My tribute to a real Englishman – our Captain Sir Tom Moore
We have lost one of the best.
In a week when Germany threatened us again, I cannot help but recall the days just after the war.
I was lucky to meet many of the Services’ personnel who had rescued this country from the Nazis. (Did they not also rescue the French and many of the EU nations?)
What was special about our Services, were the ‘characteristics’ of those men and women involved – loyalty to the King and Country, teamwork and the fundamental principles of looking after your mates, honesty, doing your best, obeying your leaders even though facing death, being reasonable to those we defeated – and so on.
Captain Sir Tom was one of those I describe – he personified the sort of people we used to be.
Little wonder he became a star, loved and appreciated by all.
With the rest of the UK population, I pray for his family as they grieve and that OUR Tom is in a better place.
Reg Clifton, Wokingham
Supermarket plan makes me very anxious
Proposals to build a supermarket and 40 homes in designated countryside adjacent to my Lower Earley home are causing me and other residents unimaginable anxiety.
I have lived in my home and valued this important green space since 1988.
I and others are greatly distressed that the proposals would greatly harm our lives for ever. But, this is not a case of NIMBYism (Not In My Back Garden). It is simply and demonstrably the wrong site for a supermarket and housing.
The supermarket building would back on to homes in Witcham Close and would be as tall as our homes.
I am also concerned about the noise and light pollution this will cause. Supermarkets like this also have long opening hours with deliveries at unsocial hours.
This whole proposal would impact on traffic and road safety – especially It would impact on traffic and road safety – especially with access to the supermarket via Meldreth Way very close to the busy and at peak hours often gridlocked Lower Earley Way.
I am worried about the impact on the nearby part of Chatteris Way that already floods.
Many of my neighbours are outraged at the damage already done clearing the site of much vegetation, the impact it had on the abundant wildlife, and recent fencing to stop dog walkers and others who have used the site for decades.
I hope the owners will respect the overwhelming opposition of residents to any building onSwallows Meadows, abandontheir plans and help to secure protection of this vital green space in perpetuity.
Malcolm G, Lower Earley
Leader should resign
I refer to the letter from Gary Cowan in the January 21 edition.
This just confirms how badly the council is being run under the dictatorship of Councillor Halsall. Councillors, its officers and its leader have a duty to behave and be accountable to its electorate.
Their responsibility is to act impartially and to promote confidence. But while you have a leader and a Prime Minister who dismiss any questions they do not like, democracy is totally destroyed.
What is desperately needed is an independent system like in Henley
I’m afraid Cllr Halsall’s attitude to Mr Meadowcroft, reported in Wokingham.Today of January 28, is typical of my experience when tying to deal with him. As requested, I sent him copies of my letters 29/6/19, 4/3/20 and 4/4/20 regarding complaints about our road surface.
I asked for contractors to return to Radcot Close/Western Avenue to put right the work they had done three years ago.
We have many holes and uneven surfaces on a busy school run. Despite three phone calls and his promise to meet we are still waiting.
What makes a mockery of all this is that we have Cllr Jorgensen writing in the paper saying that everyone has a right to ride safely and on smooth surfaces and that £800,000 will be spent going this.
There are just two roads in Woodley on the list for repairs. Woodley folk pay very high Council Tax and seem always to be at the bottom of the list for repairs.
Reading Road from Headley Road to Western Avenue is in a very dangerous state as complained about by other residents. WE WANT ACTION NOW, NOT EXCUSES.
The main reason that roads are not being repaired is the dreadful algorithm system that scores each road and then saying it’s not dangerous or it’s little used.
The normal response to requests for repairs is that there is no money. The money borrowed for commercial property – £100 million – could have repaired many roads.
A prospective Councillor standing will tell you that they are the representative for your area and what they will do for you.
Once they get elected they become a member of a political party that comes first. When voting party lines are paramount and residents views are of little importance.
One example of this was the school crossings. Patrols were got rid of despite protests and petitions by residents.
Political parties are a disaster and the only hope is for resident representatives or independent representatives.
Yes Cllr Halsall and his staff have served us well in the pandemic.
Tory ideology is destroying the borough.
All sides should be working together for the benefit of its residents.
Cedric Lander, Woodley
Safety at the roundabout
Along with many others, I have objected to the design of the new Western Gateway roundabout at the junction of Molly Millars Lane and Finchampstead Road.
My objection is more than theoretical, it is also personal.
At the age of 15 I was knocked from my bike by a car which failed to see me on a large roundabout.
When I spoke with BBC Radio Berkshire about the new roundabout they asked if I knew any others with similar experience.
Within a few hours three other people told me their stories.
Alastair, in a similar incident to mine, was knocked through the air over the bonnet of a car which hit him. Wendy, riding with her young daughter in a cycle seat, narrowly escaped injury on another Finchampstead Road roundabout when a car joined the roundabout having not seen her, despite her lights and dayglo jacket.
Carl was hit at speed from behind on a roundabout on the A4 in 2016 and, since his prolonged hospitalisation and recovery, he has never ridden on the road again.
And we only need to look back to December 2019 to the tragic death of a 52-year-old man following a collision with a car approaching the Heatherwood roundabout in Ascot.
Large roundabouts are designed to help vehicles get through junctions quickly.
The inherent dangers to slower moving cyclists are well understood by road designers, and government guidance expects safe alternative routes to be provided.
It can be hard to implement this at existing junctions, but it is relatively easy when designing new, as is the case here.
With this new design also replacing a traffic-light controlled pedestrian crossing with an alternative of either a long
diversion or crossing using only a road island, I simply do not understand why the designers are failing in their duty
to make this new development safe for walkers and cyclists.
Adrian Betteridge, Wokingham
What’s in a name?
Last week there were letters regarding Greene King’s proposed name change of the Black Boy pub in Shinfield over concerns of racist connotations.
Charles II inherited dark eyes and black hair from his half French, half Italian Mother, Henrietta Maria who nicknamed him Black Boy.
He was also unusually tall which, combined with his uniquely continental complexion, meant that he looked strikingly different to his fair and pasty subjects.
Charles’ reign followed a period of religious extremism under Cromwell, where dancing, theatres, drunkenness and Christmas were all banned.
People (largely women) were hanged for adultery. Some pubs and inns, which increased hugely after the Restoration, were named after Charles.
The Shinfield area has a number of links to Charles and his family.
His Father, Charles I, stayed there during the siege of Reading, and Cutbush Lane is believed to be named after a bush shaped like the Prince of Wales’ feathers (the symbol of Charles II in exile) was cut by a Roundhead.
It was also the home of the Hyde family, influential courtiers who owed their advancement to Charles and his restoration.
Anne Hyde married Charles’ brother and was the Mother of Mary II and Queen Anne.
A local publican may have sought to please their powerful neighbours by paying tribute to the source of their success.
Greene King does not have a single black person among its directors (12 men, three women).
Like all hospitality companies they have had a terrible year but in 2019 generated £2 billion revenue.
Greene King could use their staggering profits to help end current inequality in a tangible way, like diversifying their board, or investing in support for black women who are shockingly five times more likely to die in the UK from childbirth.
Jessica Hosmer-Wright, Wokingham
Trees in the borough
I submitted a Motion to Council about 16 months ago asking that Wokingham Borough Council evaluate its existing policies on trees to ensure its policies are fully open and transparent.
Keeping residents and parish councils informed was the basic requirement.
Like the constitution it has not lasted very long under this Conservative administration.
The first signs of it all going wrong was when a veteran oak with a 4 metre girth and a Tree Preservation Order on it was given permission to be cut down on the December 16.
It transpired permission was granted for the felling of this oak under a five-day emergency notice. The Council used the reservoirs act to grant permission but told none of the local parishes or Ward members (Winnersh, Barkham and Arborfield) as required by my motion.
The reason given was as it was an emergency the council did not have to tell anyone but the permission was marked ‘must be complete by 16 May 2021’ so they gave five months to do the work but could not inform us. Why?
Although the planning permission 203483 referred to a single oak an attached drawing showed the removal of every tree along the length of the bank of Bearwood Lake facing Mole Road and that is hundreds of mature trees.
Why did the text not show the extent of the devastation to come?
There was no sign of a tree felling
licence listed on the paperwork either and there is some possible issues on land ownership.
In addition the grade II listed sawmill is falling derelict with its roof removed and open to the elements. Plus several of the old farm labourers cottages all occupied until recently have been demolished.
Does the Council care I wonder?
Every planning application along that stretch of the road has never referred to the lake/reservoir/dam in their applications as far as I can remember.
Cllr Gary Cowan, Independent Borough Councillor for Arborfield at Wokingham Borough Council
The Tragic loss of 100,000 lives to Covid
According to official figures, the UK became the first country in Europe to record, unfortunately, 100,000 coronavirus-related
deaths.
Currently, the UK has the fifth-highest number of deaths globally, after the US, Brazil, India and Mexico (as a percentage of Covid deaths to population, the UK percentage is higher than the US).
To put this into perspective, the 100,000 deaths registered are higher than the civilian death toll during all of the Second World War.
“I am deeply sorry for every life that has been lost and, of course, as Prime Minister, I take full responsibility for everything that the government has done,” said Boris Johnson.
Richard Horton, editor-in-chief of The Lancet, stated that we were struggling to contain the pandemic because the government “has steadfastly refused to follow the science, despite claims that it is doing so”. He went on to say, “At every stage, the government has delayed and delayed and delayed locking down, with the result that the virus has got out of control”.
After being warned, again and again, not to relax the restriction at Christmas, we re-entered a national lockdown on January 5 – another delayed action.
The roll-out of the vaccines is very welcomed.
However, the government wants to extend the length of time between the first dose and the second to 12 weeks.
Pfizer says it has not tested the efficacy of its jab after such a long gap. World Health Organisation recommend six week gap
between administrating the vaccines.
We all know the consequences of this virus are massive, apart from the tragic loss of 100,000 people.
Now new research finds that almost nine million people in the UK, that’s about a fifth of the UK’s adult population, had to borrow more money by the end of 2020 to help them through the coronavirus crisis.
These findings show that the young and lowest paid who are the most vulnerable in our society have taken the hardest economic hit during the pandemic.
There has been a tragic loss of life. It’s also heart-rending to hear about struggling businesses and vulnerable people taking on debt.
This government needs to listen to their experts – with less emphasis on politics – to make better data driven scientific decisions as it has cost many unnecessary lives.
Councillor Tahir Maher, Liberal Democrat councillor for Maiden Erlegh, Wokingham Borough Council
