News

On Saturday July 7 residents with a child with an additional need or disability or anyone who would like to find out more about local services and support groups are invited to the CAN Family Fun and Information Day.

From 11am to 3pm the CAN Family Fun and Information Day at Highwood Primary School, Woodley is a free, one-of-a-kind annual event organised by the CAN Network in association with parents and local support organisations and is suitable for the whole family.

Attractions include farm animals, information stalls and displays on statutory, voluntary and parent organisations, ‘Uncle Charley’ children’s entertainer, face painting, circus skills, karaoke, a crèche, pampering for carers and much more.

The CAN Network is an information service for local families who have children with additional needs. It is used to help plan future services and to ensure that families receive relevant support.

For more information residents can contact the CAN Network on (0118) 969 5977 or email: [email protected] or visit: www.wokingham.gov.uk/can-network

Wokingham Borough Council’ is hosting a safer cycling event in support of national Bike Week on Monday June 18 in Wokingham Market Place from 10am to 2pm.

There will be a host of activities including a free doctor bike surgery and security bike marking, competitions for keen cyclists to go fastest on a static bike, a display from Keep Hatch Primary School, resources for sale plus information on cycle safety and cycle routes from the borough council’s road safety team.

At midday, spectators will also be able to experience the sights and sounds of emergency services dealing with a road traffic collision with commentary on the demonstration from the Wokingham Fire Station manager, plus an air ambulance fly-by between midday and 12.30pm.

To encourage residents to return to cycling, there is also an extensive summer programme of cycling events to sign up for, including free family rides and cycling lessons for over 50s.

Julie Pillai, Wokingham Borough Council road safety officer, said: “The benefits of cycling are well known, it’s good for you and the environment and for short journeys cycling can often be as quick as driving. Also in these times of high petrol prices, cycling can prove to be an excellent way to save some money.

“The event on June 18 is aimed at getting residents cycling again. We are looking to give people the confidence to get back on their bikes by offering them information on where to cycle, safety tips and training.”

Wokingham Borough Council and the Real Business Club are offering help for new entrepreneurs through a project to help residents get their business ideas off the ground.

The project will see a series of roadshows and workshop held across the borough to offer help and support to people trying to develop their business ideas.

Isabel King, from the Real Business Club, said: “This is an exciting opportunity for Wokingham Borough residents who have often considered starting up a business but need that extra bit of help – the roadshows and workshops will help people develop where their future business opportunities lie.”

The roadshows will help people understand why new businesses fail and the pitfalls to avoid. A series of workshops are also planned where people can get free expert help and advice on a range of issues from producing a business plan to developing a sales and marketing strategy. Individual mentoring will also be provided to help people develop their ideas more fully if needed.

Josie Wragg, head of strategic partnerships, said: “This is fantastic news for budding entrepreneurs across the borough. Providing strong support to help people grow and create their business is absolutely critical in the current economic climate and is central to our economic growth strategy.”

The project will look to establish links with other organisations that can provide help, in particular with local banks and building societies that may be able to help with access to finance. It will also provide additional support to other initiatives such as the Business Academy which is being led by The Forest School to help young entrepreneurs.

If you have an idea for setting up a new business and would like to get more involved in this initiative then please contact Alison Munro, community partnership manager, on (0118) 974 6043. Alternatively, you can contact Isabel King at the Real Business Club on (01753) 526 020.

Wokingham Borough Council are to host a safer cycling event on June 18 in support of national Bike Week on Monday June 18 in Wokingham Market Place from 10am to 2pm.

Activities include a free doctor bike surgery and security bike marking, competitions for keen cyclists to go fastest on a static bike, a display from Keep Hatch Primary School, resources for sale plus information on cycle safety and cycle routes from the borough council’s road safety team.

At midday, spectators will also be able to experience the sights and sounds of emergency services dealing with a road traffic collision with commentary on the demonstration from the Wokingham Fire Station manager, plus an air ambulance fly-by between midday and 12.30pm.

To encourage residents to return to cycling, there is also an extensive summer programme of cycling events to sign up for, including free family rides and cycling lessons for over 50s.

Julie Pillai, Wokingham Borough Council road safety officer, said: “The benefits of cycling are well known, it’s good for you and the environment and for short journeys cycling can often be as quick as driving. Also in these times of high petrol prices, cycling can prove to be an excellent way to save some money.

“The event on June 18 is aimed at getting residents cycling again. We are looking to give people the confidence to get back on their bikes by offering them information on where to cycle, safety tips and training.”

Sol Joel Park in Earley is getting the first dedicated Parkour facility in Wokingham Borough, with the official opening planned for 2pm on on Friday June 8 .

Wokingham Borough Mayor Cllr Bob Wyatt and Earley Town Mayor Cllr Pauline Jorgensen will be officially opening the facility with the help of Parkour experts who will also be demonstrating the discipline.

The facility has been made available to local residents thanks to the combined efforts of Earley Town Council and Wokingham Borough Council and an investment of £85,000 through Section 106 funding specifically for the use of children’s play areas.

Parkour, also known as free-running, is increasingly popular in the UK and is a physical discipline which focuses on efficient movement around obstacles. The main purpose of the discipline is for participants to move through their environment by vaulting, rolling, running, climbing, and jumping.

This new facility in Earley aims to mimic an urban landscape and will contain dozens of objects commonly found in a real city environment that Parkour or free-running practitioners can use to practice the sport within a safe and dedicated environment.

To celebrate the 20th birthday of Bookstart, Wokingham Borough Council’s libraries service are lending their support to the national campaign to get the nation’s families sharing books by asking parents and carers to pledge to share 20 books with their children during 2012.

Bookstart is the world-renowned national early reading scheme which gives free books to babies and toddlers. In its 20 years the programme has given away 30 million free books.

The library service will be running Bookstart 20th birthday storytimes at the following venues:

Maiden Erlegh Library on Monday June 11 from 2pm to 3pm
Wargrave Library on Monday June 11 from 4pm to 4.30pm
Spencers Wood Library on Monday June 11 from 4pm to 4.30pm
Wokingham Library on Tuesday June 12 from 2.15pm to 2.45pm
Woodley Library on Tuesday June 12 from 4pm to 4.30pm
Winnersh Library on Wednesday June 13 from 10.15am to 10.45am
Lower Earley Library on Thursday June 14 from 2.30pm to 3pm
Finchampstead Library on Friday June 15 from 11.15am to 11.45am

The library service also runs regular events for parents / carers with children under 5, including: rhymetime, toddlertime, storytime and dad’s rhymetime. For more information please visit: www.wokingham.gov.uk/libraries/events or call the local library.

Wokingham Borough elected Cllr Bob Wyatt MBE as Wokingham Borough Mayor on May 24. Cllr UllaKarin Clark was appointed as deputy mayor.

Cllr Wyatt was elected as a councillor on the original Wokingham Borough Council in 1968 and since then has worked hard for homeless young people, helping to set up the young person’s hostel, Seaford Court in Wokingham and through his involvement with Caritas, the charity for young homeless. He also takes an active interest in improving services for carers in the borough and was appointed a Champion for Older People.

Rainforest Roadshow will be at Wokingham Borough libraries on June 7.

The Rainforest Roadshow presents a journey through the layers of the rainforest, and interact with the animals living there, such as snakes and frogs, whilst learning about their habitat.

Session times:
Woodley Library from 9am to 10am – (0118) 969 0304
Lower Earley Library from 10.45am to 11.45am – (0118) 931 2150
Wokingham Library from 12.45pm to 1.45pm – (0118) 978 1368
Finchampstead Library from 2.30pm to 3.30pm – (0118) 908 8176

The roadshow costs £1.50 per child and places must be booked in advance. Customers should contact the relevant library to book their place.

Wokingham’s ambulance call centre is moving to Bicester in Oxfordshire, more than 50 miles from the Berkshire town.

50 workers at Wokingham are affected by the relocation to the South Central Ambulance Service (SCAS) HQ in Bicester in July.

A Unison spokesman said staff without local knowledge would compromise “patient safety” and added that employees were “concerned”.

SCAS operations manager John Nichols said it was important that calls were “answered quickly”.

South Central Ambulance Service NHS Trust has emergency operations centres in Wokingham, Bicester and Winchester.

Mr Nichols said the merge of three of its centres to two was a trend among many ambulance services to improve efficiency.

At the recent Annual Town Electors’ Meeting for Earley, the organisers of the EASI Litter Picking Scheme in the Town received Service to Earley Awards for 2012.

The outgoing Mayor, Councillor Tim Chambers, presented to Brian and Jean Hackett and Peter Soul, all Officers of the Maiden Erlegh Residents’ Association, who initiated the Earley Adopt a Street (EASI) scheme of which there are now over 200 participants who have joined the scheme since its inception two years ago.

Councillor Chambers referred to the outstanding contribution made by the recipients of the award to making the EASI scheme so successful and commented also on the wide publicity that it had received.

In addition, all three award winners have been instrumental in organising the Maiden Erlegh Residents’ Association, Brian Hackett as Secretary and Peter Soul as the Editor of the Newsletter. Additionally, they support the Earley Environmental Group and Jean Hackett has also made a major contribution to the running of the Earley Volunteer Driver Bureau, providing a transport service for the elderly and mobility restricted residents in the Town.