WBC News - Summer 2012

Wokingham Borough

NEWSYour magazine from Wokingham Borough Council

www.wokingham.gov.uk

In this issue...

New neighbourhoodsand country parks

page 24

Community colour at Rainbow Park

page 26

Jubilee treespage 9

Summer 2012

Includes I

nspire

Wokingha

m –

Olympic fe

ature

pages 15-

18

Keeping in touch with usPhone: (0118) 974 6000

Fax: (0118) 978 9078

Email: [email protected]

Text/SMS message: 07786 200 974

Website including webchat:www.wokingham.gov.uk

Visit us Monday to Friday between 8.30am and 5pm at the Civic Offices, Shute End,Wokingham RG40 1BN.

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Looking Local iPhone and Android app –Report abandoned vehicles, fly-tipping andvandalism, or check out events, job vacanciesand the latest travel information. Go to appstore and search for the free Looking Local app.

Email and text updates – Register at:www.wokingham.gov.uk/online

Information kiosks – Available at Woodleyand Lower Earley libraries and the Civic Offices.

Looking Local – Access local information and services using your digital televisionremote control. www.wokingham.gov.uk/looking-local

2 www.wokingham.gov.uk

We’d like to hear what you think of Wokingham Borough News, and in particular if you would like to contribute to future editions. Please also give your views on our social networking sites – send us amessage on Facebook or an email to:[email protected]

Editorial: Communications Team atWokingham Borough Council.

Print: Printed by Herald Graphicson Core Uncoated 80gsm FSC.

Cost:14p per person/28p per copy.

Welcome

“2012 is an extraordinaryyear for the whole country.

This month sees the Olympic andParalympic Games coming to Londonfor the first time since 1948. We’realso celebrating The Queen’sDiamond Jubilee and it’s only thesecond time in our history we’vecelebrated a monarch’s 60 year reign.

There are many events in theBorough to mark both historicoccasions and you can read moreabout them in this magazine. Someof our residents, including Foreststudent Jack Weatherley, will have aonce in a lifetime opportunity to bean Olympic torchbearer. And we’ll bejoining forces with the WokinghamDistrict Veteran Tree Association toplant 60 mature trees around theBorough to mark the Diamond Jubilee(see page 9).

April saw us launch our new wastecollection service and it would be fairto say there were a few initialproblems for which I can onlyapologise. I am only too aware thatit’s important to get these basicservices right. Three months into the

new service we’re making goodprogress in reducing the amount ofwaste we send to landfill (see page 7).

Of course there is much more to readabout in this newsletter. There arearticles on the vital service providedto our older people by The LinkVisiting Scheme, protecting yourhome from burglars and the officialopening of Waingels College by HRHThe Duke of York.

Finally, there’s a chance for you toget involved with Parish andCommunity Forums for each of ourStrategic Development Locations inNorth and South Wokingham, Southof the M4 and Arborfield Garrison(see page 24).

As always, I am happy to hear from you about how we can improve things for you. Please get in touch by emailing me at:[email protected]”

Cllr David LeeLeader

During a whistle stop tour toofficially open the £31millionbuildings at Waingels College inWoodley, HRH The Duke of Yorkmet sixth formers to talk about theirplans for continuing their educationat university, their inspirations andtheir career aspirations.

HRH The Duke of York is keen torecognise initiatives that support young people in developing the right employability skills for the 21stCentury and stated that Waingels College is an excellent example of these initiatives.

The redevelopment of the schoolbuildings started in April 2009 and wascompleted in November last year.

In this edition

Your chance to shape health services . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

Recycling rates increase . . . . . . 7

Autism for life. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

Marking the Jubilee . . . . . . . . . . 9

Eat Out Eat Well . . . . . . . . . . . 12

Inspire Wokingham –living the legacy . . . . . . . . 15-18

Information at your finger tips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19

Furniture recycling scheme . . 20

Best start in life for children. . 22

New neighbourhoods . . . . . . . 24

Keep your property secure this summer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28

Planning matters . . . . . . . . . . . 29

What’s on . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31

Election round upSome 32 per cent of our residents tookto the polls on May 3 when a third ofthe Borough Council’s seats were up forelection. The political make up of theCouncil is now:

43 Conservatives 9 Liberal Democrats 2 Independents

Check out our website for details aboutyour local councillor. If you don’t haveaccess to the internet, please callDemocratic Services.

t. (0118) 974 6053www.wokingham.gov.uk/cllr-database

Royal seal of approval

PCC Electionsmean an earlycanvassOn November 15, electors in theThames Valley Police region will bevoting for a Police and CrimeCommissioner. The Register of Electorsthis year will be published on October16, not December 1 as usual, and thismeans the Annual Canvass will takeplace during the summer.

Canvass forms will be sent out thismonth (July). Please remember it’s alegal requirement for all households tocomplete the form. And, by returning itearly, vital council tax money is saved,as personal canvassers have to be sentto properties that don’t respond.

t. (0118) 974 6522 / 6523 e. [email protected]/elections

3


Executive viewCllr Julian McGhee Sumner, Executive Member for Health and Wellbeing

“We’ve set up a shadow health and wellbeing board whichmet for the first time in May. Setting up this board is one ofthe key elements of the NHS reforms and the Government'sHealth and Social Care Bill. We areworking with our partners to improve thehealth of our residents. By tackling issuestogether, and engaging communities andindividuals more effectively in what theycan do to help, we can ensure that theWokingham Borough is one of thehealthiest places to live in the country.”

This includes most hospital care and community and mentalhealth services – but patients will have a big say in how this isdone. To make this possible, local GPs from the Borough’s 14practices and other health care professionals have set up theWokingham Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG).

There are now seven CCGs in Berkshire and hundreds morenationally. One of the CCG’s priorities is to give patients and the public a bigger say about health care in the Borough. Eachpractice within the CCG is setting up patient groups and thesecome together as a forum to engage with the CCG.

The next step is to involve the wider community. Dr RichardPerry, from the Wokingham CCG and who works for the ParksideFamily Practice, explains: “We want to ensure local patients aremore involved in improving the quality and effectiveness of localhealth services we commission – we want to give them a voice inhow we make decisions, so I urge them to join a patient group atpractices in Wokingham Borough.”

He added: “We also want to talk to the wider community, theLocal Involvement Network, carers, support groups and patientgroups. It’s important that we respond to their needs whenchoosing health care providers or making service changes – it’sabout ensuring everyone is kept well informed, given choices andinvolved in decisions.”

The CCG will be using a variety of ways to listen to patients andthe public and is introducing a website. It will also be holdingregular meetings and forums and distributing surveys to gaugeopinions and collect ideas for improving health services. If youwould like to join a patient participation group, please get intouch with your general practice or, for more information aboutthe CCG, please contact Mike Parting.

t. (0118) 982 2970 e. [email protected]

Your Chance to Shape Health ServicesThe NHS reforms mean that from April 2013, local GPs will be responsible forbuying and paying for health services in the Wokingham Borough.

Paralympic gold medallist officially opens specialist

housing facilityThe completion of Beeches Manor, a newhousing scheme for people with dementia andadults with learning disabilities in Wokingham,has been officially opened by Paralympic goldmedallist Helene Raynsford.

The £3.8 million scheme provides 26 purpose-built rented apartments.

The unique design has apartments forindependent living clustered around two centralcourtyards. Communal facilities include alounge, kitchen and dining area and activity/hobby rooms. Beeches Manor has 24-hour careand support.

A Council initiative, the scheme received a£1.8million investment from the Homes andCommunities Agency.

Summer 2012 5

Fosters Update

New menu at the Acorn CommunityCentreA new range of specials is on the menuthis summer at the Rainbow Café locatedat the Acorn Community Centre, FernleaDrive, Woosehill.

Instead of homemade soup and jacketpotatoes served up as winter warmers,the café is now offering club sandwiches,salads and fruit smoothies. All are freshlymade each day by the team.

t. (0118) 977 6713e. [email protected]

After four months of consultation, and several meetings with relatives and staff,we’ve taken the difficult decision to close Fosters Residential Care Home inWoodley.

Staff play a vital role in Fosters and the care they provide is greatly valued andheld in the highest esteem by residents, their families and the local community.However the building is no longer fit for purpose – bedrooms do not meetminimum requirements for room size, there is limited wheelchair access and noen-suite facilities.

We know this decision was hard for residents and their families and we gave itmuch consideration. We’ve assured them that every assistance will be given tomake sure their loved one is moved to the home of their choice, safely and withfull regard to their individual needs through a personal plan.

To help further we have guaranteed that no-one will be worse off financially as aresult of this decision, which includes meeting the difference between higher feesin the chosen home and funding for furnishings for those that choose to moveinto extra-care housing. We will also help with travel costs for any relative whois disadvantaged by having to travel further to visit their family member.

Financial assistance will also be given to those staff who choose to transferemployment to continue to support residents (up to 18 months).

By doing this now, we also have a greater chance of moving residents and staff together if they wish. Some concerns were raised by families during theconsultation that extra-care housing isn’t suitable for their relatives and as aresult of this we have been able to secure alternative accommodation for themwithin the Borough. We’d like to take this opportunity to thank relatives andstaff for their views during this consultation.

Pictured above:Helene Raynsford (centre) with Simon Bostock (Housing 21) and Andy Couldrick (WBC)


Reading your lettersNancy Bedford was so concerned about roadsafety at a railway bridge in Woodley thatshe penned a letter to us voicing her fears.

The eight-year-old was worried mum Rachel had to twist her neck to check oncomingtraffic when turning left from Waingels Road to drive under the bridge in Park Lane.

An official reply was hand delivered to her Pitford Road home, addressingall her concerns.

Nancy said:“I kept thinking about it every time we came to the bridge, becausemum has to strain her neck round to see if traffic is coming. I askedmum who I should contact and she said the Council. So I decided Iwould write a letter.”

She says her previous letter writing experience has been confinedto Father Christmas, the Tooth Fairy and children’s TV.

“But I had to do it by hand because my sister Grace was on thecomputer doing her homework. It took me about 20 minutes.Mum didn’t help me – apart from the spellings for ‘sincerely’and ‘bridge’. And my sister looked up who to send it to.”

Nancy also received a bag of goodies from us. She’s a very impressive young lady!

More than a thousand children and young people acrossWokingham Borough have so far been helped by TargetedMental Health in Schools (TaMHS), and more than 400 stafftrained in its courses.

82 per cent of local schools have signed up to at least onepart of the scheme and are now running various programmesto help their pupils.

The five-strand programme runs training for teachers, teachingassistants and other staff working in schools and with youngpeople to raise mental health awareness and give them atoolkit to deal with a range of issues.

It also offers tailored support for specific groups of children,such as isolated or vulnerable pupils or youngsters in Years 6and 7 moving from primary to secondary school.

This is what they say about it:

“Year 7 has felt calmer than other previous years since I’vebeen here, the best Year 7 yet!”

(TaMHS Lead in a Wokingham secondary school)

“It was good because I know how to turn red thoughts intogreen thoughts now. I learnt how to be brave when I wasin my room in the dark.”

(Pupil, ‘Fun Friends’ Programme, Wokingham school)

Happier and eager to learn thanks to a specialprogramme supporting children’s emotional health

Summer 2012 7

It’s been three months since we launched our new waste collectionscheme with Veolia Environmental Services with initial tonnageresults indicating that we’re reducing waste sent to landfill andincreasing recycling.

This is all down to your efforts. The new scheme will allow us toachieve even more and reduce our costs by nearly a million poundsevery year, money which can be pumped back into vital front lineservices.

Things didn’t go quite as smoothly as we had hoped for when wechanged the service and we’d like to thank you for your patience.

Don’t forget:• You can still enlist for weekly kerbside recycling and receiveyour black boxes. Email your name and address to:[email protected].

• You can still opt into our garden waste scheme. There’s anannual charge of £60 covering the fortnightly collectionsfrom a wheeled-bin (pro-rata’d if you join now). Register bycalling Veolia on (0118) 909 9360.

• Alternatively, you can buy 75-litre compostable sacks for £1each from our libraries or the Civic Offices at Shute End.

• You can compost yourself – this is the best way to disposeof your garden waste. You can still purchase a homecomposter for around £20 by calling 0844 571 4444.

• If you’re at risk of animal damage you can use a standarddustbin and we will collect the tied blue sacks from it oralternatively place your tied sack on top of your recycling boxes.

• The 80 official blue sacks should last you for a year. Pleasebe aware of this if you’re placing more than three out perfortnight as you will run out.

Call Wokingham Direct for all other enquiries.


With the summer finally on the way, Recyclebank has somegreat rewards that might interest you. You’ve probably got afew points now tucked away, so why not redeem them forrewards with our great partners in the Borough?

If you’re looking to spend your Recyclebank points on someleisure and recreation, then why not think about the rewardsbeing offered by Bulmershe Leisure Centre, Woodford ParkLeisure Centre or Loddon Valley Leisure Centre? Betweenthese three partners, there are 11 different rewards available,including swim for £1 at Bulmershe Leisure Centre. Rewardsstart at just 15 points.

But if you fancy something a little more relaxed, why not take advantage of the great deals with local coffee shops andrestaurants? The Brown Bag at Wokingham and Woodley areoffering buy one, get one free on all hot drinks for just 30points. Or if you fancy a sub on the go, at Subway in

Wokingham you’ll get a 6" sub free when you buy another 6"sub for just 50 points.

Don’t forget to tell Recyclebank each week that you’ve recycled,either online at Recyclebank.com, by phone or by smartphoneapps. Whichever way you spend your Recyclebank points, wehope that you enjoy them!

www.recyclebank.com

Reducing waste and increasing recycling

Executive viewCllr Angus Ross, Executive Member forEnvironment

“We appreciate the new waste scheme hasbeen a change for you. But it was a changewe had to make to hold council taxcharges for you as landfill taxes of £64 per tonne areincreasing at £8 per tonne year on year. We’ve been settargets to reduce landfill from around 20,000 tonnes peryear in 2012/13 to around 13,000 tonnes in 2019/20. Ifwe don’t do this, we face significant financial penalties.

“We are constantly looking to improve our performance,with the latest waste changes helping us achieve aremarkable increase in our kerbside recycling in the first month.”


Autism for lifeUp to a thousand people in Wokingham Boroughcould be autistic, according to estimates.

Autism is a lifelong developmental disability affecting how aperson communicates with, and relates to, other people. It alsoaffects how they make sense of the world around them. It’s aspectrum condition, which means it affects people in differentways. Some people with autism are able to live relativelyindependent lives but others may have accompanying learningdisabilities and need a lifetime of specialist support.

The Action4Autism Adult Partnership Board was set up two yearsago in the Borough to help support adults with autism and theirfamilies.

Kevin Wallace, who co-chairs the board, is autistic, formallydiagnosed with Asperger’s Syndrome.

“I wasn’t diagnosed until I was 48,” he said. “It was such a relief afterspending a lifetime struggling, not understanding the rules of thelife game. At a very early age I had learnt to say nothing. EverythingI did or said was bound to be wrong. But now I use my personalexperiences to help others like me and communicate with everyoneelse. We’re being talked to, as opposed to being talked about.”

The Action4Autism Adult Partnership Board brings together public,community and voluntary sector organisations to manage thelocal support available for adults with autism.

“We look at who is doing what to whom and why. We look forgaps in the provision, where there are bottlenecks, and if servicesoverlap in places,” said Kevin.

He added: “We are an advisory body,but with the power to influencedecision-making and hold serviceproviders to account over theirstatutory duties. A children’s partnership board had beensuccessfully running for many years to support local youngsterswith autism.

“But children with autism become adults with autism and therewas no strategic overview for adult provision. This is why theadult partnership board was set up. Inadequate support can leadto a lifetime of isolation and disadvantage for people and theirfamilies. We’re here to stop that.”

One example is local charity ASD Family Help which now hascloser working relationships with other service providers acrossthe Borough. It provides support to people on the autisticspectrum, parents and their carers, access to the community viaactivities and social events, free advice and information andautism training to local health, education and social careprofessionals.

t. 07707 660 599e. [email protected] www.asdfamilyhelp.org

If you or someone you know needs advice or support concerning the autistic spectrum, please visit: www.autismberkshire.org.uk

We’re now offering Rebound Therapy at St Crispin’s Sports Centre, Wokingham, as part of the Activise programme.

Rebound Therapy is a trampoline-based activity that’s used to help movement for those with learning disabilities, physicaldisabilities or long-term health conditions. Sessions are one-to-one and tailored to the individual’s need or goals.

Parent Helen Duncan said: “Gemma has benefittedtremendously from weekly Rebound Therapy. The instructorsare encouraging and supportive and there is a great sense ofcamaraderie and fun each week. Gemma says that she looksforward to going each week and has made some new friends.She especially likes the trampoline and, although she wasnervous at first, is getting better each week.”

The Activise programme also offers multi-sports, badminton,Nordic walking and health walks.

Gemma with physical activity health mentor Adam Godwin

Rebounding!


Garden PartyWith almost 2,000 applications received in Berkshire alone for a unique event to celebrate The Queen’s Diamond Jubilee, 38 luckyWokingham Borough residents and their partners joined The Queen at a special garden party. The draw from the public ballot was madeby former TV star Lizzie Webb.

They joined 4,000 guests, together with The Queen and The Duke of Edinburgh, at the garden party last month (June) held at The University of Reading’s Henley Business School Greenlands campus. It was jointly organised by the Lord Lieutenants of Berkshire,Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire as part of The Queen’s UK-wide Diamond Jubileeregional tour.

Members of the public joined guests from all walks of public life including representatives ofvoluntary organisations and charities, together with civic, community and business leaders.

Closely associated with this event is a major Jubilee fund-raising appeal for BerkshireCommunity Foundation which exists to strengthen communities and enrich local life byinspiring and supporting philanthropy and charitable giving.

www.berkshirecf.org

Summer 2012 9

Marking the Diamond JubileeWokingham Borough will be flying

the flag this year to mark the

Queen’s Diamond Jubilee. This is a

once in a lifetime event as it’s only

ever been celebrated once before

in Britain for Queen Victoria.

Tree ProjectsWe’re joining forces with Wokingham DistrictVeteran Tree Association (WDVTA) to plant 60English oak trees across the Borough. We’re consulting town andparish councils about suitable sites and would welcome anysuggestions. These trees will be planted during National TreeWeek (November 24 and December 2). Each tree (or group of

trees) will have a commemorative plaque to displayand will be recorded in the Woodland Trust’s

Royal Record.

e. [email protected]

WDVTA is also organising a Diamond JubileeHedge Tree campaign. A hedge tree is an

individual tree growing above a hedge. Very fewyoung trees are growing to replace the lovely older

hedge trees as they decline. Landowners may have sapling treesgrowing in hedges that can be allowed to grow on to becomefeature trees. These can be tagged with a Tree Council marker toprevent them being cut. Alternatively saplings can be planted tobecome future hedge trees. Landowners interested in taking partshould contact WDVTA.

www.wdvta.org.uk/treewarden.php e. [email protected]

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Cycle training in Wokingham Borough hit a new high last year,with over 1,200 children aged between 10 and 11-years-oldachieving Bikeability Level 2 – that’s a whopping 70 per cent ofYear 6 children trained to cycle on the roads.

Monisha Jefcut, Assistant Headteacher at South Lake PrimarySchool in Woodley, said: “The Bikeability was a real success.I really do feel reassured that they are going off to secondaryschool as competent and road aware cyclists.”

Although we saw a decrease in casualties amongst 11 to 15-year-olds, data for 2011 shows an increase for adults aged over 45.So we’re now running adult cycle training sessions and supervisedfamily bike rides this summer – so dust off those pedals and getbooked up!

www.wokingham.gov.uk/cycling t. (0118) 908 8208e. [email protected]

Top reasons to get on your bike!

Despite the plentiful spring rain we’ve had, we’re working with ourlocal water companies to ensure that water in the Borough is usedwisely and sparingly in the continuing drought conditions caused bytwo successive dry winters. Most of the water we use comes fromunderground porous rock, called the aquifer, which is recharged bywinter rain. A small amount of the spring or summer rain, like wehad in April and May, will filter down through the porous rock torecharge those aquifers, but more is needed. In the summermonths much of the rain that falls will quickly evaporate due tohigher temperatures, and growing plants take up lots of the watertoo, so it won’t soak through as easily as it does in the winter.

We’re doing our bit to help. We’ve reduced our water consumptionas far as we can and we are strictly following the hosepiperestrictions. If the weather turns hot you will see that our flowerbeds and sports pitches may suffer.

To play your part, please:

• Request a free water-saving device from South East Water andsave a litre each time you flush the toilet.

• Turn off the tap when you clean your teeth.

• Take short showers instead of baths.

• Use washing machines and dishwashers only when you have afull load.

• Report a leak – if you spot a leak, please tell South East Water.

• Apply mulch around your garden plants to lock in moisture.

• Use a water butt in your garden to store any rainfall – enterSouth East Water’s great water butt giveaway competition viathe website.

• Use a bucket and sponge to wash your car.

• If you are on Twitter you can follow @DroughtShout to keepup-to-date with the latest news about the drought and waysyou can help save water.

www.southeastwater.co.uk t. 24 hour leak line – 0333 000 3330


Extra care housing wins top award

Summer 2012 11Summer 2012 11

Get active withGames4Life this summer

MyLearningPlace is an online service available to organisationsand individuals who work with us to help deliver services tothe Borough’s residents. The service is available 24/7 andallows users to book onto training courses, complete e-learning modules and access a host of learning resources at atime that suits them.

It was launched by our Learning and Development Team inDecember to help service providers access the necessarytraining and knowledge to do their job competently and

Some of the biggest sporting events on earth are almost upon us.And with Games4Life being launched last month, we wanteveryone to be part of the team!

Games4Life is an exciting new initiative from Change4Life, aimingto make England the most active host nation ever.

Why not get active? It’s important everyone gets their activeminutes doing activities that really get their hearts pumping everyday – 60 active minutes daily for children and 150 active minutes

weekly for adults. This can be things like jumping, skipping, dancingand running. Not only does it help to make them feel good, but ithelps to strengthen their heart and bones too.

If you’d like Change4Life to send you a free, personalised, summeractivity plan – full of ideas to help you get going every day – fillin the online Games4Life questionnaire.

www.nhs.uk/Change4Life

confidently. Providing this online service opens up access tolearning opportunities, enabling people to take better chargeof their development.

You can register with MyLearningPlace at:www.learningpool.com/wokingham

Eat Out Eat WellLast month (June) we launched an exciting new award for food businesses called Eat Out Eat Well.


Executive viewCllr Pauline Jorgensen, ExecutiveMember for Internal Services

“This scheme will go a long way tohelp our residents understand thefood choices on offer and enjoy mealsthat are both healthy and delicious.There are many great places in theBorough for eating out or takingaway and thisnew scheme willhelp everyonehave a betterunderstanding of healthy foodon offer.”

Celebrating in BarkhamSummer 2012 is a busy time in Barkham. As well as celebrating the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee, it’s the 25th anniversary of thefounding of Barkham Village Residents’ Association (BVRA) and the publication of its 100th newsletter. The BVRA was formed in1987 in response to proposed housing development within the Coombes woodland. Once this had been successfully resisted, theBorough Council designated the Coombes as an Area of Special Landscape Importance where development was not allowed.

Over the past 25 years, BVRA has, together with Barkham Parish Council, continued to act as a focal point for village activities,organising regular social events including a quiz, barn dance, skittles, carol singing and an Easter Egg Hunt and keeping residents

aware of other significant developments via the quarterlynewsletter and the website.

BVRA ran a competition to design the front page of the 100thnewsletter and to publicise the Diamond Jubilee events, won byEmma Dodds (11) of Bearwood Road (shown right). There was anexcellent response to the competition so BVRA decided to includeall the entrants in a montage on the back page of the newsletter.Also, Laura Whittington (16) of Thorn Close designed a poster tomark the 25 years (shown left).

BVRA is looking forward to the next 25 years!

e: [email protected] www.barkham.org.ukLaura Whittington’s poster Emma Dodds’ winning poster

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The Eat Out Eat Well Award has beendeveloped to reward caterers throughoutWokingham Borough who make it easierfor their customers to make healthychoices when eating out or taking away.

It also rewards businesses that use healthyingredients and better preparation practicesto provide healthier food across the menu.

The award is open toall types of establishmentsthat cater for the general public, includingtakeaways, cafés, sandwich shops andrestaurants. It has three levels – Bronze,Silver, and Gold, and is symbolised by anapple logo in the shape of a heart.

The level of award is based on a scoringsystem that takes into account the type offood on offer, cooking methods, and howcaterers promote it to their customers. Toobtain a Gold Award, key members of staffneed to undertake some form of accreditedor recognised training in nutrition.

Award winners will receive a certificateand charter to display on the premises andhelp with promotion and training onhealthier food.

Boutique contract caterer Artizian aredelighted to have been awarded a GoldAward in the inaugural month.

Managing Director and owner Alison Frithsaid: “At Artizian, we place a strong focuson providing people with the choice ofhaving a healthy alternative. We recognisethe crucial role we play in helping our

t. (0118) 974 6765e. [email protected]/healthyeating

customers understand diet, nutrition andlabelling and how integral our influence isin the work place. We are delighted tohave been awarded a Gold Eat Out EatWell Award as this is what we’re sopassionate about.”

The scheme is run by West Berkshire andWokingham Environmental Health andTrading Standards Services. If you’d like tojoin the scheme, please get in touch.

Look out for the heart symbols appearingaround the Borough!

Summer 2012 13

Time to link up!Older Wokingham Borough residents have been calling for more activities to do during the week. In response, The Link Visiting Scheme has launched an expanded programme of opportunities to help them get out and about and mix with others.

The Link Visiting Scheme, a local charity, helps to combat thesense of isolation that can all too often accompany advancingyears. By providing volunteers to visit people in their homes,perhaps once a week for a chat, it allows vast improvements inolder people’s sense of wellbeing and self worth.

But often that’s not enough as time can hang heavily betweenvisits. Many crave opportunities to get out and mix with others –so why not check out what else is on offer?

• Several monthly pie and pint groups that meet for lunch and achat in a local pub

• Weekly coffee mornings at the Bradbury Centre, Wokingham –drop in on Wednesday mornings from 10.30am

• Weekly bowling group at Hurst Bowling Club

• Monthly singing group at The Cornerstone, Wokingham

• A reading group at Wokingham Library

• Weekly tuition in Understanding Computers

The Link Visiting Scheme would love to hear from you if you areinterested in their services, or in joining as a volunteer.

t. (0118) 979 8019 e. [email protected] David Eteson and David Grandorge at one of the pie and pint groups

In May, Cllr Bob Wyatt MBE was elected to serve asBorough Mayor, taking over from Cllr Dianne King.

Bob was elected as a councillor on the originalWokingham Borough Council in 1968 and since thenhas worked hard for homeless young people, helpingto set up the young person’s hostel at Seaford Courtin Wokingham and through his involvement withCaritas, the charity for young homeless. He also takesan active interest in improving services for carers inthe Borough and was appointed a Champion for OlderPeople.

After being Deputy Mayor for two years, Cllr Wyatt islooking forward to the next year as Mayor.

“I feel privileged that my peers have entrusted me with this important role and I hope I can meet the expectations of our Borough’sresidents in this special Jubilee and Olympic year. I have big shoes to fill after Cllr Dianne King’s departure and I look forward to beingas useful as I can, to as many residents and organisations as possible. I have chosen The Link Visiting Scheme as my charity for theyear. This wonderful local charity serves isolated and lonely elderly residents through volunteers who give their time and friendshipfreely to those who need their help. I am looking forward to this exciting year!”

[email protected] www.linkvisiting.org

Mayor’s View

Mayor Cllr Bob Wyatt (right) with Deputy Mayor Cllr UllaKarin Clark

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Transforming ourBorough – turning the Vision into realityDuring the consultation on our Vision and priorities you gave us really useful feedback on the areas you felt were of mostimportance. You told us that you wanted an efficient refusecollection system and clean streets; great country parks and leisureattractions; roads and transport links that are of high quality andwithout congestion; top quality schools and local libraries.

So what have we done so far to meet thoseexpectations?You can read about many of the projects in this edition ofWokingham Borough News, including our school buildingimprovement programme (page 22) and Wokingham town centreregeneration (below). The regeneration team has been workingclosely with our Planning Department to ensure that a scheme isdeveloped which works for the town and addresses many of ourkey priorities such as tackling congestion and bringing economicvibrancy to the Borough.

It’s been all go over the past few months. We’ve been investigatingdesign options for Wokingham town centre as well as looking atways to keep traffic flowing, planning the right amount of parkingfor the growing visitor numbers, improving pedestrian access andworking to create a top class park.

Executive viewCllr Alistair Corrie, ExecutiveMember for Regeneration andAffordable Housing

“I’m really excited to be involved withthe regeneration of Wokingham towncentre.

“It’s great hearing the positive comments about how thedeveloping scheme has responded to public feedback and we remain committed to making sure this continues over the coming months.”

And last summer we launched our wholly-owned tradingcompanies Optalis, Wokingham Housing Ltd and WokinghamEnterprises Ltd. By investing in these companies, we will be ableto branch out into new areas of work, generate income andultimately reinvest that income into our priority areas.

We are starting to regenerate Eustace Crescent in Wokingham toprovide an improved environment for local residents and goodquality housing of different types. Last autumn, residents of theBorough Council’s flats and maisonettes in Eustace Crescent wereasked for their views on the future of their homes, including thepossibility of demolishing the blocks in the future.

Overwhelmingly, residents supported this option. And over thepast few months, we’ve been working towards this aim byworking with tenants to understand their housing needs andidentify suitable properties for them to move to.

A range of options for the regeneration of Eustace Crescent arenow being looked at and we will report more in the next editionof Wokingham Borough News, due out in the autumn.

It’s going to be an exciting journey for the Borough making it agreat place to live and an even better place to do business.

www.wokingham.gov.uk/vision

As we move towards submitting planning applications later this year, it’s important that we continue to respond to local people’s comments. We’ve been putting in place more opportunities to make this happen, including engagement events and meetings.

If you are interested in finding outmore about how our plans aredeveloping and share ideas for thetown, please join us at a special eventin the near future. Keep an eye out forup-to-date details on our website.

t. (0118) 974 6000e. info@wokinghamregeneration.co.ukwww.wokinghamregeneration.co.ukFollow us on twitter:@wokinghamregen

Investment at Hillside Primary School

GetInvolved

Get involved in Wokingham town centre regeneration

Summer 2012 15

Forest pupilcarries flameJack Weatherley, a Year 7 student fromThe Forest School in Winnersh, has beenchosen to take part in the prestigiousOlympic Torch Relay to mark the openingof the 2012 London Games.

On its journey to London, the OlympicTorch was lit at the original birthplace ofthe Games Olympia in Greece, and washanded over to the UK as the host country.The UK leg of the Torch Relay started onMay 19 at Lands End and finishes on July27 at the opening ceremony.

The Relay runs for 70 days and has beenplanned so that the flame will come withinten miles of 95 per cent of people in theUK. Over 8,000 people will carry theOlympic Flame during the Relay for a totaldistance of around 8,000 miles. A numberof the Borough’s residents will betorchbearers during this period.

The Torch will be making an appearance inthe Wokingham Borough on July 10. It willcross the River Thames carried on a rowingeight, landing on the Wokingham Borough

Inspire Wokingham – living the legacy

Olympic art brightened our Shute Endoffices thanks to the talents of Year 8pupils from Maiden Erlegh School.

The Creative Olympics exhibitionincluded crafts, sculpture and image-based work inspired by the Games.

The young people had been shownimages from past Olympic opening

Inspired by the Games

bank of the river at the Leander Club. Herea second torchbearer will run for a shortdistance to the awaiting convoy. The Torchconvoy will then proceed on the A4130(White Hill) in motor convoy to BishamAbbey and then on to Maidenhead.

Jack (12), who lives in Lower Earley, will bejoining the Andover leg. We caught upwith Jack who told us:

“It’s a huge honour to have beennominated as a torchbearer making mepart of the London 2012 team, and I’mover the moon. It will be a day I will neverforget. This is such a great opportunity,I can’t wait. It will be brilliant.”

Jack has already put in some practice onsome 3K runs and runs regularly with hisDad Lee.

ceremonies and studied posters designed bycontemporary artists including Tracey Emin.

The exhibition in our Mall Gallery alsoincluded the Tree of Inspiration created bylocal children and vulnerable adults tosymbolise the principles of InspireWokingham.

Its ‘leaves’, carefully painted plastic bottles,show favourite places across the Borough.It’s now on display at the Acorn Centre inWoosehill.

www.inspirewokingham.com Follow us at: @InspireWokingham


How would you encourage those with adisability to get involved with sport? Sport is more than keeping fit, it helps build confidence, selfesteem, improve mental wellbeing and it’s a great way to meetnew people. There are many disability sporting opportunities onoffer in the Borough and with the Paralympic Games just aroundthe corner, there’s no better time than now to get involved.

What’s been your proudest moment? It has to be the Olympic and Paralympic parade in London. It wasa cold October morning and we were up at the crack of dawn in our GB kit designed for hot Beijing! Until then I had been sofocused on training, I hadn’t appreciated winning in Beijing –it just felt like a good day at the office.

When the floats pulled out onto the London streets it was fantastic.The pavements were crammed with people: some leaning out ofoffice windows waving, little old ladies on the pavement sitting ontheir picnic chairs and so many young people waving Union Jacks.

I went out onto the stage in Trafalgar Square to be interviewed andsaw a sea of people and Union Jacks. It was only at this point thatI truly realised there were a few more people other than my familyand friends following the journey to Beijing. Having seen so muchsupport for Team GB four years ahead of the London 2012 Games,I can’t wait to see the nation get behind the team this summer!

Why not check out Helene’s blog during London 2012Games? Visit: www.inspirewokingham.com

Winning gold in BeijingTo be a Paralympian, it takes a lotof dedication and commitment. Wecaught up with Beijing Paralympicgold medallist Helene Raynsford, wholives in Woodley, to find out more!

How did you get involved in rowing? In 2005 I was working for the Department of Health and wentto Dorney Lake in Eton for a meeting. It was the first time I’d seen rowing live and was totally gripped by the vibe andexcitement. I’d never perceived rowing would be a sport for meand I started rowing as part of my training for the GB Women’sWheelchair Basketball Team. Rowing soon became my passion!

What was it like to win a gold medal inBeijing? It should have been the best moment of my rowing careerbut I crossed the finish line in a world of pain and proceededto be sick for over an hour. I was even sick into my UnionJack during my medal ceremony. There’s probably a lawagainst that and I didn’t get the usual kisses on the cheeksbut pats on the shoulder!

My best memories are of the journey to that point, the things Ilearnt about myself and having to overcome many challenges.

What are you most looking forward toat this year’s Games? I’m really looking forward to seeing the nation gripped by theGames. Not just the shiny medals but the appreciation of theOlympic and Paralympic values and being inspired to go onand achieve their own aspirations and goals.

Are you involved in London 2012? I’m going to work for the organising committee (LOCOG) ona three-month secondment this summer. I’ll be part of theoperational team running the Games regatta at Dorney Lake.Having won my first World Championships there in 2006, it would have been fantastic to have defended my title.Following injury in 2010, I can no longer row but it will befantastic to be part of the team creating the experience forothers.

What advice do you have for buddingOlympians? Sport is a great career to follow but for all those moments ofglory, there are many tough times. Injury can come at anypoint so make sure you keep up your academic and careerprospects and never forget those who started you out on theroad to success.

Summer 2012 17

Olympicdreams

Growing 4 Gold

Hundreds of young people from Wokingham Borough have beenliving their own Olympic dream the past few months.

They joined thousands of young people from across the county tocompete in the Berkshire School Games.

The aim was to create a lasting legacy beyond 2012, encouragingmore young people of all abilities to take up sport. It alsoshowcased the huge range of sports available.

July 6 is the closing date for entries in Growing 4 Gold 2012.

We’re looking for Wokingham Borough’s best Olympic-themed gardens.

You can enter almost any type of garden – residential frontand back, window boxes, hanging baskets, communal spaces,public houses and restaurants, as well as schools, libraries andcommunity centres.

t: (0118) 974 6000 e: [email protected]

www.inspirewokingham.com Follow us at: @InspireWokingham

July 7 to 15

Open Doors WeekClubs and leisure facilities. Free all week.

www.inspirewokingham.com

July 7 to August 31

Summer Fun inFinchampsteadSports, crafts, family cinema and picnics.

www.finchampstead.com/summer

July 7

Family Fun DayGet the family together and join in with ahost of activities to get into the Olympicspirit. Local sports clubs and organisationswill be on hand offering fun taster sessions.

Cantley Park, Wokingham10am to 3pm. Free

Experience your own Olympic thrills this summer

For more Olympic inspired events across the Borough visit www.inspirewokingham.com

July 27

Olympic Opening CeremonyHosted by the Borough Council, LoddonValley Leisure Centre, Earley Trinity Church,Earley Charity, Head Partnership and Asda.

Barbecue along with sporting activites,face painting and bouncy castle. Ticketsavailable from the leisure centre.

Loddon Valley Leisure Centre, Lower EarleyPrices: £2 per adult / £1 per child or £5 per family. 6pm.

August 4

2or12Bring the whole family to celebrate TheGames. Walk two miles (a shorter routealso available) and aim to complete12 miles by August 12 either by cycling,walking, swimming or rowing. Routes aresuitable for beginners, experienced walkers,people with mobility scooters andwheelchair users.

Dinton Pastures Country Park, Hurst10am to noon. Free

July 8

Norreys CommunityFestival Sports-based, all ages and abilitiescommunity festival with an Olympic feel,organised by All Saints Primary School andNorreys Churches.

All Saints Primary School, Wokinghamwww.allsaintswokingham.org.ukFree entry

September 8

All 4 Sport GamesA chance for adults (18+) with additionalneeds and/or a variety of health conditionsto try a variety of sports and activities.Mini-competitions and prizes to be won!

Loddon Valley Leisure Centre, Lower Earley 10am to 3pm. Free


July 9

Meet Neil FaulknerArchaeologist/ historian –talking about his newbook: A Visitor’s Guide tothe Ancient Olympics.

Wokingham Library6pm. £3 charge

July 26

Teen SportCome and join a day of fun-filled activityincluding BMX, basketball, street dance,football and hockey.

Elms Field, Wokingham6pm to 8pm. Ages 11 to 19

July 27

Olympic OpeningCeremonyIf you didn’t get tickets for the openingceremony, why not head to The AcornCommunity Centre to watch on a bigscreen whilst enjoying a barbecue?There will also be a licensed bar and aspecial show by performing theatregroup Platform YP.

The Acorn Community Centre, Fernlea Drive, Woosehill. 6pm. Entry for show & barbecue: £5 peradult and accompanying children free

Wokingham Information Network

The Adult Information Directory tells you about:

• Accommodation and housing

• Help to live at home

• Getting about the Borough

• Leisure activities and facilities

• Health services and support

• Education, volunteering andemployment

• Charities and organisations

• Benefits and financial information

REACH Wokingham is just one of the many Forums you’ll find in theFamily Services Directory.

It was set up to encourage parent involvement in decision-makingregarding education, health, social and respite services for disabledchildren.

The group organises meetings where parents and carers can share information and support as wellas talk to decision makers face-to-face and have their questions answered.

Training days are already held on topicssuch as Special Education Law, whichallow parents to benefit from specificprofessional expertise. Additionaltraining sessions are being planned.

Work with the Crossroads Holiday Clubhas helped create holiday activities fordisabled children.

Why not REACH for your keyboard andmake contact?

www.reachwokingham.com

REACHing out across Wokingham

Summer 2012 19

Everything you need to know about services, support, organisations andactivities for families and adults in the Borough

Family Services Directoryt. (0118) 935 2255 e. [email protected]

Adult Information Directoryt. (0118) 974 6772 e. [email protected]

Our free online and telephone-based guide is speciallydesigned to help give you every chance to make themost of your talents and fulfil your potential.

It is divided into two sections: the Adult Information Directory and the Family Services Directory.

REACH Wokingham’s Mission Statement REACH Wokingham (Parents’ Forum) exists to supportthe families of children with disabilities/learningdifficulties and to empower them to get the supportand services they need for their children to achievepositive life outcomes and reach their full potential.

REACH’S aims for2012

• Build on relationshipsformed with Councildecision makers, strivingfor co-operation andcommitment

• Develop additionaltraining for parents

• Create moreopportunities for parentsto interface with decisionmakers in health,education and social care

The Family Services Directory tells you about:

• School holiday schemes and clubs

• Borough childminders

• After-school/breakfast clubs at Wokingham Borough schools

• Day nurseries and early years settings

• Parent and toddler groups

• Sports and activity clubs for children/young people

• Activities and support groups for new mums and their babies

• Activities and support groups for children with additionalneeds (and their parents)

• Local and national support organisations

Organisations listed in theguide can update theirown information, ensuringall their details arecompletely current.

Visit the website if youhave any feedback aboutWIN, would like moreinformation, or are anorganisation providingthese services and wouldlike to be listed.

at your fingertips

or a call awaywww.wokingham.gov.uk/win


Furniture recycling scheme

Our key achievements in 2011/12

Last year was another good year for Revenues andBenefits with improvements in performance inmany of our key areas.

We collected a record 99.37 per cent of counciltax owed, which surpassed last year’s figure of99.28 per cent. This performance is expected tomaintain our position as the highest collectingunitary council in the country. The averagecollection rate for unitary councils across Englandis only 97 per cent. Therefore our collection rate generates over £1.7million everyyear more than the average collection rate, providing valuable services across theBorough or reducing council tax bills by more than two per cent.

Our Welfare Benefit Team generated approximately £730,000 in new government-funded benefit for our most vulnerable customers across the Borough in need offinancial support. This is more than £50,000 up on last year.

The average benefit claim was assessed in an average of 13.8 days, similar to lastyear. We will be working hard to reduce this timescale further in 2012/13.

Unwanted furniture will be recycled and sold on for charity undera scheme we’ve launched with Age Concern Slough and BerkshireEast. They will collect unwanted furniture (provided it’s in areasonable condition) from homes and businesses around theBorough. The furniture will be stored at a warehouse/showroomat IQ Winnersh, provided by Segro.

The furniture will be available to anybody to buy at reasonableprices and some will also go to other charities and our HousingNeeds Team at discounted rates.

Senior Strategy Officer Rhian Hayes said: “This project brings a lot of benefits. It’s environmentally-friendly as some of therecycled furniture would otherwise have ended up in landfill.

Executive viewCllr Anthony Pollock, Executive Member for Finance

“We know that times are difficult foreveryone. Continuing to provide ourservices is essential and the efficientcollection of council tax allows us todo that. Our job is to make sureeveryone understands our approach,offer different payment methods andmake sure that our discounts areapplied fairly. Staff have done a greatjob and I appreciate the effort theymake to ensure we are the mostefficient council tax collecting unitaryauthority in thecountry – a recordwe have held fortwo years. If weweren’t so efficient,we would have toraise council taxyear on year.”

Revenues and Benefits

“It will also provide reasonably-priced furniture to all customers;and discounted furniture to those who really need it.”

Tracey Morgan, Chief Executive of Age Concern Slough andBerkshire East, said: “I’m delighted to work with the Council on this forward thinking initiative that not only helps theenvironment but also helps the local community and older peoplein particular.”

The furniture showroom is in Wharfedale Road in IQ Winnershand is open from 9am to 5pm, Monday to Saturday.

Get in touch if you have any furniture to donate.

t. (0118) 327 1329

Summer 2012 21

The Thames Valley Berkshire Local Enterprise Partnership (TVB LEP) has been awarded more than £15million from theGovernment’s Growing Places fund to support projects that willhelp the local economy by creating jobs and improvinginfrastructure.

There is no maximum or minimum, but bids must be for a capitalproject and the funding must ‘revolve’ – which means any returnsgenerated will be reinvested in the local economy.

The objectives of the Growing Places funding in Berkshire are toboost economic activity by:

• Addressing transport infrastructure and site constraints andpromoting the delivery of housing or other developments

• Improving the communications infrastructure, in particular theavailability of superfast broadband

• Responding to innovative and creative projects which removebarriers to economic growth

The TVB LEP brings together businesses, local authorities, and the education and community sectors to work to grow theThames Valley economy by delivering improved transport andcommunications infrastructure, increasing employment and skillsacross the region, and attracting and maintaining inwardinvestment.

Visit the website to find out more about how to bid for funding.

www.thamesvalleyberkshire.co.uk

GRANTnet – accessing funding opportunities online

Executive viewCllr Rob Stanton, Deputy Leader

“GRANTnet provides simple, step-by-stepsearches that are suitable for people with alllevels of IT experience andalso provides a choice ofstandard or enhancedsearch results. It’s a greattool for organisations touse to find out the latestfunding opportunitiesavailable to them.”

Community and voluntary groups can now search for up-to-the-minute fundingopportunities online through GRANTnet, one of the country’s leading onlinefunding portals. The site allows local groups to search for local, regional, nationaland European funding opportunities and access general funding advice (althoughindividual advice is not available to groups).

The site can be accessed at: www.wokingham.gov.uk/win. Users should search forGRANTnet and then register their details on the GRANTnet website in order toaccess the funding searches. Contact Wokingham Direct if your local group ishaving trouble registering or needs further advice about this site.

www.wokingham.gov.uk/wine: [email protected]: (0118) 974 6037

Thames Valley Berkshire Local Enterprise

Partnership

Bids are being sought for a multi-million pound fundto help stimulate economic growth across Berkshire.


Giving our children the best start in life

Micro-providers who offer social care and support servicesacross the Borough have had a business boost.

We organised a special marketplace event for these small scaleproviders where they were able to meet a range of peopleinterested in finding out more about their services.

During the past three years, we’ve been working to help theseproviders better establish themselves, helping them expand therange of options open to people who have personal budgets tofund their care needs.

Brokers from Optalis and Age UK were invited to the event,alongside local organisations representing social carecustomers.

Planning permission has been granted to expand The Colleton and Hawkedon Primary Schools to create an additional 305 spaces spread across all year groups.

Part of the Hawkedon expansion scheme will be ready for the autumn term. Located in Lower Earley, Hawkedon is benefitting from a major extension, taking the school up to three form entry. The works include a number of single storeyextensions and courtyard buildings, a new single school building, play areas, multi-use games facilities and a traffic drop-off zone.

The Colleton in Twyford has been oversubscribed for years and is getting worse as it’s located in one of the fastest growing areas ofWokingham Borough. The expansion includes additional teaching accommodation, a new hall, changing and play features, remodelledplayground, car parking and drop-off zone for improved traffic management. This will increase places from 35 to 60 a year.

The Bulmershe School in Woodley will benefit soon from a package of works to help develop its approach to teaching and learning. Theplans, which are currently at design stage, include a new teaching block, post-16 learning centre, remodelled library and information centreas well as dining facilities.

More than £11million of work at three localschools is creating more places for ourchildren, giving them 21st Century learning environments.

Hawkedon Primary School, Lower Earley – school expansion ideas

Micro enterprise getting bigger

The Real Business Club, which supports local small businesses,Community Catalysts and Shared Lives Plus, who both supportsmall scale care providers nationally, also came along to chat withproviders and offer advice about developing their businesses.

“We really enjoyed the event and found it very informative,” saidMary Durman, joint Chief Executive of Wokingham, Bracknell &Districts Mencap.

Mencap may hold a similar event for their members later thisyear so carers can meet providers, she added.

“The micro market in Wokingham is developing well which isexcellent news,” said Angela Catley, Director of Operations atCommunity Catalysts.

Crash barriers installedon the A329MFollowing a number of fatalities on the A329M, it became clearthat we needed to extend the crash barrier system along this busyroad. To carry out this work we applied to central Government forthe money in 2007 and 2008 but we were unsuccessful.

Despite tough financial times, we knew we had to do all we couldto complete the works on the central reservation. We investedmore than £1million into the scheme and work was completedearlier this year. We also installed barriers along the edge of thecarriageway near Sutton Seeds Business Park as the railway isclose to the road.

Executive viewCllr Keith Baker, Executive Member forHighways and Planning

“The crash barriers along the A329M havealmost certainly saved lives or seriousinjury this year. They have prevented a number of vehiclescrossing the dual carriageway into the fast lane of theother carriageway. This is one part of our investment in the Borough’s road networks.”

Summer 2012 23

Thanks for commentson station link road

We’d like to say thank you to everyone who responded to our consultation onthe station link road in Wokingham.

Over 900 of you took the time to give us your views on our plans toimprove the road network around the station. Over 60 per cent of peoplewho responded to the consultation were in support of proposals. The linkroad will help us tackle traffic congestion – one of our key priorities – and

together with the new station building, it willcreate a pivotal gateway into the town centre.

Thanks to your comments we made somechanges to our proposals. They’ve helpedshape final road designs, and a consultationreport, detailing all responses, is included inthe planning application being submitted thismonth (July).

Work will start on the new station building in the autumn – watch out for more details in the local press and on our website nearerthe time.

t. (0118) 974 6000e. [email protected]/stationlinkroad

South East Water schemesstarting this summerTo ensure South East Water can continue to supply clean,safe drinking water to customers in Wokingham now and in the future, the water company will begin a number ofschemes in the area over the coming months.

There have been a number of bursts on water mains in thetown. When this occurs it causes interruptions to drinkingwater supplies, damage to the highway, and there is thenfurther disruption to the wider community as a result of the company having to carry out emergency repairs andhighway reinstatement. This work will not only reduce the number of bursts in the town, it will also ensure thecompany can meet the town’s water supply demands nowand in the future.

Further information will be provided to residents nearer thetime, via local press, advertisements and letter drops tothose directly affected.

www.southeastwater.co.uk


These growth areas will not only ensure new homes are built to meet the Borough’s housing need, but will also include newschools, shops, roads, cycle and walkways, parks, playing fields and allotments to create really good places to live.

We’re keen to create sustainable new neighbourhoods, carefullyplanned in consultation with existing residents and with newpeople as they move in.

We would like local people to contribute to the development ofthe SDLs as they come forward. For each SDL we’re planning toestablish a Parish and Community Forum. These will be used tokeep in touch with the communities and organisations in eacharea and to work through detailed planning issues together.

If you live in or next to an SDL area, watch out for details on ourwebsite and in the local press about your forum. There will bemeetings in each SDL during the summer or early autumn this year.

The four SDLs are really quite different and at differentstages of development.

North and South Wokingham SDLs are new neighbourhoodsthat would effectively enhance and extend Wokingham.

Buckhurst Park, the first phase of the South WokinghamSDL, was approved by our Planning Committee in April.This is subject to a detailed planning agreement includinga commitment to provide required infrastructure. Thescheme for Buckhurst Park development includes 650 newhomes as well as a new primary school, transportimprovements, new park and open spaces.

Arborfield SDL will be a new and expanded village basedaround Arborfield Garrison. Work is under way to producea scheme that is sustainable and linked to places of workacross the Borough. However, it will be some time beforeany detailed scheme is available to the public.

South of the M4 SDL is made up of the villages of Shinfield,Three Mile Cross and Spencers Wood, to the north west ofthe Borough. Planning applications for schemes at ThreeMile Cross, Spencers Wood and north of Cutbush Lane areexpected to be submitted to us later this summer.

t. (0118) 974 6819www.wokingham.gov.uk/planning

Buckhurst Park –the first of many new neighbourhoods and country parks in the Borough

Buckhurst Park artist impression (above and below)

Get

Involved

Over the last five years, we have agreed an overall plan for the Borough to buildfour major growth areas called Strategic Development Locations (SDLs). These arelocated in North and South Wokingham, South of the M4 and Arborfield Garrison.

We caught up with Holt student Hannah Preece who recently took part in the competition.

“We took part in the competition at Reading Magistrates’ Court. It was an amazing experience, as it taught uswhat it takes to work in a court as well as how they operate. We have gained so much confidence, anddespite complaining about how tedious the work was at first, it became such an important and enjoyablepart of our lives, as we all felt so attached to the case and incredibly driven to do well.

“After we were given the case, we were told we would have an ‘against side’ and a ‘for side’ for the case, andthat both sides would compete against another local school. We began our intensive preparation thatconsisted of frequent meetings at lunchtime.

“We considered all the different scenarios that could occur in the court room as well as making sure that weincluded all of the necessary information to strengthen our case.

“We soon learnt our defence team had won the case. We were upnext and I was first prosecution lawyer. It was nerve-rackingstanding in front of real magistrates and lawyers. After the casefinished we had to anxiously wait for the magistrates to decide theirverdict. The case went extremely well for our school, which resultedin us winning – we were one of the only schools to have theirprosecuting and defence sides win. It meant we had made the final!”

The Holt School was joined by St Crispin’s and The BulmersheSchools in the regional final in May. The Bulmershe School camesecond and headed to the national final last month (June).

Read more about Hannah’s experience by visiting our website.

www.wokingham.gov.uk/news

Summer 2012 25

Executive viewCllr Charlotte Haitham Taylor,Executive Member for Children’s Services

“Over 95% of criminal cases, morethan one million every year, are dealtwith by magistrates, yet many people know very littleabout their vital role. The Mock Trials offer our youngpeople a great opportunity to gain hands-on experience inthe legal system. I am delighted that three of our schools made the regional finals.”

Every year, hundreds of students across the country take part in a Magistrates’ Court

Mock Trial Competition. Students take on the roles of lawyers, witnesses, magistrates

and court staff and prepare the prosecution and defence for specially

written criminal cases. Teams compete against each other in a live

format at Magistrates’ Courts with their performances

judged by magistrates and other legal professionals.

Reaching a verdict

Do you enjoy reading but find itdifficult to get to the library?

Our Home Library Service can help by providing home delivery and a collection service for booksincluding large print, spoken word cassettes and CDs to qualifying residents, subject to availability.

So how does it work? Well, a trained member of staff or volunteer will deliver books and otheritems that match your reading interests to your home or day centre at an agreed time that’s

convenient to you.

You can use the service if you are permanently or temporarily homebound and unable to visitone of our libraries. Apply today!

www.wokingham.gov.uk/homelibrary t. (0118) 969 0304 / 978 1368


But seven years on this estate now hasa strong community spirit, a vibrant andwide choice of activities and classes, and acommunity drop-in. This is a communityreborn, thanks to the long-term efforts ofthe residents themselves, various agenciesand a development worker permanentlythere on the ground.

Community Development Worker JamesNewman helps organise the activitieswanted by residents. These include bowlingand darts founded by local people, a get-fitclub, bingo sessions and computer classes.

A simple knock on the door from Jamescan help motivate shy residents, remindingthem something is happening. Or he canhelp them overcome barriers such asdepression, lack of confidence and mentalhealth issues.

James’ support has also helped the localresidents’ association Centre Forward

Community Action Group to grow. Thegroup now meets monthly and runs manyactivities including community lunches,trips out of the area, parties,entertainment, training and workshops.

James said: “One resident recentlycommented that her vacuum cleaner hadremained untouched in her lounge for daysbecause of all the community activitiesshe’d been involved with. She had come to the community centre to meet morepeople and make new friends after herhusband had died. Not only has sheachieved this, helping her become lessisolated and lonely, but in the process shehas learnt new skills through many collegecourses and become a key player inmaking community events take place.”

Another development has been monthlycommunity taxi trips, which offer residents

the chance to travel to different placeseach month.

Strategic Commissioner for CommunitiesJosie Wragg said: “It’s important to tellgood news stories about communities.Rainbow Park is not perfect, no communitycould claim that, but it is an example ofhow community development can takeplace if the right people work together inthe right way.”

Our community development workers are:

Rose Green, Senior CommunityDevelopment Workert. (0118) 974 6793

James Newman (Rainbow Park)t. (0118) 989 4280

Catriona MacMillan (Norreys)t. 07785 314603

Claire McEnoy (Finchampstead) t. (0118) 973 1760

James Newman serving Rona and Christine Jagger

Rainbow Park in Winnersh used to be in the headlines for allthe wrong reasons – ‘burnt out cars, violence and vandalism’.

Community Colour at Rainbow Park

First Respondersare people’s choice

Summer 2012 27

Norreys residents have voted forWokingham (North) CommunityFirst Responders to receive funding.

The Norreys Neighbourhood Project announced last year thatlocal people were taking control of a £5,000 community budget.

Residents and community groups were then invited to come upwith project ideas they thought could make a real difference totheir community – and then bid for a share of the money to putthem into action.

Some £4,500 from the budget was last year allocated to projectsranging from creating a community garden to supporting parentsand toddler sessions. However £500 was left over.

The community was again asked to put forward projects, andresidents were invited to vote on which to fund. Following thisprocess, the remaining £500 was allocated to the Wokingham(North) Community First Responders.

This is a group of volunteers trained by South Central AmbulanceService to attend 999/life threatening call-outs across the Norreysarea. The group is often first on the scene of an emergency andtherefore provides vital treatment.

The £500 grant will be used to cover ongoing costs for the groupand may also go towards navigation software to help theresponders pinpoint the exact location of emergency calls.

Nigel Eaton, Co-ordinator from Wokingham (North) CommunityFirst Responders, said: “All of the volunteer Community FirstResponders who help cover the Norreys Ward would like to thank:Wokingham Borough Strategic Partnership, Norreys Project Teamand all the residents of the Norreys Ward who voted for oursuccessful grant bid to the Norreys Community Budget.

“Thanks to their votes and the grant, we can continue andimprove our work helping residents in the Norreys Ward.”

The group is always keen to recruit new volunteers to join them.

t. 0800 585 0207e. [email protected]/norreys

Keep yourproperty

secure thissummer


Wokingham Borough is proud to have had the highest reductionin crime within the Thames Valley. But even though we are a ‘lowcrime’ area, we are not a ‘no crime’ area, and there were still 427burglaries in the Borough last year.

With the summer holidays fast approaching, residents are beingreminded not to leave burglars with any easy pickings.

Most burglaries are opportunistic, so if your home does not looksecure, appears empty, or has entrances that are hidden fromview, it could be at risk.

John, 80, from Earley, had his home broken into earlier this year.

He said: “I’m annoyed that my privacy has been violated and thatsomeone has come into my home and gone though my personalpossessions and helped themselves to whatever they liked.

“In hindsight, I should have made my home look occupied andinstalled timer switches on lights and a radio. I would recommendthat you take the time to make your home more secure.”

Top tips:● Lock and close all doors even if you are going out for a

few minutes

● Don’t leave valuables or car keys by open windows anddoors

● Lock all side and back gates

● In your garden? Lock your doors and close your windows

● Use lights and radios on timer switches so the houseseems occupied

● Ensure all garden equipment is put away and your shedlocked

● Cancel deliveries if you will be away

● Ask a neighbour to take post in and close curtains atnight

You can also mark your possession with your postcode,house or flat number to help the Police trace any stolenvaluables that are recovered.

We’ve secured £2.75millionof central UK Governmentfunding for a package oftransport measures designedto change the way ourresidents travel.

The second round of biddingfor the Department for

Transport’s (DfT) £560m Local Sustainable Transport Fund, aimsto deliver a programme of transport measures that directlysupports economic growth as well as cuts carbon emissions.

Multi-Million Pound Funding to Influence Travel Behaviour

The money will be used to encourage a change in the currenttravel behaviours of people using the A329 corridor – just oversix miles – which runs through the middle of the Borough from its boundary with Reading in the west to the boundarywith Bracknell Forest in the east.

The DfT grant complements money secured by both ReadingBorough Council and Bracknell Forest Council to take a holisticapproach to influencing the way people choose to travel.

Read more at: www.wokingham.gov.uk/news

We talk to Marcia Head, Development Management TeamLeader, to find out more:

“We only issue a Planning Enforcement Notice as the last resortbecause we would rather work with people towards compliance.

“Our officers work hard encouraging people to comply withplanning regulations. However, sometimes the harm caused byunauthorised development leaves us no option.

“We get about 700 complaints from the public every year and we investigate everyone. But about half turn out not to be planning breaches.

“So before you make a complaint to us, please check first to see if they havepermission. Our website has details of all planning applications and decisions.

“People can often do small things without planning permission. This is permitteddevelopment and may apply to things such as sheds or small extensions. Again, checkour website. It will tell you what qualifies as permitted development.

“Some people apply for permission once they’ve done something – called aretrospective planning application. When we grant this some neighbours can getupset because they feel perhaps we should have penalised the application andrefused it.

“But planning officers look at retrospective applications the same as any other.There’s no black mark. If the application complies with our policies, then it isgenerally acceptable.”

www.wokingham.gov.uk/planning

Summer 2012 29

Planningmatters

Successful casesAn outbuilding in an Earley back gardenwas being used as a self-contained home.We served a Planning EnforcementNotice telling the occupants to move outand remove the kitchen and bathroom soit couldn’t be a dwelling again. Followinga public inquiry, the inspector found inour favour and also ordered theappellants to pay our costs. Theinspector said the land owners had failedto prove their use was lawful and it wasreasonable for us to want the kitchenand bathroom removed.

Another public inquiry was held whenland owners appealed against ourPlanning Enforcement Notice concerningtwo mobile homes on land in Arborfield.The notice required the residents tomove out and the mobile homes beremoved. Again the inspector found inour favour and ordered the land ownersto pay our costs. The inspector said themobiles were harming the character ofthe countryside and the appellants hadacted unreasonably.

A garage used as a home, mobile homes in a field and shop adverts displayed where they shouldn’t be.

These are just some of the increasing number of planning breach cases we have successfully tackledduring the past six months.

At Easter, we re-branded our Motorvation free pre-driver training programme as Drive Start with more demand for tickets than ever!

The impact on young people who have attended in the past, is obvious by their comments. Mike Richards said: “I will use what I learned from it to help keep myself alive on the road.”

Hannah Carberry said: “The course really gets you thinking about driving, and theconsequences of our actions on the road.”

If you are aged 15 to 17 and desperate to get behind the wheel, an application formfor our summer courses can be found at: www.wokingham.gov.uk/drive-start

Drive Start

Illegal mobile homes successfully removed


Parkour comes to the Borough

There’s nothing quite like a makeover in time for summer andWinnersh Meadows hasexperienced exactly that.

With its new look now complete, the 10-hectare country park and beauty spotbetween Arbor Lane and the M4 has beenofficially opened by local Olympic rowerZak Purchase. Zak scooped gold at theBeijing Olympics – a feat he hopes torepeat this year.

The site’s £100,000 transformationincludes all-weather footpaths improvingaccess for all, an outdoor gym, basketballhoop and a kick-about football goal, plusbenches and picnic tables.

More than 4,000 bulbs have been planted aswell as a community orchard with some 35fruit trees; all varieties native to our area.

The extensive works follow publicconsultation in 2008 when residentsoutlined what they wanted to see improved.

What’s on forYOUth

There’s a lot going on in our youthclubs including opportunities to getinvolved in youth governance work;national awards such as the Duke ofEdinburgh’s Award; arts, sports andcommunity work opportunities and,with the launch of a new websiteredesigned by and specifically forour young people, there hasn’t beena better time to see what’s on offer.

Eloise Collier from Hurst recentlyreceived an achievement award forcompleting Level 1 of the NationalIndoor Climbing Achieving Schemeorganised by Wokingham YouthClub. Eloise said: “I had a brillianttime learning how to climb as part ofmy Duke of Edinburgh’s Award. Welearn with ropes and also without,which is known as “bouldering”. Ithas been hard work, especially onmy arms, but really fun.”

www.activeyouth.co.uk

Beauty spot makeover

The project was led by Pat Rowell at theWinnersh Neighbourhood Action Group,which has wanted to improve this popularopen space for some time.

The group successfully applied for Lotteryfunding, which was boosted by the BoroughCouncil and Winnersh Parish Council.

The opening ceremony had gym challenges,a climbing wall and dog related events.

Phot

os cou

rtesy of Pat Row

ell o

f W

inne

rsh NAG

A dedicated Parkour facility, the first in the South East, was officially opened by topParkour (otherwise known as free-running) experts last month at Sol Joel Park in Earley.

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

Parkour is increasingly popular in the UK and focuses on efficient movement aroundobstacles. The main purpose is to teach people how to move through their environmentby vaulting, rolling, running, climbing and jumping.

This new facility aims to mimic an urban landscape and contains dozens of objectscommonly found in a city so that people can practice their sport within a safe and dedicatedenvironment. It’s also got great public transport links – it’s less than 10 minutes walk fromEarley train station and it’s on the 190 bus route between Wokingham and Reading.

An estimated 40,000 people regularly take part in the sport, but unlike many other sports,there are currently very few dedicated Parkour facilities in the country.

. . . in the countryside

July 21

Summer Treasure Trail: Follow a trail and answerquestions to earn a sweet treat! Ideal for families

and suitable for pushchairs.

1 to 3pm, Dinton Pastures Country Park. £3 per child

August 18 &19, 25 & 26 and September 8 & 9, 29 & 30

Bushcraft: Fun course introducing adults and children to the basicsof bushcraft including shelter building, fire lighting, camp craft,backwoods cooking and wild food foraging. Option of stayingovernight under canvas.

10am to 6pm (1 day), 9am to 4pm (2 days)£85 (1 day) £120 (2 days). (0118) 986 7333.

August 25 and 26

Summer Orchid Show: Come and see thousands of orchids in flower,from the bizarre to the most exquisite! A huge variety of orchidswill be available from top orchid growers. Sundries, pots, books,moss and composts also on sale. Take part in beginners’ workshops.

Sat 9am to 5pm, Sun 10am to 4pm, Dinton Pastures Country Park.Small entry charge to Orchid Marquee.

September 16

Pirate Day: Celebrate International Talk Like a Pirate Day. Comedressed as a pirate ready to take to the waters of Black Swan Lakefor some exciting games and activities.

Morning and afternoon sessions, Multi-Activity Centre, Dinton Pastures Country Park. £5 Child and £10 Adult.

October 7

California Speedway Day: See some of the original bikes that racedon the sand speedway track at California-in-England Holiday Campin the 1930s to 1950s. Friends of the Speedway will be showingremains of the track and concrete starting grid and sharing theirstories.

11am to 4pm, California Country Park. Free (normal car parking charges apply).

Summer 2012 31

. . . in your library

July 5

Meet Patrick Gale: The best-sellingnovelist will be talking about his newbook A Perfectly Good Man. Eventincludes a book signing andrefreshments.

8pm, Wokingham Library. £5.

July 14 to September 22

Little Explorers Book Club (under 5s), StoryLab (for ages 5 to 12),Teen Reading Challenge

Reading challenges for each agegroup to read six books. Prizesup for grabs. Also lots of age-related activities. Free.

August 8 to August 10

The Globetrotter’s Hot Pot stories and puppet making with Pottytree Puppets

Ages 5 to 12, at all libraries. Please phone your locallibrary to book. £3 charge.

Monday August 13

Around the world – storytelling with Tusitala

Wokingham, Lower Earley, Maiden Erlegh and SpencersWood libraries. Free.

For details of these events and more, seewww.wokingham.gov.uk

www.wokingham.gov.uk/childrenscentres

www.facebook.com/wokinghamboroughcouncil

www.facebook.com/wokinghamboroughlibraries

www.twitter.com/wokinghambc

What’s on?Summer fun whatever your age and tastes

Keeping our children safein Wokingham Borough

Keeping children safe in

Wokingham Borough is

everyone’s business –

including yours.

If you have concerns about whether

a child or young person is not being

properly cared for or you are

worried they may be physically,

emotionally or sexually abused, or

neglected, get in touch with us.

Children and their parents may need

help urgently.

www.wokingham.gov.uk/child-safeguarding

t. (0118) 908 8002

e. R&[email protected]

If you do not feel

comfortable telling us, or

you are not sure if you are

right, you can also speak to a

police officer, teacher, health

visitor, doctor or the NSPCC

on 0808 800 5000. The most

important thing is to tell

someone who can help.

If you believe a child is in

immediate danger you

should call the police on 999.

Documents

WBC News - Summer 2012