The council is hoping to win residents' "trust" by asking them for their say on issues in the borough in a consultation launched this week.

Wokingham Borough Council (WBC) has set out a proposed vision for the area to the year 2025 with a draft local plan outlining its priorities and principles.

Deputy leader of the council Cllr Julian McGhee-Sumner said: “We need a new relationship with residents and this consultation is the starting point for that.

"In the past, local government was seen as having all the answers but that is no longer the case; where there are problems, it may be that the local authority does not have the solutions but can empower people or other organisations to come up with them.

“A key part of this new relationship needs to be trust.

"We need to trust the public to be central to how we make decisions but we also need to win the trust of the public by showing that we listen and act on their concerns: that is what the proposed consultation is about.”

The document outlining the authority's visions and future challenges, named 'Wokingham Borough 2025', states Wokingham should be “A borough that nurtures individual responsibility, assists those who are unable to be self-sufficient, and promotes equality of opportunity”.

Residents are set to be asked if they share this vision for the borough, if they are aware of the what the authority does in local areas, for their ideas "on how together we can assist those who are unable to be self-sufficient" and more.

Some of the priorities listed in the report include creating affordable housing, tackling congestion, managing the impact of development and ensuring there are clean, green and enjoyable spaces in the area.

Wokingham's occupants will also be asked for their thoughts on these issues, including how best the council should tackle increasing homelessness, what should be done about the housing demands in the area and whether people feel they have enough access to green spaces.

Residents will have the chance to answer an online questionnaire regarding these issues from September 1 to September 30.

After this period Wokingham Borough Council will seek views from Thames Valley Police, health services, businesses representatives and community organisations in order to finalise a joint plan.

The consultation was approved after councillors raced through an extraordinary meeting of the executive on Tuesday evening as discussions lasted only two minutes.

The council is currently on summer recess but the members of the executive committee gathered to approve kickstarting the consultation.

Only two comments were taken from councillors in the brief meeting, including one from councillor Pauline Jorgensen who requested that more of the document be written in "plain English".

The engagement summary was the only item on the agenda of a meeting which was held at an irregular time in the council's calendar.