THE EUROPEAN UNION was blamed for the time taken over a consultation for the new 12 bus route in Woodley.
In the council meeting, Jenny Cheng, a Woodley town councillor, asked Cllr Keith Baker – the Executive Member for highways and transport and leader of Woodley town council – “what the Council is doing to ensure residents have a service that meets their
needs?”
Cllr Baker said that the council was following a European procurement process and that it added “significant time to reach a conclusion as this is open for the whole of the EU to submit an ‘expression of interest’.
“This particular process has unprecedented levels of consultation both in terms of feedback and face-to-face meetings.”
Cllr Baker’s full reply, taken from the council’s minutes and published after The Wokingham Paper went to press with this original report is as follows:
“The Council is following the European procurement process to secure a new bus service to commence in September 2018. This adds significant time to reach a conclusion as is open to the whole of the EU to submit an expression of interest in running this service.
“This particular process has had unprecedented levels of consultation, both in terms of feedback and face to face meetings. For example, over 750 responses came in from the web-based consultations and the petition. The face to face meetings were held with two residents’ associations, namely the Maiden Erlegh Residents’ Association (MERA) and the northern Earley Residents’ Association (ACER). The outcome of those meetings was captured in their submission.
“At the same time Earley Town Council and Woodley Town Council set up a joint working party which included representatives from the Residents’ Associations. Each individual Town Council’s Planning Committee discussed the issues and provided core comments to the joint working party which combined them into an agreed joint submission.
“Officers were involved extensively in these discussions. The importance of the consultation is that the criteria for the new bus service takes into account the feedback from these consultations. Bus operators who would like to operate the bus service in future will have to demonstrate how they will provide a bus service that meets the key criteria approved at the January 2018 Executive meeting.”
