Local Plan Update
Deadline 24th January

All residents will have received a flyer from WBC concerning the latest consultation on their revised growth strategy. Everyone is encouraged to read the leaflet and login to engage.wokingham.gov.uk and look at the survey. You do not have to answer every question. For Sonning residents the important questions are 12b and 13b where you can give your opinions on "Land east of Pound Lane (Sonning Golf Club)" and "Land at Sonning Farm".

If you find the online survey difficult to navigate then you can also send an email with your thoughts to LPU@wokingham.gov.uk.

Protect our Green Spaces

An important part of the Local Plan Update is to ensure that we protect the green spaces that define Sonning. Please visit the Sonning Neighbourhood Plan website and vote for the important areas around us so that we can try to prevent them from being developed.

WBC Launches Garden Forest Scheme
29th November 2021

In celebration of National Tree Week, Wokingham Borough Council is launching a pilot Garden Forest Scheme, which is part of its aspiration to becoming a net-zero carbon borough, and invites residents to apply for a tree, or trees, for their own garden.

Over the next five years, we are looking to plant 250,000 trees across the borough to increase carbon sequestration rates. Carbon sequestration is a process whereby the trees will draw excess CO2 from the atmosphere and store it.

In order to apply to the Garden Forest Scheme, the council invites you to visit its Engage platform, where you will find an application form and more information about the scheme, and the project as a whole.

The scheme is set to initially run for two years, after which it will be reviewed, and a decision made on whether to extend it. The initial application window, open until 31 January, and applicants will be contacted throughout March, with successful residents being given more information on arrangements for collecting a tree, which will be early Autumn 2022 to coincide with planting season.

In order to be eligible, you must have space in your garden for a tree and permission to plant the tree if the garden is not yours.

Councillor Wayne Smith, executive member for planning and enforcement, said: “I am really excited that we are able to launch the Garden Forest Scheme, and offer residents another way that they can help towards reaching our goal of a net-zero carbon borough. We know that as a council we can’t do this alone, so being able to offer residents ways in which they can help is so important.”

John Tucker, Director of Woodland Outreach at the Woodland Trust added: "The Woodland Trust is proud to be supporting Wokingham's Tree Project through our Emergency Tree Fund. Planting new trees is a vital step in fighting climate change and nature loss. By joining in the Garden Forest initiative, residents across Wokingham can play their part and get the lasting benefits of trees to enjoy for years to come."

Annual Parish Meeting
Tuesday 25th May 2021

The annual meeting of Sonning Parish Council will be held this coming Tuesday following the earlier annual Parish meeting, at approximately 8.30pm. Due to the uncertainty about Covid variants it will be held this year via Skype. This meeting is open to the public and you should contact the Clerk with your email and/or Skype name by midday on Monday if you would like an invitation.

The SPC Annual Reports are available to view: here .

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We Want To Keep You Informed

We would like to keep you better informed about what is happening in our parish. We’d like to be able to email you when something important occurs.

Please sign up to our mailing list. We promise that your mailbox will not be overloaded - you will not receive more than one email a month from us and you can opt out at any time.

Archives of previous front page news can be found on the News Archive page

The civil parish of Sonning lies within the Borough of Wokingham (WBC). Responsibilities are split between the two councils, with the Parish Council looking after local interests. The chairman of the Parish Council is Tony Farnese. Michael Firmager is the Borough Councillor for Sonning and Warren, and Theresa May is currently the local Member of Parliament.

Our website is divided into two sections - one with information pertaining to The Council and the other for Sonning Village matters. Under each main heading in the menu you'll find various sub-headings to help you navigate around the site quickly:
About the Council - Aims & Objectives, The Councillors, Policies &Procedures, Reports.
Committees & Working Groups - Agendas and Minutes of Council and Planning Meetings as well as details about the other working groups.
Planning Matters - How the planning guidance functions, Conservation Area Assessment and the Sonning Design Guide.
News - archives of the SPC Newsletter and the front page stories from this website.
Council Amenities - the other projects the Parish Council looks after, from allotments and the playground to the Local Nature Reserve. There is also a Fault Reporting form.
Sonning Village - the history and facilities within the village and the local societies.
Sonning Leisure - information about local sports facilities and other organisations and community groups.
Village Events - details about the annual and bi-annual community occurences such as the Sonning Regatta & Scarecrows and the Sonning Show.