News

Thames Valley Police is appealing for witnesses to a serious injury collision in Lower Earley.

The incident happened in Gipsy Lane, at the junction with Brookside Close, just after 7pm on 5/10/2011.

A blue Vauxhall Corsa was involved in a collision with a red Honda motorcycle. The motorcycle rider, a 19-year-old man, was taken to the Royal Berkshire Hospital with serious leg injuries.

Anyone with any information about this incident should contact Sgt Justin Thomas via 0845 8 505 505.

Councillors voted to adopt the plan allowing the homes to be built over the next 15 years at four sites in Wokingham borough.

Councillor Angus Ross, planning chief at the council, said: “There is an increasing demand for houses and this is the right time to get ready.

“We have added some more guidance on layout and design which will help developers with their plans.”

The homes are set to be built at four main sites – 2,500 homes south of Wokingham, 1,500 homes north of Wokingham, 3,500 homes at Arborfield Garrison and 2,500 homes south of the M4 at Shinfield, Spencer’s Wood and Three Mile Cross.

A Wokingham man has launched a new charity after his wife died due to accidental carbon monoxide poisoning.

Katie Haines, 31, of Wokingham, drowned in the bath after breathing in carbon monoxide from a leaking boiler.

Richard Haines, who found his wife’s body, said: “I knew something was up. We have a cat and the cat was acting really strangely.

“I found Katie in the bath, immersed, overcome by carbon monoxide.”

Mr Haines said he had gone into “auto-pilot” while getting his wife out of the bath and giving her CPR.

More: www.katiehaines.com

A new fire station has opened in Wokingham, Berkshire. Firefighters started work on 1 October.

The station cost £1.5 million to build. Funding for the project was agreed by Royal Berkshire Fire Authority in 2009. The building, which stands on foundations built entirely of recycled materials, has state of the art energy-saving features, including photovoltaic cells and solar panels, a recycled rainwater system, automatic light switches and heat insulation, making it very economical to run. One of its key features is a community room, where local groups will be able to hold meetings.

RBFRS Assistant Chief Fire Officer, Paul Southern, said: “This is a very exciting time for us and the culmination of a lot of hard work by everyone involved. The groundbreaking ceremony took place in November last year so we have moved from building site to a new fire station in less than a year.

“The existing fire station in Denton Road served us well for many years but was not suitable for the requirements of a 24-hour cover station. We will look at its future role as part of reviews of our asset management and training plans but no decisions have been made as yet.”

Royal Berkshire Fire Authority said the station will be manned 24 hours a day, seven days a week and be staffed by 29 crew.

Finchampstead Neighbourhood Action Group (NAG) will be holding its Annual General Meeting (AGM) at 7.30pm on Monday October 17 in the main hall of Gorse Ride Junior School, Finchampstead.

The speakers will be chair of Finchampstead NAG Cllr Rob Stanton, chief inspector Christian Bunt and sports development officer at Finchampstead Baptist Centre Beth Cutting.

There will also be a chance to discuss with your local councillors, neighbourhood leaders and the local neighbourhood Police team your thoughts on how the local area is run.

Thames Valley Police have issued a distraction burglary warning after three men tried to gain access to the home of a couple in Reeves Way, Wokingham.

A man claiming to be from a utility company said there was a burst pipe in a neighbouring road and he needed to check the home’s gas and water pressure. While he talked to the couple inside their home, the woman noticed two other men had also entered and told her husband. The three men then ran outside to a waiting dark-coloured vehicle and drove off without taking anything.

The suspects are all white. The first man is between fifteen and twenty years old, about 5ft 2ins and slim. The other two men were in their late twenties to early thirties, slim, and were about 5ft 8ins tall.

Det Con Will Crowther, of Loddon Valley police station, said: “I am appealing for anyone with information, or if they saw any suspicious men fitting the above description or remembers seeing the vehicle being driven away from this location at speed to contact police.”

Call DC Will Crowther via the 24-hour non-emergency number, 0845 8 505 505, or the charity Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.

Offering the chance to find out about a wide variety of careers, the fair at Loddon Valley Leisure Centre will have representatives from every skills sector – IT, finance, health, hospitality, creative and media, construction, science, business, administration and public service – including some of the most significant employers in the region. They will offer advice and provide insights into the sector they represent. Attending employers include Microsoft, Barclays, Glaxo Smith Kline, Marks & Spencer, John Lewis, Thales, and Deloitte, to name just a few. It will also host training, further education, apprenticeship and university providers who can point young people to the route they need to take to realise their ambitions.

The Careers Fair will be divided into two sessions:

9am – 2.45pm: Year 9 students from the Wokingham borough’s secondary schools will have a 90-minute visit to supplement the careers work they will have completed at school.

4pm – 8pm: open to all young people and their parents in the Wokingham borough.

This is the second year of the fair. Last year’s inaugural event allowed more than 1,600 young people to find out about options for their future careers.

Further information about this event is available from Gill Waller, federation manager, by email on [email protected] or telephone on 07580 108147.

Starting on Monday October 3, the scheme, which aims to make paying for parking simpler and more convenient, is to be piloted in three car parks – Headley Road in Woodley and Rose Street and Denmark Street in Wokingham.

Wokingham Borough Council has partnered with Metric Mobile, its existing supplier of ticket machines, for the initiative which will run initially for six months.

Drivers can continue to use the existing coin operated machines or pay for their parking on their mobile phone using a credit or debit card. To use the service, motorists need to call 0118 907 6767 quoting the parking reference number, which can be found both on the pay and display machines and signs around the car parking area, and confirm their length of stay. People can even extend their parking time by mobile phone without having to return to their vehicle. This could mean no more fumbling for change. Users can even get a text message reminder when parking is about to expire.

The council’s parking attendants will receive live details of the payments to hand-held terminals, enabling them to check on which vehicles have, or have not, paid for parking. People who have paid by phone will not need to display any ticket.

Cllr Keith Baker, executive member for transport at Wokingham Borough Council, said: “We want to make it as convenient as possible for people to pay for parking and give them as wide a choice as we can.

“People are increasingly using their mobiles to carry out many normal day to day requirements. Whilst there still is the option of putting coins in the pay and display machines, many drivers will find this option to be far more convenient. It means they do not have to find the right change for the parking machine and they will get alerts to let them know when their time is running out. They can even extend the time they want to park without having to rush back to put more money into the machine.”

The Wokingham Town Centre Public Realm Workshop took place on 15 June 2011. This workshop was undertaken by the Local Planning Authority, based on the parameters set out in the Wokingham Town Centre Masterplan SPD, adopted June 2010. The workshop considered the Town Centre’s key public spaces alongside broader streetscape issues to ensure a consistent approach and facilitate a high quality network of streets and spaces.

The feedback report, as prepared by facilitators Allies and Morrison Urban Practitioners, summarises the feedback from the event and identifies common themes and conclusions. Its contents will be material in the determination of planning applications within the Town Centre as they come forward.

European Local Democracy Week (ELDW) is an annual European event with simultaneous national and local events organised by participating local authorities across Europe.

The purpose of the ELDW is to promote democratic participation at a local level. We want to encourage you, the residents of Wokingham Borough, to have an active role in local decision making and to have your say on local issues that affect you.

From 10 to 16 October 2011, cities and towns of the 47 member countries of the Council of Europe are invited to join ELDW. This year the week has the theme ‘Human Rights at a local level’.

ELDW is designed to raise awareness of the local dimension of human rights, and will contribute to promoting more cohesive cities and towns by preventing and combating intolerance, discrimination and social exclusion.

Wokingham Borough Council’s aim for ELDW is to:

Encourage young people to voice their opinions on issues that matter most to them
Raise the profile of local democracy and the role of the Mayor and councillors
Encourage more councillors to get involved in youth participation and to support the young people of the area
Raise awareness on elections and how to vote

Wokingham Borough Council are currently planning events. If you want like to be involved or would like more information please contact Democratic Services on (0118) 974 6013 or email: [email protected]