News

A successful scheme aiming to reduce the illegal sale of alcohol to young people has been launched in the Wokingham Borough.

The Responsible Retailer scheme has been running successfully for four years in West Berkshire and now has more than 200 premises taking part. The scheme offers training, advice and support to those involved in selling age-restricted products.

It also gives recognition to those premises who have committed to trade responsibly. More than 200 premises have qualified and are full participants in the West Berkshire scheme, launched in June 2007.

The Responsible Retailer scheme is free to join and all those accepted are presented with information and training aids, along with a framed certificate and responsible retailer stickers for display within the premises. A list of premises accepted onto the scheme will be published on the council’s website.

Two-hour training sessions on preventing underage sales are available for those joining the scheme at £10 a head. The course includes information on:

Why certain products are controlled
The role and responsibilities of the seller
Why people make illegal sales
How to prevent illegal sales / how to refuse a sale / assessing risk
The consequences of selling
Proxy sales

For information or booking details, contact Wokingham and West Berkshire Trading Standards on (01635) 519930

Wokingham car dealer Oliver John, who trades as Purple Sky Trading, has been fined a total of £1,500 for misleading customers.

At Maidenhead Magistrates’ Court on October 7, 2011, Mr John pleaded guilty to three charges under the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008. The charges were brought following an investigation by West Berkshire Councils Trading Standards Service into alleged misleading omissions in relation to the sale of a Ford Focus. Wokingham Borough Council was awarded £750 in costs and a £15 victim surcharge was also ordered.

Alison Beynon, prosecuting on behalf of West Berkshire and Wokingham Trading Standards Service, told the court that the Mr John had sold the Ford Focus to a customer without informing them that the vehicle was a Category C insurance write off, even though he was in possession of this fact. The car was subsequently returned by the first purchaser and he fully refunded the customer. However, Mr John sold the car again the following day and for a second time failed to inform the purchaser of the vehicle’s history. Mr Jones was fined a total of £500 for two offences relating to the first sale and £1,000 for one offence relating to the second.

The Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008 introduced the concept of misleading omission into consumer law. This effectively requires a trader to make a consumer aware of any information they have that may affect a decision to purchase. The maximum fine for breach of this requirement is £5,000 per offence.

Sean Murphy, trading standards manager, said: “Customers are entitled to be in full possession of the relevant facts available when making a decision. In this case consumers were not provided with the information about the history of the vehicle which they would have wanted to take into consideration. The fact that it happened on two occasions is reflected in the penalty for the second offence”.

The University of Reading has appealed over tover plans for 1,200 new homes in Shinfield by Wokingham Borough Council.

Shinfield falls within one of four strategic development locations (SDLs) earmarked by the council within its core strategy, which sets out where more than 12,500 homes are to be built across the borough by 2026.

Little information is available on the Wokingham Borough Council website. The site does say ” for further information contact Theresa Brown in the Development Management Business Support Team on (0118) 974 6433.”

Wokingham Borough Council is reminding householders to return their annual electoral canvass form soon, if they have not already done so, as the last chance to respond is Monday 17 October.

Alison Wood, electoral services manager, said: “Like the Census earlier this year, we have certain steps that we have to take by law, and this includes a personal visit by a canvasser to each property that has not returned the canvass form. We know that some people wait until the ‘snapshot date’ of October 15 before doing so and we would urge those people to return their forms as quickly as possible. Each personal visit costs the council, and therefore the council tax payer, money.

“As well as not being able to vote in elections, not being on the Register of Electors, or being incorrectly registered, can affect your credit reference too. We often get phone calls from people who are trying to get a mortgage, open a bank account or buy a mobile phone or car and they are not able to do so. By that time it can be too late, so please register as soon as possible.

“Anyone who has trouble completing the form, or who is not sure about their personal situation, can either come to the electoral services office at Shute End in Wokingham for help, or call the helpline on (0118) 974 6522 or 6523.

Hampshire County Council may take legal action against Wokingham Borough Council to stop 3,500 homes being built across its border in Berkshire. Hampshire Lib Dem councillor David Simpson said his council would consider a judicial review if the plans go ahead unaltered.

The Wokingham council plans under threat are to build on Arborfield Army Garrison when the Ministry of Defence offers for sale in 2015.

Gill Purchase, from Arborfield Garrison Residents Action Group, said: “We will support any development… that is carefully thought out and controlled, but the infrastructure isn’t there.

“There isn’t the roads, there isn’t the local facilities and the green fields that you see now will simply have a lot of houses built on them.”

Councillor Angus Ross, planning chief at the Conservative-led Wokingham council, said its modelling was showing much less traffic than projections from Hampshire residents.

“We are keen to enter very open dialogue with them [Hampshire County Council],” the councillor said.

“I very much hope we don’t [end up in a legal battle] and myself and our officers are doing all we can to supply information to Hampshire County Council so we can come to a resolution.”

Living in Wokingham You Tube video uploaded by Bearwood College.

Bearwood College offers high quality education and care to children aged from 3 months to 18 years through our Nursery, Pre-Prep, Prep and Senior Departments. We welcome day pupils throughout the College and boarders from age 11 to 18.

Bearwood College
Winnersh
WOKINGHAM
Berkshire
United Kingdom
RG41 5BG
0118 974 8300
Fax: 0118 977 3186
www.bearwoodcollege.co.uk

A child car seat safety clinic is being held on Thursday, October 13 2011 and Friday, October 14 2011 at 10am-3pm at The Tesco Superstore, 78 Finchampstead Road, Wokingham, RG40 2NS by the Good Egg Child Car Seat Clinic.

‘Good Egg’ safety campaign
Visit the Road Safety GB website to read about the Good Egg campaign, which is designed to ensure that babies and children are properly restrained while travelling in the car.

For more details of the Good Egg Child Car Seat Clinic please call Julie Pillai, Road Safety Officer on 0118 974 6387 or email: [email protected]

The next Community Surgery will take place at the Wokingham Town Hall on Saturday 15th October from 10am to 12noon, announces the Wokingham Town Council website.

“This is your opportunity to meet Town and Borough Councillors and the local Police team, and discuss any issues that you feel need to be addressed within the local community.”

Plans for a proposed multi-million pound redevelopment of Wokingham railway station have been submitted to Wokingham Borough Council.

Network Rail have submitted plans to the council with detailed drawings showing a state-of-the-art train station with retail areas and a large glass-fronted station building.

Wokingham Borough Council said it would contribute £5.5m towards the scheme which would include rebuilding the town’s station building. An access road connecting Wellington Road and the A329 Reading Road would be built through the station’s forecourt. Improvements to the level crossing alongside the station are also planned.

A public exhibition of the main proposals is due to take place later in the year, followed by a public consultation.

Local MP John Redwood has raised questions in parliament regarding the “very tatty and run down station in Wokingham”.

The plans can be viewed at the Borough Council Planning Office at Shute End, Wokingham, and online at: http://wokingham.gov.uk/planningcontrol/planning/planningapplications/searchplanningapplications/ And then enter either RAIL/2011/2049 against ‘Application No’ in the search box.

Thames Valley Police is appealing for witnesses to a robbery at a convenience store in Finchampstead on 4/10/2011.

At just before 10pm, at One Stop Shop in Barkham Ride, two men were seen dressed in black, holding crowbars and standing by a silver car, possibly a BMW or a Mercedes.

Two white men wearing balaclavas , carrying crowbars, had entered the shop just before closing time, and demanded the safe be opened and took money from that and the ATM. Cigarettes were also taken.

Det Sgt Carl Bradford, of Loddon Valley CID, said: “This was frightening for the staff concerned. We are very keen to speak to anyone who may have seen two men in a silver car in the area around the time of the robbery or who has any information about the crime.”

Anyone who may have any information is asked to contact Det Sgt Bradford at Loddon Valley via the 24-hour Police Enquiry Centre on 0854 8 505 505.