News

Wokingham Borough Council are to discuss the Jubilee bridge and olympic cycle way on May 31.

The report to be seen by members highlights some of the many projects and activities planned across Wokingham to mark the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee.

The Jubilee Bridge and Olympic Cycle Way could see a bike and rail link created between Woodley, Twyford and Dinton Pastures Country Park. As part of this, the existing bridge crossing the River Loddon would be upgraded and renamed Jubilee Bridge.

To finance these works the council has successfully applied for a £140,000 Sustrans grant, and Taylor Wimpey has offered to pay the bridge repairs costing £30,000. Countryside Access S106 funds have also been earmarked to support the scheme.

First Group has said it will fund the cycle facilities at Twyford Station at a cost of £17,000, and it is hoped the additional funds to extend the link into Dinton will come from the Local Strategic Partnership. If the scheme gets the green light, work could start on the cycle way in September.

The executive will also hear how normal street party fees are being waived for parties held between June 2 and 5. Organisers of the larger events have been offered co-ordinated safety advice from both the emergency services and the council – an approach welcomed by them.

Road closures for street parties are being managed to ensure that a detour is not blocked by another party. In addition, a schedule of public events will be posted on the council’s website nearer the time to help residents decide where they can go to celebrate

More information: www.wokingham.gov.uk

Wokingham Town Council has announced that every resident, allotment holder, school and business in Wokingham town is eligible to enter one of the annual Gardening Competitions.

The ‘Green Fingers’ competition for residents is for front gardens, back gardens, window boxes and containers, and window boxes and containers for those with physical or sensory impairments.

The closing date for entries is 2nd July 2012.

More information and entry form at: http://www.wokingham-tc.gov.uk/component/content/article/38-garden-competition.html

Wokingham Borough Council is consulting on bus travel in Wokingham town and the surrounding villages and is inviting local residents and customers to take part.

The borough council wants to understand what type of journeys people are making on buses in the Wokingham town area and what improvements would encourage people to use the bus more often.

Cllr Keith Baker, executive member for transport, said: “We recognise how important bus services are for communities. It is important that people tell us how they travel on existing services so that vital links can be maintained and every opportunity can be taken to establish new links where appropriate.

“We would also like to hear from those people who do not use the bus as it is just as important for us to understand why. If you live, work or visit Wokingham town, Finchampstead, Arborfield, Barkham, Winnersh, Norreys, Keephatch, Beanoak or Woosehill, we would love to hear from you.”

The consultation will run for approximately six weeks until Friday June 29. An online consultation form is available from: www.wokingham.gov.uk/bus-consultation

Wokingham Borough Libraries is celebrating the Queen’s Jubilee with a series of events.

Twyford Library Jubilee Reminiscence Coffee Morning on Tuesday May 29, 10.30am onwards, to share your memories of the past and enjoy refreshments. For more information call Twyford Library on (0118) 934 0800.

Wokingham Library is the venue for ‘200 Years of Royal Brides’ on Wednesday May 30, at 2pm. Costume historian Gillian Stapleton will follow the courtships and marriages of seven royal ladies, from Princess Charlotte of Wales in 1816 to Catherine Middleton in 2011. Her presentation promises to uncover all manner of intriguing, moving and romantic stories along the way. The event includes afternoon tea. Places cost £5 and must be booked in advance. Call Wokingham Library on (0118) 978 1368.

A Jubilee tea afternoon is being held at Spencers Wood Library on Thursday May 31, from 3.30pm to 4.30pm. Whether you’re a regular customer or new to the area, drop-in, chat to staff and enjoy tea and cakes. More details are available by calling (0118) 988 4771.

If you enjoy talking about times gone by, reminisce about the Jubilee and the 1950s at Finchampstead Library on Friday June1 at 2pm. Bring in your own memorabilia and enjoy a cup of tea from the café. Ring the library for more information on (0118) 908 8176.

Lower Earley Library is holding its own Jubilee celebration on Saturday June 2, from 10am to noon. You’re invited to drop-in for a cup of coffee and to listen to music performed by Ian Macey and his Busker organs. More information on (0118) 931 2150.

There’s plenty going on for children too on Saturday June 2. Libraries across the borough will be holding special story and craft sessions where youngsters can listen to royal stories and make a crown. Sessions will be at Arborfield Container Library, 9.30am to 10pm; Finchampstead Library, 10.30am to 11am: Lower Earley Library, 11am to 11.30am; Maiden Erlegh Library, 10.30am to 11am; Spencers Wood Library, 11.30am to noon; Twyford Library, 10.30am to 11am; Wargrave Library, 10.30am to 11am; Winnersh Library, 11.30am to noon; Wokingham Library,11am to 11.30am; and Woodley library, 11am to 11.30am. The events are free for children of all ages, but places should be booked by ringing the relevant library.

The Rainforest Roadshow will be visiting selected libraries during June half term, on Thursday June 7. Children can embark on a journey through the layers of the rainforest, and interact with the animals living there. The roadshow will be at Woodley Library 9am to 10am; Lower Earley Library 10.45am to 11.45am; Wokingham Library 12.45pm to 1.45pm and Finchampstead Library 2.30pm to 3.30pm. The events are suitable for youngsters aged 5 to 12 years, and cost £1.50 per child. Again, places should be booked in advance by calling each library.

For more details about these events please visit: www.wokingham.gov.uk/libraries

Wokingham Wokingham Borough Council have announced that Heathlake Local Nature Reserve dog walkers need not be concerned over recent reports of dog poisoning.

It had been reported in the media that two dogs sadly died within a week of each other after visiting Heathlake Local Nature Reserve, following rumours spread on social media and in some parts of the community claiming their deaths were caused by poison.

In response the council and Thames Valley Police immediately advised dog owners to be vigilant, while these claims were investigated. Warning posters were also erected at the Heathlake site.

Chris Buggy, countryside co-ordinator for Wokingham Borough Council, said: “There have been no other reported deaths or illnesses reported by local veterinary practices that can be related to this reserve, or any other sites in the area.

“Other reports of incidents at The Look Out and Dinton Pastures have also proved to be unsubstantiated. Both the Countryside Service and Environmental Health Team have been involved. They looked at everything.

“The Countryside Service also made a number of site visits to the reserves and found nothing untoward. We do hope this puts dog walkers’ minds at rest and helps them when making decisions about where to exercise their dogs.

“We will of course continue to monitor the situation; and for no other reason than to raise awareness, continue to leave the warning notices up at Heathlake.”

Neil Car, head of neighbourhoods, for Wokingham Borough Council said: “We have been made aware by Thames Valley Police and local veterinary practices that two dogs have died following a visit to Heathlake Local Nature Reserve, Crowthorne.

“Wokingham Borough Council has never put down poison of any kind at Heathlake and is continuing to work with the police and local veterinary practices to find out the cause of these incidents.

“The countryside service has been inspecting the site and will also be putting up posters today (Wednesday May 2) advising customers who use the site to keep all dogs on leads for the time being.”

http://www.wokingham.gov.uk/communities/neighbourhoods/neighbourhood-area-managers/?locale=en

Wokingham Borough Council has successfully prosecuted a number of people across the borough in recent months for failing to comply with planning regulations.

The council experienced a fourfold increase in planning enforcement issues during 2011 and has substantially more in the pipeline this year.

Mark Cupit, head of development management, said: “I’m happy to say that most residents follow the correct planning application requirements or, if accidentally failing to do so, remedy this quickly when it comes to light.

“In these cases however, the council has had to follow a very lengthy and expensive exercise to ensure the correct outcome.

“I hope this gives due warning that Wokingham Borough Council will pursue those who blatantly ignore the council’s and national planning policies.”

To find our more about planning regulations for both residents and businesses visit www.wokingham.gov.uk and click on Planning Control on the left hand side.

Wokingham Borough Council are supporting the launch of the new ‘Good Egg Guide for Parents of New Drivers’ and will be distributing free copies in response to requests from parents as well as through young driver initiatives.

Nearly eight out of ten parents surveyed (78%) fear their son or daughter will be involved in a car crash according to new research by Good Egg Safety.

The survey also shows that one in three mums and dads (29%) also think their children drive too fast while 10% of parents worry that their children will be tempted to send or check text messages behind the wheel. One in ten parents (10%) are also concerned their child will drink or take drugs when driving.

To request a Good Egg Guide for Parents of New Drivers please contact the Road Safety Team on (0118) 974 6387.

Wokingham Borough Council parking enforcement team and business assurance officers worked together with Thames Valley Police on Friday April 13 in Woodley to make sure that blue parking badges, which provide a range of parking and motoring concessions for people with disabilities, are being used correctly. The aim is to make sure that those who need to access disabled parking facilities are not being prevented from doing so by those using the scheme or badges incorrectly or fraudulently.

During the exercise, over 120 badges were checked with drivers being advised on when and how they should be using disabled parking badges and bays. One blue badge was seized by the police as the holder of the badge was not present at the time of its use.

Blue badge fraud is an increasing problem across the country and has led to new eligibility and enforcement powers to combat the misuse of badges.

Wokingham Borough Council’s director of business assurance and democratic services Muir Laurie said: “This initiative was extremely well received by the public and the team will be conducting further similar operations throughout the borough.

“The most common misuse was disabled parking bays being used when the blue badge holder was staying in the vehicle. Disabled parking bays are to enable the person holding the blue badge to have easier access to local businesses and community amenities; it is not free parking for their families. In these cases, the usual pay and display parking facilities should be used to allow disabled parking bays to be available for other badge holders.”

Anyone concerned about the misuse of a disabled blue badge can report them in confidence to the whistleblowing hotline on (0118) 974 6550 or via email at: [email protected]

Wokingham Borough Libraries are hosting several events as part of World Book Night 2012, the nationwide celebration of the reading, recommending and giving of books.

Now in its second year, World Book Night 2012 will take place on the Monday April 23, UNESCO’s International Day of the Book and Shakespeare’s birthday.

World Book Night is an industry-wide initiative launched in 2011 and will see one million free books given away by passionate readers to other members of the public across the UK and Ireland.

Members of the public were invited to apply to be one of the 20,000 book-givers and those selected are passionate readers who enjoy recommending a book they love to other readers. They are also encouraged to pass the books on to those who may be reluctant readers or who are part of communities with less access to books, bookshops and libraries. In total, 480,000 books will be distributed by givers.

The remaining 520,000 will be distributed directly to prisons, libraries, hospitals and other places where books are not readily available, through World Book Night’s charitable partners. For further information visit: www.worldbooknight.org