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The latest Bracknell news: planning decisions, council and crime updates, business and community stories, each linked back to its official source.

Top story King's Academy Binfield Must Change 2027 Admissions Rules The schools adjudicator has ruled that making Meadow Vale a feeder school is unfair to catchment families. The trust has a month to rewrite its Year 7 rules. · 6 min read

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Police Bracknell town centre crime: shoplifting at 13-month high Police recorded 352 crimes within a mile of Bracknell town centre in September, 54 more than a year earlier. Shoplifting rose to 47, the most in 13 months. · 4 min read Crowthorne New Film Next Time Was Shot Just Off Crowthorne High Street Field End Films shot its new film Next Time at a private house just off Crowthorne High Street. Here is what the makers told us, and where to follow the film. · 1 min read Council Bracknell Forestcare Moving to Time Square as Office Is Sold Bracknell Forest Council will sell Mallard House and move its Forestcare alarm centre and out-of-hours social care team to Time Square in early 2027. · 3 min read Bins Bracknell Tip DIY Waste: Free Limit Now 400 Litres a Month re3 has replaced the 100-litre-per-visit rule at Longshot Lane: households can now leave 400 litres of DIY waste, or four large items, free in any four weeks. · 4 min read Lexicon Lexicon Express Train Now Runs Every Day, All Year, for £1 The Lexicon's electric land train is staying for good. It now runs every day from outside M&S on The Avenue, at £1 a ride by card, with a wheelchair space. · 2 min read Young People Bracknell Forest Youth Survey: Transport and Mental Health Bracknell Forest's Member of Youth Parliament wants young people's views on transport costs, mental health and activities, in a survey taking 5 to 7 minutes. · 2 min read Council Thames Valley Mayor: Bracknell Could Vote for One in 2028 Bracknell Forest is set to join a Thames Valley mayoral authority with Berkshire, Oxfordshire and Swindon, electing a mayor in 2028. Bins and schools stay local. · 5 min read Crowthorne Morgan Rec Play Area Opens in Crowthorne: Jeep and Campervan Crowthorne's accessible play area at the Morgan Rec is open, with a safari jeep, a campervan and a wildlife mural. Built for younger children by the parish. · 2 min read Housing Bracknell Forest Council Housing: Cabinet Agrees First Step Bracknell Forest Council will apply to become a social landlord again, 18 years after its homes went to Silva. Cabinet agreed on 3 November; 1,017 households wait. · 4 min read Council Bracknell Forest Climate Bond Approved: Invest From £5 Bracknell Forest Council will sell a £300,000 climate bond from £5 in December, after Cabinet approved it on 3 November. It pays for solar panels on two sites. · 3 min read Council Easthampstead Park Crematorium Rated Outstanding: 96% Inspectors scored Easthampstead Park Cemetery and Crematorium 705 out of 735 in September. What a cremation there costs, from £415 to £1,720, and how to book. · 3 min read Council Bracknell Forest Asks Ministers to Cap Grant Cut at 10% Bracknell Forest and Wokingham will ask the minister to limit each council's core grant cut to 10% a year. Bracknell puts the funding gap at £18m to 2029. · 3 min read Post Office Bracknell Post Office in Princess Square to close The town centre Post Office inside TG Jones at Princess Square will close, with no date yet. It is where the Post Office sent Crown Wood customers in August. · 3 min read Housing Bracknell house prices: £391,521 in August, down £9,115 The borough average fell 2.3% in a year to £391,521, a fourth monthly fall in a row. Only Wokingham fell faster nearby, and July has been revised down. · 4 min read Jobs Bracknell claimants: 2,370 in September, 4.6% in two wards Claimants rose to 2,370, the fastest annual rise in Berkshire. Great Hollands and the town centre are at 4.6%, more than three times Crowthorne's 1.3%. · 4 min read Schools Catchment areas could go at 14 Bracknell Forest schools from 2028 Distance, not catchment, would decide places at 14 council schools, Garth Hill included, from September 2028. The consultation closes on 2 December. · 7 min read Schools Bracknell SEND grant of £29m confirmed, clearing 90% of debt The government has confirmed Bracknell Forest's £29m SEND grant, clearing 90% of a £32.4m deficit. About £3.4m remains, plus this year's overspend. · 5 min read South Hill Park South Hill Park chief executive to step down on 31 October Craig Titley-Rawson leaves South Hill Park on 31 October after nine and a half years as its head. The charity has spent more than it earned for four years running. · 3 min read Schools Bracknell Ofsted: St Joseph's Primary Strong in All 7 Areas St Joseph's Catholic Primary in Bracknell is rated Strong in all seven Ofsted areas. College Town and St Michael's in Sandhurst earn Strong for early years. · 5 min read Police Harvest Ride crash: motorcyclist dies, police appeal A man in his twenties riding a Yamaha died at the Harvest Ride and Melody Lane junction, Warfield, at 4.25pm on Thursday 8 October. Police want dashcam footage. · 3 min read Roads Bracknell Road Crowthorne: new 50 and 40mph limits approved The council approved 50 and 40mph limits on the B3348 Bracknell Road and A3095 Foresters Way on 6 October, after Crowthorne Parish Council asked for a lower limit. · 4 min read Council Bracknell council this week: care charging consultation approved Cabinet approved a 12-week consultation on adult social care charges on 13 October and adopted the school places strategy and a £6.76m SEND building plan. · 6 min read Business Bracknell new businesses: 44 formed, six being wound up Forty-four companies registered a Bracknell address from 7 September to 10 October, from a Warfield dating site to a tool hire firm. Six more are winding up. · 6 min read Police Bracknell town centre crime: 334 offences in August, up 12% Police logged 334 crimes within a mile of Bracknell town centre in August 2026, 36 more than a year earlier. Shoplifting nearly doubled to 36; violence was 116. · 4 min read Food hygiene Bracknell food hygiene: 16 of 17 September ratings were 5 Sixteen of the 17 food hygiene ratings Bracknell Forest gave in September were the top score of 5. No business in the borough is rated 0; nine sit at 1 or 2. · 5 min read Social care Bracknell care charges: consultation on plan leaving 650 better off Cabinet approved a 12-week consultation on 13 October. A flat £20 a week disability allowance would cut bills for 650+ people; about 35 may pay more. · 6 min read Schools Bracknell school places: the full schools, the ones with room, and 173 SEND places Edgbarrow, Ranelagh and King's Academy Binfield are oversubscribed; Garth Hill and Sandhurst have room. Cabinet adopted the council's plan on 13 October. · 6 min read Crowthorne Crowthorne's Broadmoor pavilion: community asset bid refused The council will not list Broadmoor Hospital's disused sports pavilion as a community asset. A charity wanted it as an arts and sports hub for 2,000 a week. · 5 min read Council tax Bracknell council tax relief for terminally ill: up to £282k Full council tax relief for about 125 terminally ill households would cost £113,000 to £282,000 a year, a council report says. Cabinet decides on 15 December. · 5 min read Transport Bracknell bus survey: council reviews the routes it pays for Routes 53, 108, 150, 156, 157 and 158 are under review ahead of new contracts in August 2028. Bracknell Forest's survey is open until 30 November. · 5 min read Schools The Pines School to get 50-place unit for autistic pupils Bracknell Forest is hiring a builder to create 50 places for autistic pupils and those with learning needs at The Pines School in Hanworth, open by March 2028. · 4 min read Council Bracknell care alarms: weekly charge to rise to £6.19 Forestcare lifeline users in Bracknell Forest face a £6.19 weekly charge, up from £5.08, once their alarm goes digital before the January 2027 phone switch-off. · 5 min read Planning Lidl at The Point: Bracknell's Plan Wanted Homes There Lidl wants to replace The Point with a foodstore. The Local Plan earmarks the site for a residential-led scheme. Officers decide; the deadline is 20 November. · 4 min read Schools Bracknell Schools Lockdown: Email Threat Not Credible Police say the emailed threat that put Bracknell Forest schools into lockdown on Thursday was not credible. Nobody was harmed; the investigation continues. · 2 min read Housing Bracknell house prices: £395,413 in July, flats down 3.6% The borough average fell £5,464 in a year to £395,413, the weakest annual reading since February. Flats dropped 3.6%, while Surrey Heath next door rose 4%. · 6 min read Council Bracknell parking: 10-year contract, decided in private Cabinet is asked on 22 September to approve a ten-year parking enforcement contract from 2028. The terms sit in a confidential annex. · 7 min read Sport Bracknell Muay Thai fighter in London bout on 8 November A Bracknell Muay Thai fighter meets an opponent from Greece in London on 8 November, and is asking businesses in the town to sponsor the fight. · 4 min read Jobs Bracknell Claimant Count at 2,360, Highest Since 2021 August's count reached 2,360, a five-year high. Under-25s drove it: 440 claimants, up 54% in two years, the steepest rise of 19 South East areas. · 7 min read Schools Charters School Free Bus Pass Ends for Year 7s From 2027 Bracknell Forest children starting at Charters School in Sunningdale in September 2027 lose the free bus pass if a school is nearer. Current pupils keep theirs. · 7 min read Planning Bracknell Planning: Six Objections No Longer Force a Vote From 31 October, officers decide house extensions in Bracknell Forest however many neighbours object, and councillors lose call-in. What changes and when. · 6 min read South Hill Park South Hill Park Parking: £1 an Hour, First 30 Minutes Free Charges began on 9 September: 30 minutes free, then £1 an hour, £3 up to three hours. Blue Badge holders pay too; a free council car park is five minutes away. · 6 min read Bracknell Forest Council Bracknell Forest Chief Executive to Leave for West Surrey Susan Halliwell leaves at the end of 2026 to run the new West Surrey Council. The Bracknell post pays up to £207,812; a successor will be recruited this autumn. · 5 min read Bracknell Forest Council Bracknell Polling Stations: Buckler's Park Gets Its Own Buckler's Park Community Hub becomes a polling place and Crowthorne East moves to the Morgan Centre. Councillors vote on Wednesday 9 September. · 8 min read Bracknell Forest Council Bracknell Forest Council: Labour Rises to 20 of 41 Seats Two councillors rejoined Labour on 13 July, ending the Independents Group. Committee seats are reallocated at Full Council on 9 September. · 5 min read Bracknell Forest Council Bracknell Forest parking: yellow lines on 7 roads Seven parking schemes cleared their call-in on 4 September, in Binfield, Sandhurst, Crowthorne, North Ascot and Bracknell. The Ambassador scheme was abandoned. · 7 min read Bracknell Forest Council Bracknell Forest EV charging: 2,100 street sockets The council has awarded a 15 year contract for 2,100 charging sockets in residential streets. It owns 52 today, and pays nothing towards the new ones. · 6 min read Bracknell Forest Council Bracknell Forest Council budget: £5.16m overspend risk The council's own first quarter report flags a potential £5.16m overspend, £2.4m of it in children's social care. Scrutiny sees the figures on Thursday. · 7 min read Schools Bracknell GCSE results 2026: 68.3% got English and maths Bracknell Forest's best GCSE year in four: 68.3% passed both English and maths, Attainment 8 47.9. Three schools published figures, four did not. · 5 min read Housing Bracknell house prices June 2026: £396,103, flats down 2% The borough average slipped £945 in a year to £396,103, but terraces and semis rose while flats fell 2%. How Bracknell compares with the rest of Berkshire. · 4 min read Jobs Bracknell Under-25 Claimants Up 41%: Steepest in South East Under-25 claimants in Bracknell Forest rose 41% in two years, the steepest of 19 South East authorities, while the borough's overall rate stayed at 2.7%. · 6 min read Planning Bracknell car park demolition: The Ring to shut at night Councillors approved demolition of the High Street multi-storey on 13 August. The Ring shuts overnight Sunday to Wednesday as two Lexicon footbridges come down. · 7 min read Health Bracknell dementia: 543 over-65s not on the register NHS data puts Bracknell Forest's diagnosis rate at 60.9%, down from 63.9% in March 2025. The council's survey on its next dementia strategy closes 18 September. · 6 min read Schools Bracknell A level results 2026: 97.5% pass, 11.7% at A* Ofqual data puts 97.5% of A level results at Bracknell Forest centres at a pass grade and 11.7% at A*. Edgbarrow, Garth Hill and Brakenhale published their own figures. · 5 min read Business Adviza creditors have until 21 August to claim final payout Administrators of the collapsed Bracknell careers charity intend a first and final dividend; creditors must prove debts to FRP Advisory by 21 August 2026. · 3 min read Community Buckler's Forest named Land Trust Site of the Year 2026 The 42-hectare Crowthorne green space on the former Transport Research Laboratory land beat the Land Trust's whole estate to its 2026 Site of the Year award. · 3 min read