READERS’ LETTERS: As seen in Wokingham.Today of April 8, 2021

Congratulations Barkham Hookers

I went down to Embrook Post Office on Easter Sunday to do some shopping and I noticed something different about their Outside Post Box.

Barkham Hookers, a local craft group, had
created some public art on post box tops in Wokingham, it looked like the group had been
inspired by flowers (I guess the bee is a clue).

A couple of years ago the group had decorated the tops of Bollards in Denmark Street.

Later that day I did notice that one of the Broad Street post box tops had been given a similar treatment.

Harry Atkinson, Wokingham

No mandate for this horrible policing bill

It’s sad to see British politics devolving into culture war gaslighting that would make former US President Trump proud.

Bracknell police carry out night-time speed checks after residents’ requests

RSPCA appeals after cat is shot with airgun in village near Reading

A particularly egregious example was the column by James Sunderland, my MP, published in this paper on March 25.

Dripping with “us vs them” division, Mr Sunderland frames the Policing Bill in purely emotive terms, dismissing all contrary opinions and discussion.

Is the Policing Bill a dangerous power grab, as many claim? Of course not, Mr Sunderland assures that it’s “in response to a clear mandate from the electorate”.

An electoral mandate, really? It wasn’t in the Conservative manifesto.

This horrible Bill erodes civil rights with new and vague thresholds that criminalise noise, public nuisance and even failing to follow dispersal orders you didn’t know about.

But these aren’t amongst the anecdotes that Mr Sunderland claims are the source of public outrage – such as. “statues being ripped down”, “war memorials vandalised” and “wanton destruction” (all criminal acts already).

Perhaps some readers recall the downing of a single Bristol statue 10 months ago or a few publicised acts of vandalism, but does anyone genuinely believe urgent action is needed to stop wide-scale statue-tipping?

Pure Trumpian politics – foster an irrelevant fear and distract from the actual Bill.

Projecting confidence, Mr Sunderland assures us “few would disagree that this is the right thing to do”, presumably based on “most law-abiding people I speak to”.

But, this law-abiding constituent wrote to Mr Sunderland opposing this Bill and never had the courtesy of a response.

I’m left to question how representative Mr Sunderland’s public polling is, because protests against the Policing Bill have spread nationwide.

Ultimately, the final line of the column seems to reveals Mr Sunderland’s true worldview.

In true Trumpian fashion, it’s us versus them.

I quote “So, this is actually about the silent majority, not the lawless minority.”

My very opposition puts me in a fictional minority that becomes “lawless” only because of this Bill.

The existing law already protects against violence, property damage and “serious public disorder”.

Mr Sunderland offers emotion and distractions, not a shred of justification for criminalising a wide swathe of actions that are merely inconvenient. If you’ve ever felt the need to speak out for climate action, against housing developments, against racism or against mandatory face masks, you could now be criminalised.

Please join me in letting your MP know the Policing Bill must be abandoned.

Tom Ross, address supplied

Voting places

In reply to Ian Pittock’s letter in last week’s paper about using Oaklands School as the polling station for Wokingham Without ward local elections on May 6, we as the candidate and borough councillors for that ward wish to set the record straight.

We made strong representations both during the borough-wide review of polling stations in 2018 (this was subject to public consultation and we noted this our ward newsletter at the time) and in response to recent robust discussions from parents and governors of the schools at Oaklands.

We fully appreciate the concerns and earnestly wish there was a viable alternative.

It is not the local councillors’ decision to change the location and in detailed discussions we have had with the Electoral Registration Officer (ERO) at Wokingham Borough Council, he concluded that, especially with the covid restrictions, there was no suitable alternative site or sites, including the ones Mr Pittock suggested.

The selection of polling stations must ensure a fair opportunity for eligible voters to reasonably and safely get to vote, and not to effectively disenfranchise numbers of voters because of excessive distance from the polling station.

In addition, St Sebastian’s Hall has very limited parking and Pinewood is remote from almost all ward residents.

For us, this is not the end of the story.

While it is now too late to change arrangements for May 2021, we will continue to work with the ERO to try to obtain a viable alternative place for May 2022.

We are genuinely sorry the pupils will lose another day of face-to-face teaching.

Our children’s education will possibly be the largest impact of the pandemic looking into the future.

We will continue our efforts to find a polling station that will not affect attendance at any school in future.

Pauline Helliar-Symons, Conservative candidate for Wokingham Without, Cllr Chris Bowring and Cllr Angus Ross, borough councillors for Wokingham Without, Consverative

Consultations

At Council last month a resident asked why THE COUNCIL had not undertaken a consultation with disabled groups ahead of the implementation of the new green recycling bags.

The ruling Conservative Executive member for environment blandly said the Council had undertaken a “full Equality Impact assessment in assessing the impact of this minor change to the waste collection service”.

He then indifferently added that “Testing has shown that the empty bags weigh less than the current boxes so will be easier to handle,” but he never said who did the testing so in his opinion and therefore that of the Conservative -un Council they are very convenient, practical and in some ways easier to use for those who are elderly or have a disability.”

The questioner added that she ‘couldn’t even open the Velcro, She had zero force in her hands so she can’t open it, it is absolutely useless and she does not know what she going to do with her cardboard’.

In reality they are much more difficult to use than the black boxes for the able bodied never mind the disabled.

I was quite surprised by his answer when he said that the bags were lighter I remembered having asked a question some time ago about the bags blowing away when empty only to be told as they were weighted they would weigh more than the black boxes and so less likely to blow away.

Like a fool I took the answer as being the honest truth so I never pursued it.

How wrong was I?

Having just received my green bags I did the obvious thing and weighed one and it came out at 600g.

I then weighed a black box and that was over two-and-a-half times heavier at 1.6kg.

As we all know how easily a black box blows away weighing 1.6kg what hope have residents of keeping their green bags when a slightly puff of wind will send them sailing miles away.

Replacement costs will be astronomical but it’s only your money that will be wasting and do they care?

What happens to all the black boxes now?

Will be mainly consigned to landfill as the Council has no intention of taking them back.

How will our disabled residents manage?

With considerable difficulty I have no doubt.

There was a simple solution used by many councils and that was various lids to fit the black boxes which is a well tried and tested solution but not one for Wokingham’s spendthrift Conservatives.

Waste your money, tell porkies about the weight of the green bags, do not ask disabled residents to test them.

As the song goes the answer my friend is green bags blowing in the wind the answer is blowing in the wind.

Residents have the answer in their hands and that is to just blow them away on May 6.

You have one chance to vote for an independent candidate and get democracy back in Wokingham.

Cllr Gary Cowan, Independent Borough Councillor for Arborfield at Wokingham Borough Council

Vote for an independent

I am writing again following my letter on road repairs Wokingham.Today (February 14) and am horrified to read Cllr Jorgensen’s article March 11 on potholes and resurfacing.

As reported previously we have many potholes and uneven surfaces on a busy school run in Radcot Close and Reading Road from Woodley Centre to Western Avenue.

She states in her article that everyone has a right to ride safely on a smooth road surface and that no part of the Borough is left behind.

Residents in Radcot Close have been trying since 2009 to get a decent surface in the road.

In 2015 I managed to get a small area covered but that wasn’t even the worst part of the road.

Six months after that a resident knocked on my door to thank me for that as she had spent some time in RBH with a broken leg after a fall on the uneven surface.

How many more broken limbs do we need before the council act?

I telephoned Cllr Jorgensen at home two months ago and then again a month later and was given two minutes of her time over the roads in question.

She promised that a representative from Highways would meet me on site. But so far nothing has happened.

I have spoken to (council leader) Cllr John Halsall three times and have been promised the same, but as usual nothing ever happens.

The Tory way seems to be stick your head in the sand like an ostrich and the problem will go away.

To make matters worse, you can no longer speak to anyone at Shute End, so you send an email. No reply.

You ring the number for Highways 0118 974 6000. No answer.

Sadly since outsourcing came in and algorithms became favoured to score each road, technology has replaced a human being and it becomes farcical.

Three years ago we had a Highways Executive Cllr Wiseman who came and walked round with residents and marked areas with white chalk that were uneven.

He issued a works order for repairs.

Duly the workmen turned up and started filling the holes.

A resident taking photographs of the work was told by the Foreman on the job that the tarmac would all be out in six months. And it was.

You can’t even see where it had been.

The disasters that have destroyed Wokingham of any democracy are listed below.

1 The school crossing patrols were taken away despite protests and petitions by residents.

2. The proposals to build 800 houses per year will decimate the areas of Shinfield and Arborfield destroying many green fields.

There will eventually be a total of 15000 houses where the residents will have had no say.

The Council have just given in to Westminster where they should have argued that 600 houses per year would have been acceptable.

3. Cllr. Sarah Kerr requested a change in the law over permitted development in small spaces doesn’t need planning permission.

She even wrote to John Redwood but got no support from anyone. Next are the masts which are soon to go up in Woodley.

4. The shambles over the breaching in the eyes of the law of the Council’s constitution over
21 months which was undemocratically handled.

5. A gang of four councillors were given the go ahead to spend up to £100 million on property investments without discussion.

6. In recent times an article said that Wokingham is the healthiest place to live with many green fields.

What they don’t say is that due to the size of the number of houses being built we won’t have many green fields left.

7. This is one of the richest boroughs in the country which is why there is no grant from the government.

We have many rich people in the area.

So why aren’t these people helping the poor, sponsoring small businesses and organisations to help to keep the community together?

8. Council meetings are a complete farce. Opposition questions that don’t agree with Tory ideology are removed from the agenda.

The situation has got so bad that there must be a change. If people want democracy back in Wokingham then vote for an independent candidate in May to bring back sanity to this borough.

Cedric Lander, Woodley

Thank you school staff

As we pass Easter and move towards the summer term, I would like to thank all the staff in our schools for their hard work during a very difficult spring term.

Although children are back in school, things are still very different. We don’t yet know the full impact on their learning or their mental health.

Children who are moving from primary to secondary or moving on from school to college, university or work face extra challenges this year.

Teachers and support staff have been doing everything they can, not just to make sure their students continue to be educated during the pandemic but to keep them safe, equipped to learn, and prepared for whatever may come next.

So to all the staff in our schools, on behalf of the children and parents of the borough, can I say a heart-felt thank you, and best wishes for the summer term to come.

Cllr Prue Bray, Lib Dem lead for Children’s Services, Wokingham Borough Council

Sound fishy to me

Had to laugh at John Redwoods diary (Wokingham.Today, April 1) particularly his comments about rebuilding the British fishing fleets and landing catches in the UK.

He seems to have missed the point that unless they can sell to Europe, which is almost impossible thanks to Brexit, then any rebuilding is likely to be a waste of time and money.

Allan Payne, Wokingham