As the government stands poised to announce ‘a triumph, a triumph’ no matter which way the blocked, blistered or bogged down Brexit talks go (it would banal to mention ‘deal or no deal” so I won’t) it’s high time that something interesting in local politics turned up.
Fortunately, Wokingham Borough Council came up trumps with not one, but four press releases this week.
Cycling for Health
If you’ve been anywhere in the early mornings over the past few days, you’ll have noticed how cold and foggy it’s been.
Driving slowly along the Reading Road through the icy fog this morning before sun-up, it was really difficult to see the difference between the cycle lane and the main carriageway.
So a press release encouraging cycling with a lovely image with four kids on their bikes was a bit of a facer – but it was a salutary reminder to get more active so that we can work off all the Coronaspeck we’ve accumulated this year.
But cycling in foggy weather should be reserved for the brave, and those with good bike lights.
Election fodder
Good news!
Wokingham Borough’s won a £600k grant for new footie facilities according to the second press release.
So they’re investing in a revamp of sports areas and the accompanying photo shows the Executive Member for Environment and Leisure holding a spade up with a bit of turf on it.
This is the same exec member who in the past I’ve described as the one responsible for Rubbish decisions as Waste and Recycling are part of his portfolio.
However I wasn’t going to mention that until reading on and discovering that a) WBC will be ‘investing’ £1.6 million in the project and b) it’s in Cantley Park – less than a mile from Shute End’s front door.
Hang on – £1.6 million – I thought the grant was £0.6 million?
Blowing, sorry ‘investing’ as WBC’s Exec for Finance is wont to claim, another million quid of public money on sports facilities so close to the town centre doesn’t seem the right thing to do when apparently WBC’s finances are a bit stretched on Covid-related stuff.
Perhaps that was why WBC’s Director of Corporate Services (and borough finances) was in the picture.
But it’s good news for strawberry pickers too, because it’ll be a bit longer until footballs start hitting the nets at the Gray’s Farm sports and leisure facility – first promised by WBC’s Executive back in July 2014 then delayed ever since.
Hitting the streets
The third release announcing that WBC’s hired some extra people to take on the challenging task of providing Covid support is a welcome one, even if the costs aren’t.
The small print reveals that they don’t have any enforcement powers, but if they can get people to observe social distancing while ensuring that face masks in shops are being worn effectively, they will have truly worked a minor miracle.
If on the other hand they just end up as supernumerary jobsworths who tell businesses what extra provisions they’ve got to make (and pay for) then that’ll perhaps not be the most desirable outcome.
And if they can get the local supermarket to be safer places to shop than they are today – that would be a blessing.
Santa’s fly-tippling
As well as knocking back the Xmas offering, this year Santa’s on the look-out for fly tippers, according to the Executive Member for Rubb … errrr … better make that the Eexcutive Member for Environment and Leisure.
This was the fourth press release of the quartet and it was announcing a Christmas cracker, sorry, crack-down on fly tipping and that WBC regularly inspects all fly-tips.
And as the release says that “74 people have been added to Santa’s naughty list” this year, it might be instructive if publicity about the 74 were to go a bit further.
So that the rest of us can understand how, where and why 74 selfish individuals ended up choosing to make the Borough a less pleasant place to live for the rest of us?
And perhaps discourage others from doing similar in 2021.
The last word
By way of follow up on its other activities, WBC’s consultation on the Code of Conduct for Elected Councillors ends this week so if you want the current system to continue – where complaints are dealt with in private and keeping decisions all under wraps, you don’t need to lift a finger.
But if you’ve a desire for change and don’t mind penning a few words, the consultation closes at midnight on Friday.
