels beneath the road; and the setting of Lane End Farmhouse, which is a listed building, will be significantly enhanced. The scheme represents a major environmental improvement for Shinfield and the University hopes and expects that the scale of environmental improvement will be at least as significant as that which has occurred at Theale, when the construction of the Theale by-pass resolved similar problems at Theale to those that exist in Shinfield today. The scheme would draw a robust eastern boundary for Shinfield, acknowledging existing topographical and planning constraints. The University would undertake that there would be no further development for at least ten years between the eastern edge of the village and the new relief road. end