Full steam ahead for Carnival Place residential scheme

Wokingham Borough Council is pleased to announce the construction on 55 apartments in Wokingham town centre has gathered pace after appointing a new contractor.

The mixture of one and two-bedroom apartments look set to welcome residents by early 2025, thanks to the ongoing partnership with Osborne.

The development sits opposite the Carnival Hub in Wellington Road, which opened in the summer of 2022 and is home to Wokingham Leisure Centre and Wokingham Library.

Osborne have now been appointed to finish construction after undertaking surveys of the site. The scheme will deliver energy-efficient homes with associated parking, secure cycle storage and infrastructure for EV charging.

Cllr Stephen Conway, leader of the council and executive member for housing, said: “I am delighted to see Osborne have been appointed to take this project forward. This will deliver high-quality and energy-efficient accommodation in the town centre.

“Since opening, the Carnival Hub has been a big success, with an excellent leisure centre and library bringing joy to so many people. Carnival Place will be the perfect way to round-off the works on Wellington Road and encompass all of our environmental aspirations with it.”

The council still has the aspiration for the residential scheme to be operationally carbon neutral. It hopes to achieve this by making the apartments as energy efficient as possible and achieving a high standard of insulation.

There will also be solar panels on the roof, which will help to generate energy for the properties.

Work on the roof started towards the end of January and is due to be finished by April. In the coming days, residents will start to see scaffolding go up at the site to allow external features to be completed.

One of the next steps will be to start fitting out the inside of the building, including bedrooms and kitchens, with a view to delivering six completed apartments a week towards the end of the year.

In recent weeks, the council has also been assisting Network Rail to install the new Tan House footbridge. This replaced the two old bridges that cross the tracks behind Carnival Hub.

An attractive housing offer

Mike Smedley, managing director for Osborne, said: “We are extremely excited to be delivering what is a highly efficient residential scheme with Wokingham Borough Council. It has been rewarding for our team to work in such a collaborative environment and their professional team and we look forward to now realising this exciting scheme on site.

“Lots of consideration has been given to delivering energy efficient homes and – once completed – these apartments will represent an attractive and environmentally friendly offer in the centre of Wokingham, with excellent facilities on the doorstep.”

Following on from the successes of Peach Place, Elms Field and Carnival Hub, the Carnival Place residential scheme forms the last phase of the council’s wider regeneration programme that has helped to transform the town centre.

Carnival Place gives the council another opportunity to introduce housing that helps to address the climate emergency and utilise modern methods to be as energy efficient as possible.

Properties will be available through appointed agents as and when they are put on the market.