Schools and community facilities

Schools

There will be 2 primary schools in the Shinfield Parish development - one in Spencers Wood and another west of Shinfield village.

Alder Grove Church of England Primary School, our new primary school in west Shinfield, opened in September 2020 and is managed by the Keys Academy Trust. It has 2 forms of entry with a nursery with scope to accommodate 3 forms of entry. 

The Spencers Wood school was granted outline planning permission in 2014 and a reserved matters application is now being considered. Subject to planning permission, this will be built when there is sufficient demand.

Community facilities

The development includes an extension to the existing village centre in Shinfield with a new community building and supermarket, mostly funded by the housing growth.

The new community centre opened in 2021 and has a large space for activities and events, a new café, meeting rooms, library facilities, a bespoke children’s space, and an enclosed garden area. 

The parish council, which runs the centre and is based there, held a competition for the design of the new building to ensure it was innovative and met residents’ specific needs.

Work is well underway to complete a new Lidl supermarket on land nearby, and a new smaller retail unit is already built.

The outline planning permission for the Three Mile Cross / Spencers Wood centre also includes provision for upgrades to a listed barn.