By Cllr Andrew Gray
Since the local elections in May it has been an incredible honour to represent my ward of Shinfield North and the wider Shinfield community.
As the only borough councillor living in Shinfield, I know what it means to be part of this community.
Strong community makes areas thrive but it doesn’t just happen, it needs proactive local champions who will support and bring people together.
I’ve spent time visiting some of the great work at Shinfield Community Flat in recent weeks and it has been just amazing to see how everyone in the area comes together, whether it is through social coffee mornings, youth groups, parent and toddler groups, or wider support networks.
One of the highlights in the weekly calendar is the SHARE programme on Wednesdays at 2pm which provides surplus food from supermarkets to people at little or no cost. It is not just an initiative to support those who would benefit from the extra groceries, but it helps tackle our national issue of food waste.
The work done in this community hub by council employees and volunteers is vital for the area. The flat is a vibrant hub of community action and shows the very best of partnership working; it is one of the key success stories of the council’s work in Shinfield.
Communities can only thrive in this way when they have access to facilities like community centres and leisure centres and it is a key role of the council to support the running of these places.
Shortly after I was elected in May, I attended a meeting on empowering communities, organised by the Liberal Democrat group. I was optimistic that without the Conservatives in charge, the council can make real progress in this area.
It has therefore been incredibly disappointing in recent months to witness how a valuable local asset like St Crispin’s Leisure Centre, is being taken away from Wokingham residents by the Lib Dem council without thorough consultation.
Residents across the borough have been vocal for their support of the leisure centre, but it has fallen on deaf ears to the ruling group. Our local Labour manifesto in 2023 pledged to ensure that we would fight for genuine consultations that listened and fairly reflected the views of residents and stakeholders. This was an all-too-common criticism of consultations under the previous Conservative administration, and a tradition in which the Lib Dems seem set to continue.
Consultations need to be taken seriously and undertaken in a way which engages all stakeholders; something which the Lib Dems have failed with in the case of St Crispin’s.
Building a strong community can’t happen in a vacuum, it needs to be backed up with facilities and resources. The council needs to take an active role in facilitating this; we can’t just rely on voluntary organisations and charities to pick up the slack. The council must listen to what communities need, and not disregard the answers that don’t fit their narrative.
That’s why I am proud to be a Labour councillor, that will stand up for what our residents need and what is right for our communities.
We won’t just sit by and watch other parties repurpose our valued community assets with no hope of replacement in a cost-of-living crisis when people need them most. Our local manifesto pledged to put the needs communities first and this is more important now than it ever has been.
Cllr Andrew Gray is Labour member for Shinfield North on Wokingham Borough Council
