Activities organised by Wokingham Borough Council’s countryside rangers will help to keep children busy during the Easter holidays, with a country park trail and Easter Egg hunt available to children wanting to check out California Country Park.
On Wednesday April 4, anytime between 1pm and 3pm, the Easter trail around the park will help families discover more about the park, allowing children to learn more about wildlife as they use an easy-to-follow map. There will be fun ranger-led activities along the trail and a chocolate treat at the end. It’s an ideal activity for families, is suitable for pushchairs and costs just £2.50 per child.
And on Sunday April 8, from 12noon, children can join the park’s Easter Egg Hunt, looking for eggs in the park and bringing it to the café to see if they are a lucky winner. It costs £1 per child. (Children must be supervised, one egg per child.)
Contact the countryside service on (0118) 934 2016 for information about the Easter trail and California Dreaming Café on (0118) 973 5519 for details of the Easter Egg Hunt.
Details of other countryside events and activities can be found at: www.wokingham.gov.uk/parks
March 12, 2012 | editor
Wokingham Borough Council has been awarded a grant from the Department for Transport (DfT) to enable children at South Lake Primary School in Woodley to receive Bikeability training.
From Monday March 19 until Thursday March 22, 20 children in Year 6 at South Lake Primary School will be learning all about cycling safety thanks to the cycle training course organised by the road safety team at Wokingham Borough Council and being delivered by instructors from Cycle Experience.
The council has been successful in obtaining a grant from the Department for Transport (DfT) to pay for up to 800 children to receive Bikeability training in 2012 / 2013. Bikeability is the name for the national standard for cycle training, the ’cycling proficiency’ for the 21st century.
The course is designed to give children the skills and confidence to ride their bikes on today’s roads and the training takes place largely on local roads, with both children and instructors on bikes.
March 11, 2012 | editor
Wokingham Borough Council’s drug and alcohol action team (DAAT) will be hosting an information day in The Mall Gallery at the Civic Offices, on Wednesday March 7,
The aim of the day is to raise awareness of Wokingham’s drug and alcohol treatment system, showcase the work that is carried out by different groups, to raise awareness of substance use disorder and the impact it has on those affected.
As well the borough council’s DAAT there will also be several other information stands including KCA Horizon service for adults and young people, DrugFAM, Supported Employment Service, Berkshire Women’s Aid, Thames Valley Police, Probation, Frontier Medical and many others.
March 4, 2012 | editor
In preparation for the council’s new weekly waste and recycling scheme, a partnership with Veolia Environmental Services, which starts on April 2. All households will be receiving 80 blue sacks over the next four weeks, which are to be used for waste that cannot be recycled. Households with more than five occupants can apply for more sacks from the Borough Council.
Along with their blue sacks, all households will be receiving a leaflet explaining how the new scheme will work. Weekly waste will continue (in the new blue sacks only) and dry recycling in black boxes will also become weekly. All households will be able to join a fortnightly garden waste recycling scheme as a chargeable service (£60 annual charge for a fortnightly collection from a 240-litre wheeled bin or individual compostable sacks at a cost of £1 each). The garden waste scheme was previously only available to residents in certain parts of the Wokingham borough.
Wheeled bins for the new garden waste service can also be ordered now. Residents can call (0118) 909 9360 or email [email protected]
February 29, 2012 | editor
The plans for Wokingham’s station link road will be going on public display in the town centre from Thursday March 1 to Saturday March 3 in Unit 38 on Market Place, Wokingham (opposite the town hall).
Residents have been able to views these plans at the council offices and online since February 1 and are now invited along to the manned exhibition to see the displays and ask questions of the officers putting the plans together. The exhibitions will be taking place on:
Thursday March 1, 12pm to 8pm
Friday March 2, 10am to 6pm
Saturday March 3, 10am to 4pm
Details of the proposed improvements to the road network around Wokingham railway station and Barkham Road level crossing, including an information leaflet and online feedback form, can be found on the council’s website at: www.wokingham.gov.uk/stationlinkroad
February 28, 2012 | editor
This year’s Wokingham Borough Community Conference will be a showcase for the exciting and innovative ways Wokingham borough will be ‘Living the Legacy’ during this Olympic year and beyond.
This year’s conference, ‘Inspire Wokingham Borough: Living the Legacy’ will take place in the appropriate surroundings of Loddon Valley Leisure Centre and will focus on how the borough can capture the Olympic spirit to bring long-term benefits to residents.
The conference will hear an inspiring presentation by Helene Raynsford, who won a rowing Gold Medal at the Beijing Paralympics and is now Wokingham Borough Public Health Lead. There will also be a chance to have a go at wheelchair basketball and Zumba and a demonstration from an indoor bowls group by residents of Rainbow Park in Winnersh.
Cllr Simon Weeks, chairman of the Wokingham Borough Strategic Partnership, which is organising the conference, said: “It feels right to theme our Community Conference around the Olympic legacy this year. The London Olympics will generate a huge amount of excitement and interest and we want to ensure the positive energy that comes from it is harnessed to bring long-term benefits in the borough. Taking part in sporting, leisure or cultural activities brings huge benefits to people and to communities in general – and that is just as true whether you are an aspiring Usain Bolt or an octogenarian picking up an artist’s paint brush for the first time in decades.”
As with last year, this year’s conference will include a showcase session featuring displays from local young people, community and voluntary groups, town, parish and borough councils and health and emergency services.
The conference will be on from 9am to 2pm on Friday March 9 and anybody interested in attending should contact Wokingham Borough Council Partnership Development Manager Sue Roberts on (0118) 974 6016 or email: [email protected] by Friday March 2.
February 23, 2012 | editor
Wokingham Borough Council’s housing budget for 2012/13 is being set up to invest almost £5million in the future of its homes, despite servicing a £95.4million debt that will be taken on to buy the houses from central government.
Historically, the council has had to pay some 44 per cent of its tenants’ rents to central government in the housing subsidy system, a total of £5.7million in 2011/12. The reform of the council housing finance system, under The Localism Act 2011, removes this subsidy system, which was used to pay for housing improvements nationally, and instead allocates debt to individual councils based on the value of their housing stock. The new system is known as ‘self financing’.
Wokingham Borough Council’s housing stock has been valued at £102million and the council is required to take on an additional debt of £95.4million to buy itself out of the subsidy system.
February 21, 2012 | editor
Wokingham Borough Council is in the process of attempting to find a partner to help ensure it provides the sort of libraries people want in the 21st century, with a range of services that meet communities educational, recreational, cultural and information needs.
The next stage of this process will be for the council’s decision-making executive to discuss the high-level specifications that could establish the broad principles of what the council would require any future partner to provide. The exact details of this draft specification cannot be made public due to EU procurement law, but the council can state that, as a minimum, the provider would:
Allow library users and local communities to input into library policy and services
Provide an improved and financially-sustainable library service
Provide libraries that are at the heart of communities and are trusted, impartial places that offer people better opportunities and improved quality of life
Wokingham Borough Council executive member for internal services Cllr UllaKarin Clark said: “I am excited at the prospect of this process moving on and hope the executive agrees the high level specifications. Our aim is to find a partner who can help improve our already excellent libraries. Libraries across the country face challenging times; with cheaper books, greater internet usage, increasing availability of electronic books and – let’s face facts – less public money around. What we are saying is that we do not want our libraries to fall victim to these challenges but, instead, hope to find the right partner to help them thrive.”
February 17, 2012 | editor
Dinton Pastures Country Park Multi-Activity Centre have announced 2012 courses.
Courses include everything from multi activity days to Bushcraft adventures and rock climbing to sailing courses for adults. Why not sign up now?
A new Dinton Discovers Club is running on the second Saturday of every month, offering the chance for young people between eight and 16 years old to explore their environment and try out rock climbing and raft building as well as searching for amphibians and reptiles. The session run from 10.30am to 12.30pm and cost £7 a session or £20 for four sessions.
A Junior Sailing Club for eight to 18 year olds starts on April 2 and runs for six weeks. It costs £15 a session or £75 for six weeks. A 25% discount is available for MAC members.
A ‘Swan Lake’ afternoon club for women, offering the opportunity to chat and get active, starts on April 4and runs every Wednesday afternoon between 12.30pm and 2.30pm until July 18. Sessions cost £7 each or £20 for four.
Bushcraft sessions run once a month, featuring adventures on the park’s very own ‘island’. Sessions last either one or two days, costing either £85 or £120.
The extremely popular pay and play craft hire starts on March 31 and is available for all of the family. In addition, this year’s Family Fun Day on June 9 promises to be bigger and better than ever, so come along and see what’s on offer.
Multi-activity centre manager Tanya Budd said: “Why not spring into action with one of the new activities at the MAC? There’s an action packed programme and we’re looking forward to seeing the park full of people using the facilities.”
Contact the MAC on (0118) 934 4424 or email: [email protected] for more information or to book any of the events or activities listed.
February 15, 2012 | editor
Wokingham residents will be given the opportunity to discuss mental health issues at a public workshop on Monday February 13 from 6.30pm at the Civic Offices, Shute End.
The health overview and scrutiny committee at Wokingham Borough Council established a Mental Health Task and Finish Group last August to review the mental health service for 16-year-olds and over with common to moderate mental health and wellbeing needs. It aims to identify how easy it is for individuals to access the service for the first time in the Wokingham Borough.
As part of that review the task and finish group is organising a public workshop to listen to and discuss the concerns of members of the community who have experienced trying to access these services, over the last two years, as well as those who have used the services.
The committee has been looking at both statutory and voluntary services within the Wokingham Borough and now it needs help from residents to tell them first hand of any positive experiences, negative feedback or their ideas for any service provision which they feel is missing.
To register for the workshop or for more information, please contact Charles Yankiah on (0118) 974 6013.
February 13, 2012 | editor
