Wokingham Borough Conservative councillors called out glaring omissions to the Inclusion, Diversity and Equity (IDE) Strategy during the Full Council meeting (31.07.25).
The policy designed to create a fairer, and accessible borough, was described as “gesture politics” for not including all community groups and ignoring the needs of visually impaired people.
Councillors Pauline Jorgensen and Peter Harper challenged the administration to be fully inclusive, highlighting gaps in the Council’s consultation and failures in applying the strategy’s aims to infrastructure decisions.
Cllr Jorgensen broadly welcomed the IDE Strategy but raised a significant concern about gaps in representation within the Council’s engagement process from residents from Hong Kong who had not been included, despite their growing presence in the borough.
Cllr Jorgensen had raised this issue during the policy’s development including at two previous meetings.
Cllr Harper criticised the Council for failing to uphold its own values—especially regarding disability access in local infrastructure projects.
He drew attention to the California Crossroads redevelopment, where the charity Guide Dogs for the Blind recommended a formal pedestrian crossing to support blind and visually impaired pedestrians.
Cllr Harper also expressed serious concern over the planned A329 London Road redesign, which includes “island bus stops” that separate passengers from pavements via cycle lanes. He warned these designs could effectively exclude disabled and visually impaired people from safely using public transport.
Cllr Peter Harper said, “A policy ignored in practice is not inclusion.
“Despite our DEI policy saying the council will ‘listen to our residents and make changes to improve people’s lives,’ it has ignored the needs of the visually impaired. We have seen this at California Crossroads. Yet the Council is not listening to criticism or learning from its mistakes. We are seeing this again in the planned A329 London Road redesign. These island bus stops require bus users to cross from the pavement to the bus stop across a dedicated cycleway. The fear of stepping into the unknown risks many visually impaired people being exclude from public transport.
“The Council needs to consult disability organisations early during planning phases and include insights from people with lived-experience in shaping future infrastructure decisions.
“It is gesture politics to vote through DEI policy whilst at the same time failing to uphold the principles of the policy when delivering infrastructure improvements.”
Cllr Pauline Jorgensen, Leader of the Conservative Group, said, “We should ensure no community is left unheard. If this strategy is to be credible and effective, it must be built with input from all our communities. The omission of Hongkongers—who represent one of Wokingham’s fastest-growing and often overlooked communities—is a missed opportunity.”
