Bracknell Forest has a generally younger population with more children (18.5%) and working-age adults (66.4%) compared to the national average.
We also have fewer older residents (15%) aged 65 and above.
Why a vision for 2050?
Meaningful changes in our infrastructure, environment, economy, and communities require sustained commitment across generations. At this important moment in our history, we’re setting out a shared vision for our places that embraces transformative, long-term thinking.
Bracknell Forest approaches this future from a position of strength. Our New Town legacy reminds us that people have always come here seeking opportunity and a good life, principles we carry forward today. As a relatively prosperous place with varied age groups, from the younger population in Bracknell Town Centre to the broader age profiles in Crowthorne, Sandhurst, and northern parts of the borough, we have advantages many places would envy. We have:
- a strong local economy
- good schools
- cherished green spaces
- an identity rooted in our forest
Compared to much of the country, we are performing well across key indicators of community wellbeing, and our overall trajectory is positive. Yet success today does not guarantee
prosperity tomorrow. Our Vision 2050 is not about addressing decline, it’s about building deliberately on our foundations and heritage, including the New Town legacy to make sure Bracknell Forest continues to thrive in a rapidly changing world. This vision represents our collective ambition, drawing on voices of residents, young people, businesses, and partners, to create a place that honours its past while embracing innovation, sustainability, and inclusivity as cornerstones of continued success.
Bracknell Forest is one of the least deprived areas in the country. Some communities do experience higher levels of social deprivation. It has lower crime rates compared to the South East average and smaller gaps in life expectancy.
Bracknell Forest benefits from a strong local economy. The area is a hub for technology and business, home to companies like Fujitsu and Waitrose. It is also strategically located near regional economic hubs.
Core themes
These themes have been central to shaping the Vision and are a key part of what Bracknell Forest aims to achieve for the future.
Community wellbeing and social infrastructure
Bracknell Forest is special because every community has parks and sports facilities. The borough has cherished assets like South Hill Park. We have well used libraries and community centres and our communities feel safe.
Looking to the future, new community hubs could enable people to build relationships, connect, support one another, and actively engage in community life. They would also empower people and communities to thrive through resilience support and opportunities to take charge of their health. Additionally they could provide facilities for younger people, and offer leisure activities that cater to inclusive and diverse interests.
Affordable living
Bracknell Forest is a great place for families. People choose to live here for its quality of life and strong connections.
In the future, everyone should have a home suited to their needs, with Housing Providers and developers working with the council to build homes that reflect our communities’ priorities.
Sustainability
The forest is a big part of Bracknell Forest’s identity.
In the future, Bracknell Forest communities should leverage this strength and work towards pioneering sustainability, with land used for renewable energy, more community energy projects, and biodiverse green spaces that provide places to relax and enjoy.
Transport and connectivity
Bracknell Forest benefits from good road connectivity and cycling routes, and everything you need is close by in our neighbourhoods.
In the future, we could have faster connections to London and Heathrow with more frequent trains and better links. We could also recognise and harness opportunities to proactively change how we travel, making use of alternative sustainable transport, and promoting active travel through better cycle routes and car sharing schemes.
Education and skills
Bracknell Forest is special because we have good schools and a well-educated workforce. However, current attainment levels remain relatively low.
In the future, we are a place committed to lifelong learning, offering skills for all, supporting vocational ambitions, and skills programmes that meet the needs of all young people, including those with SEND (Special Educational Needs and Disabilities).
Local economy, arts and culture
Large companies and employers choose to be here and we offer attractive, affordable office space. Bracknell New Town has continued to grow, driven by the regeneration of its town centre, one of the strongest in the South East region. The Lexicon is a popular visitor attraction, while Sandhurst’s Military Academy and local enterprises in Crowthorne and northern parts of the borough create a diverse and distinctive economy.
In the future, there should be more things to do, day and night, bringing together our cultural programme with an evening economy strategy. An inclusive arts and culture programme will engage all communities and celebrate our heritage. We should also attract diverse businesses by supporting green, tech sectors, home working, and future-ready high streets.
Inclusive communities
Bracknell Forest is special because we have a strong sense of community, clear local identities, and pride in the area. Our voluntary organisations, faith and community networks are strong.
In the future, we will celebrate our diversity, with no one feeling isolated, through community hubs and centres alongside community groups and activities where everyone can participate as well as cross-cultural town, village and neighbourhood events.
Scenarios from the future
The following 3 scenarios for 2050 are built on our community’s existing strengths: our forest identity, strong local economy and vibrant neighbourhoods, whilst imagining how these could evolve in a changed future. Rather than being mutually exclusive, they should be seen as interconnected elements that collectively shape a more holistic environment across our places.
These scenarios are not specific to any areas within Bracknell Forest and are ideas to inspire thinking about what could be possible for our future.
Open futures: lifelong learning in a future ready economy
By 2050, Bracknell Forest has a dynamic and inclusive economy where affordable office space enables both startups and global firms to flourish, providing good, well-paid and flexible jobs for our residents. Building on our technology legacy, we’ve cultivated specialised green and tech sectors that choose our borough for its exceptional talent and quality of life. This transformation is supported by highspeed rail connecting us to London and Heathrow in under 30 minutes.
The Lexicon in Bracknell Town as well as town centres and high streets in Crowthorne, Sandhurst, and the northern parts of the borough have evolved and are alive with activity around the clock. During the day they serve as an extension of flexible work places, learning environments and daily retail. In the evening they comes alive with cultural programmes spanning youth music venues to family leisure activities. Across our communities and town centres, programmes and facilities support wellbeing, allowing our people to thrive and enabling them to participate in their communities and take advantage of these opportunities.
University satellite campuses now bring prestigious academic partnerships directly into our community, while our commitment to lifelong learning spans all ages and abilities. Community maker spaces develop hands-on skills, young people with SEND thrive through tailored support, and older residents both mentor and continue learning in an environment that uses technology to enhance human connection rather than replace it.
Headline from 2050
Bracknell Forest has the strongest economy of all local authority areas.
A living forest community
By 2050, Bracknell Forest has pioneered a new relationship between urban areas and nature, where our forest identity shapes every aspect of community life. Green corridors now extend throughout the borough, connecting neighbourhoods with biodiversity rich routes that support both wildlife and people’s well-being. Buildings incorporate carbon-negative technology, while community energy projects utilise solar power and other renewables, making every neighbourhood an energy producer.
As the UK’s premier cycling community, our comprehensive network of safe routes makes active travel the default choice for most journeys. Neighbourhood mobility hubs offer alternatives from e-bikes to shared vehicles, whilst forest-lined paths and electric bus shuttles means that everyone can move freely without car dependency.
Integrated community food growing and habitat banks support thriving biodiversity and demonstrate how environmental leadership enhances our quality of life. These innovations strengthen our distinct forest identity through everyday experiences that connect residents to the natural world that makes Bracknell Forest special.
Headline from 2050
Bracknell Forest is carbon negative in 2050.
Community wellbeing by design
By 2050, Bracknell Forest has strong, connected, healthy and cohesive communities where people get on well, know their neighbours, get involved in their community and support each other. This vision will be supported by enablers like one stop community hubs and centres for health, leisure, support services and community participation. Strong voluntary and community networks are embedded in these hubs, helping to foster connection, inclusion, and a sense of belonging. Community led events reflect and celebrate the borough’s growing diversity. Our cherished assets like South Hill Park continue to be the heart of neighbourhoods, while libraries and community centres have evolved into dynamic multi-functional spaces enabling community activities and supporting diverse community needs.
Council-led housing partnerships have revolutionised affordable living, delivering safe and sustainable homes that meet changing needs, with mixed-use developments that include community facilities and support healthy lifestyles. This thoughtful integration builds on our new town heritage and our strong sense of community while addressing housing priorities. These principles have strengthened what has always made Bracknell Forest special, a safe, connected community with clear local identities where families and individuals of all backgrounds can truly thrive collectively.
Headline from 2050
Bracknell Forest voted most joyous place to live: Residents report highest level of wellbeing.
Next steps
The Bracknell Forest 2050 Vision is not simply a document, it is a call to action for our entire community. Achieving this ambitious vision will require sustained collaboration, innovative thinking, and collective commitment over the coming decades. This journey has just begun, and your involvement is essential to its success.
The 2050 timeline extends well beyond current political cycles, so its delivery will need to be anchored in place, held by local people, communities, and institutions. To address this challenge, we will build partnerships that brings together the residents, community organisations, businesses, educational institutions and council to provide ongoing stewardship of the vision.
Following adoption of the vision, Bracknell Forest Council commits to working with our partners and communities to:
Embed the vision into the council’s strategic planning and decision-making frameworks and work with our partners to integrate it across our places.
Build on partnerships and governance structures to support delivery of the vision.
Build on the vision as we develop new plans and strategies.
Drive participation in workstreams across Bracknell Forest’s professional and local community, with an understanding of existing initiatives.
This living document will evolve over 25 years. The council will regularly review progress and invest in early catalyst projects to build momentum.
Broadcast the vision UK-wide and internationally.
Get involved
Below we have set out how you might contribute. We urge you to consider what your personal contribution could be in realising the vision for Bracknell Forest by 2050.
Tell us about your local community and local initiatives already in place. Share how your projects or activity can proactively feed into the vision.
Share ideas on how some of these ideas might help you and your neighbours.
Talk to your local councillor about the ideas raised and your thoughts on them.
Support or contribute to local initiatives or activities in your community, sharing them on social media.
The headlines in 2050
We invited people to imagine waking up in the year 2050 and reading the local news.
What headline would they most like to see in the Bracknell Forest newspaper?
Here’s what they said.
‘’Bracknell Forest residents have no need for affordable housing: local people can afford to live in the borough”
“Bracknell Forest residents love cycling: most cycling infrastructure per person in the country”
“Bracknell Forest’s new High-Speed Electric Rail: Commuting to Central London in just 30 Minutes”
“Bracknell Forest is a centre for science and tech: Cambridge University opens new satellite campus”
‘‘Bracknell Forest Council is pioneering the approach to renewable energy development’’
Bracknell Forest’s music festival tickets sell out in just 20 minutes!”
“Bracknell Forest voted the most vibrant, connected, and socially cohesive community”
“The most biodiverse and cleanest town in the South East, home to thriving species and Swinley Forest”
‘‘100% children in outstanding education placements’’