Wokingham councillors say they were not consulted over a controversial new bus lane in Reading after locals claimed it has caused a spillover of cars into Wokingham.

The lane along London Road in Reading, implemented in August, is part of a £26m investment in transport services by Reading Borough Council to cut congestion and improve the environment.

Reading Borough Council has confirmed that representatives from their neighbouring authority were invited to take part in two stages of consultation, but no response was received.

The issue was raised by Wokingham Councillor Sam Akhtar, who represents Thames Ward, at a recent full Wokingham Borough Council meeting.

Councillor Sam Akhtar said the initiative has created ‘increased congestion, more stationary traffic, and a displacement of vehicles onto roads within our borough, particularly near the boundary with Reading’.

The Conservative asked leader of the Council Stephen Conway on Thursday, September 19, whether Wokingham Borough Council had been consulted by Reading Borough Council, who approved the scheme.

Councillor Conway answered said that the authority was ‘aware’ of the plans but were ‘not aware of any formal stakeholder consultations on the scheme’.

But Reading Borough Council has said that the neighbouring council was invited to public informal meetings as well as ‘statutory’ meetings on the matter.

As well as this, Wokingham Borough Council were ‘generally supportive’ of Reading’s overall strategy on transport – of which the London Road bus lane was included in.

At the meeting in June this year, Wokingham council expressed concerns about the potential impacts of displaced traffic on to roads in its borough.

Now, the leader of Wokingham Borough Council Stephen Conway said he was ‘concerned greatly’ over the impact of the new bus lane and was pushing the neighbouring authority to ‘address this as soon as possible’.

A spokesperson for Reading Borough Council told the News: “Wokingham Borough Council was regularly kept informed on the ongoing development of the London Road bus lane and the consultations that took place in advance of its introduction in August this year.”

They continued: “The implementation of the London Road bus lane was expected to have an impact. This is particularly while road users adapt to the change and find alternative routes, or other means of transport, into Reading.”

The current closure of Church Road in Wokingham, a ‘major route into Reading’, is ‘impacting current traffic flows’, according to the spokesperson.

Reading Borough Council said it would ‘continue to monitor the impacts of the new bus lane and surrounding roads’, which would include regular meetings with Wokingham Borough Council.

Emergency services have also raised concerns about the controversial new bus lane, with Thames Valley Police being the only blue-light service to respond to the consultation process.