Learning and Development Centre

Royal Berkshire Fire and Rescue Service’s Learning and Development Centre is based in South Reading, adjacent to Whitley Wood Fire Station.

The Learning and Development Centre is a two storey building that features classrooms, office spaces and our Driver Training Centre. The Learning and Development Centre is also home to the Service’s Firehouse.

Between May 2024 and summer 2025, our Learning and Development Centre underwent a significant change as part of a major redevelopment project.

Plans to redevelop the Service’s Learning and Development Centre were approved by Reading Borough Council in May 2024 and work to redevelop the site began shortly thereafter.

The old lecture block, which was damaged in a flooding incident, and the administration cabin were knocked down to make way for the new building. In April 2025, the Learning and Development Team relocated to their new home.

The new building boasts several key features including solar panels, multi-use classroom spaces and a layout designed to improve contaminants management.

Other improvements have been made to the site, as the Service looks to become more sustainable for the future.

Walking 

Footways are provided along Whitley Wood Road and Toro Way, connecting to the wider walking and cycling network. Public footpath 11A runs west of the Three Miles Cross Interchange connecting with the area of Green Park via footpath SHIN27 (in Wokingham Borough) and public footpath 11 (in Reading Borough.

Cycling 

The site is connected to local cycleway R1 which runs between the area of Coley in Reading, with Three Miles Cross, immediately south of the M4, via the A33.  Local cycleway R10 runs along Northumberland Avenue from the junction with Whitley Wood Road, approximately 850m northeast of the site, towards Reading, connecting with Reading’s cycle network, including National Cycle Network (NCN) Route 4.

Public Transport

Reading buses has a large network across Reading and Berkshire. From Reading Town centre catch the Emerald 6 or Emerald 6a run from Reading Station Road, depart at Stop “Engineers Court”. From Station Road you can also get the Mereoak P&R 600 and depart at Stop “Litle Lea”.

The Firehouse at the Learning and Development Centre allows us to simulate incidents involving smoke and fire for training purposes. This facility is essential as it allows Firefighters to train in a controlled environment and supports their ability to prepare for many of the incidents that they encounter across the County.

As smoke is created in the Firehouse, we try to maximise the efficiency of training sessions at the facility. This is to ensure that our crews are given the skills they need whilst minimising any atmospheric impacts on our neighbours. A schedule of planned burns up until 31 March 2026 can be read below. Please note that these dates are subject to change.