£7 million of highway improvements across Bracknell Forest

Bracknell Forest Council will spend more than £7.7 million in 2026 to 2027 on updating and improving local roads, pavements, bridges and cycle lanes. This is a record level of investment.   

Plans on how and where the money should be spent were approved by cabinet councillors on Tuesday when they agreed the Highways and Transport Capital Programme for 2026 to 2027.

The programme will see a series of improvements to enhance road safety as well as carry out maintenance, allowing people to travel more safely and sustainably. 

Bracknell Forest’s roads and pavements, like others across the country, have seen more damage this winter due to continuous rain and spells of extreme cold. When rain and frost gets in to small cracks and road defects, it weakens the surface and causes larger cracks and potholes. 

Many repairs have been carried out over the winter, with the highways team fixing twice as many road issues as they have done in previous years. Road defects are always repaired based on their severity, with the most dangerous repaired first. Work will continue into spring.

Replacing or treating an entire road or footway surface is expensive. The capital programme allocates £5.4 million to this important work, which seeks to improve the overall condition of the borough’s network.  

Many roads will be treated this year, both residential and major roads, including: 

• A329 Berkshire Way - between Binfield and Jennett’s Park
• A321 Wokingham Road - between Crowthorne and Sandhurst
• B3430 Nine Mile Ride - between Great Hollands and Crowthorne
• A330 Kingscroft Lane - between Winkfield and Warfield East
• A3095 Mill Lane - covering Great Hollands, Easthampstead and Wildridings, and Binfield South and Jennett’s Park

The overall work will also include new walking and cycling schemes and improve access to schools, workplaces and healthcare. 

Sustainable travel schemes in 2026 to 2027 include: 

• a new toucan crossing approaching the Harvest Ride roundabout, improving safety for people walking and cycling
• a new zebra crossing on Crowthorne Road and a 20mph limit in Netherton to help children get to school more safely
• new footpath links to bus stops in Great Hollands, making public transport more accessible

The work will also see improvements to help traffic flow and improve safety, including: 

• a junction upgrade at Dukes Ride/New Wokingham Road
• crossing upgrades on Yorktown Road and Jigs Lane North
• borough wide road safety schemes to manage speed and reduce accidents, including the:
  • Forest Road junction with Binfield Road
  • Foresters Way roundabout junction with Joshua Jebb Way
  • Ringmead roundabout junction with the Sainsbury's entrance

A further £220,000 will be invested in drainage improvements and £580,000 is earmarked for electrical repairs to restore streetlights. 

Cllr Guy Gillbe, cabinet member for planning, transport and countryside, said: 

“We will spend more than £7.7 million on improving the borough’s highways over the next 12 months. This is a record level of investment in our roads, pavements, cycle lanes and other highways infrastructure. This will help us maintain road surfaces, create safer routes to school and improve facilities for people walking and cycling. 

“It will also address drainage issues and carry out essential repairs to street lighting. 

“While the £7.7 million will enable us to make significant road improvements, it cannot fix every issue in Bracknell Forest. The age of our roads and harsher winter weather mean that we are noticing and fixing more defects. We take a responsible approach by prioritising these based on their location and the danger they pose to the public. However, we are seeing that continued investment in replacing road surfaces is working and data shows our roads are in a better condition than many other areas. But there is still more work to do.”

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