Sports, parks, and recreation

Sports, parks, and recreation

The former Ryeish Green Sports Centre has been updated and re-opened as the Ryeish Green Sports Hub with a new health and fitness gym, changing facilities, a club room and a new car park, along with a refurbished sports hall.

The new and refurbished facilities, together with the new artificial pitch and five additional football pitches, have created a dynamic sports hub in the western part of Wokingham Borough.

A new cricket pavilion and pitches have been installed at the Manor and there will also be a sports hub at High Copse Common, in Shinfield West, consisting of playing pitches, including a cricket and sports pavilion. Works on these are well under way.

There are also new and improved cycleways and footpaths to improve connectivity between the villages and the new sports facilities.

Parks

New local play areas have been provided by the developers for the main housing developments at Croft Gardens, Orchard Rise, Littlebrook, Shinfield Meadows and Long Acre.

New recreational open spaces

As part of the new development, there are several new recreational open spaces for residents to enjoy the natural environment. These include parks and gardens, public open spaces, children’s play areas, playing pitches, allotments and nature parks.

Nature parks are designed to attract walkers as an alternative to the Thames Basin Heath Special Protection Area, which supports several rare ground nesting birds and is highly sensitive to visitors. As well as being accessible to all residents, they serve as havens for local wildlife.

The nature parks at Shinfield Parish major development area, some of which have been open since 2015, include:

• Langley Mead – consists of open recreational natural space with footpaths along the river, benches, common grazing land and a car park
• Five Acre Field – consists of an open recreational natural grass field with a pond
• Clares Green Field – this existing council-owned site was improved using developer funding
• May’s Farm Meadows – consists of open recreational natural space with a lake, footpaths and a car park
• The Ridge – consists of meadows and hedgerows along a prominent landscape ridge with far-reaching views

There is a new community orchard next to the Ryeish Green Sports Hub, while new allotments exclusively for residents’ use have been provided at Orchard Rise in Three Mile Cross.