Support our market
I believe every town should have a market.
We have a good one in Wokingham and arguably the most popular stall is the fruit and vegetables.
I have in the past seen that particular stall operate from the Plaza down by the lifts. Bitterly cold conditions in a wind tunnel and the only way he could have survived that is through the love of what he does or determination to succeed.
Thankfully he eventually moved up to Market Place and is a very important part of the Town Centre at the end of the week and on Saturdays.
Two weeks ago he disappeared. After a few enquiries we discovered his van with all the produce had been stolen.
I was delighted to see him back this week. A much smaller van and fewer items for sale but clearly he is not giving up.
I just wanted to bring this to the attention of Wokingham shoppers. I don’t know him personally but he is always upbeat and cheerful and I hope we can rally around to support him.
He certainly deserves it.
David Lee, Wokingham
Hancock was right to resign
It is before time that the public that vote for MPs had some trust in these people that we put in power to represent us.
Up to now there is no trust and they do not live up to moral standards and lack credibility and turn out
to be hypocrites.
It also happens with my MP too.
In my view it was right that the secretary of state resigned.
Victor Rones, Bracknell
Speeding in Bellfoundry Lane
I read with interest Charlotte King’s article on speeding in Bellfoundry Lane (June 24), and would make the following comments:
There has been no serious accidents. The whole dynamic if Bellfoundry Lane has changed and will get worse with the opening of the section of NWDR connecting Warren House Road.
I find the remarks from our Councillors and the council officers (highways) and the police who supply the information very negative. So someone has to be killed or injured before we take action.
I would like to see a proactive response to what is a problem resulting in some positive moves like a zebra crossing.
The council seam obsessed with lets keep the traffic moving with disregard for safety.
I have experienced similar problems on Toutley Road pre-pandemic and got into a long battle with council officer (highways) one in particular I found very negative .
I was told there was no problem they had done a survey on Queens Road.
I got the survey on a FOI and took a look.
I believe this survey to be corrupt
in a lot of areas especially were and when it was done. I raised this with WBC and they did not comment.
Two useful bit of information did come out of it the high percentage over 30mph this were diluted by a low number of slow moving vehicles.
I took this to be vehicles entering a leaving sight cars going slowly past parked vehicles waiting to get into site. This did not occur at weekends when sites are closed.
The Test was carried out between two site entrances.
The following was recorded highest speed you will see below east and west bound and is measured in blocks of 5mph so for example the recoding of 70mph has the possibility to be 74 mph
East Bound on Queens road highest speed was 70mph on February 19, 2019, at 2.25 pm
West bound: 55mph on February 9, 2019 at 1.25pm.
I asked what was the cost of a survey and one on Toutley road no reply came back. If reasonable I considered funding this from my own pocket. The Pandemic arrived and so I did not pursue further.
There are thing that can be done I would urge all councillors and council officer (highways) to take a proactive response to what is a problem within the WBC area.
Rod Needs , Wokingham
Road closures
As I sit here waiting for the next edition of Wokingham.Today to see if WBC Planning make any effort to respond to my criticism of the closure, again, of Nine Mile Ride I note a Public Notice stating that Barkham Street will be closed for a month at the end of July and early August to lay internet cables. Barkham Street was resurfaced recently.
Well done WBC, digging up resurfaced roads again.
The alternate route mentions several roads but not Commonfield Lane.
Fact, to get from the Reading side of Barkham to the California area can only be done by using the single track Commonfield Lane when Nine Mile Ride is closed at the junction of Park Lane, unless taking the long way round via Wokingham town or Evendons Lane.
I fully understand the need for high speed internet cables in this area but this work should be delayed until NMR is reopened.
Disgruntled Motorist
Domestic abuse
Many thanks for publishing your article last week highlighting the change to domestic abuse services in Wokingham.
Specialist provider Berkshire Women’s Aid (BWA), who have a strong track record of supporting victims, are being replaced by Cranstoun, an organisation which has developed and delivered a number of programs around the country, aimed at perpetrators with a view to changing behaviours.
While this work should be commended and is important, so is the provision of services to victims
of domestic abuse.
Berkshire Women’s Aid are a specialist provider of this support and have been providing services to victims in Wokingham for many years, with support from council funding supplemented by their own fundraising.
My understanding is that Cranstoun have very limited experience of providing refuge support and indeed, do not currently have refuge spaces available locally. This is of significant concern for the continuity of this critical service, which has become even more important over the lockdown period.
It is also of concern that Cranstoun would not answer the question on the provision of same-sex refuge centres, something of importance for the victims and the children impacted.
Fortunately, BWA will continue to provide these services in Wokingham, paid for through their own fundraising.
Given Cranstoun will be receiving £1.5 million over five years from July 1, to provide these and other services, I have asked the council when they will be providing refuge for victims of domestic abuse locally.
I have yet to receive a response.
In the meantime, should readers wish to help support BWA, you they can do so through the BWA website: berkshirewomensaid.org.uk
Louise Timlin, Branch Lead – Reading and Wokingham Women’s Equality Party
Why can’t I keep it?
According to your report (June 24), Wokingham Borough Council has decided it will not now collect up all the black refuse bins used for recycling.
After receiving my new green bags, I continued to use the black bin to protect my blue bag from vermin.
A few weeks ago, on collection day, I had to rush outside but both the bag and the black bin were thrown into the lorry.
I was told this is now the policy.
While I protested, several other black bins also ended up in the lorry.
I was advised to buy some spray repellent instead, though in my experience these products are fairly useless.
On two occasions since then, my blue bag has been ripped open by vermin.
The council should make it clear to the contractor that the bins have reverted to the householders.
I note that the black bins are still in use in other areas of the town.
Trevor Edington, Wokingham
Party time
To be a Conservative councillor at Wokingham borough you need to be a member of the Conservative party. You must make monthly donations to the Conservative party and agree to follow the rules of the Conservative party both nationally and locally for else.
The benefits are you will have use of all the Conservative office staff and our MP’s to fight your corner and support you at local election time.
As there is no such thing as a free dinner, what the downside?
The downside is you have to toe the party line or risk expulsion. Wokingham’s ruling Conservative borough councillors is run by a leader and a politburo (sorry ruling executive).
The downside of this dictatorial structure is all our residents get is what the Conservatives decide is best for us which is not always what residents see as being best for them. Conservative councillors just obey the three-line whip. Lollypop Ladies is just one simple example of what’s best for them.
They shout say no to houses as the house building numbers continue to creep up and up. They keep quiet about the new planning laws their Conservative counterparts at Westminster want to introduce which will give carte balance to all their developer mates to build on just about any greenfield they want to provided it’s not in their protected northern parishes.
Nothing to do with them guv.
Looking back on house building its interesting to see that only 4% of the borough’s house building has gone in the northern parishes meaning 96% has been built in the rest of the borough and expect no difference (probably not even 4%) in the next emerging local plan.
They shout climate emergency yet secretly allow about 500 mature trees to be cut down at Bearwood Lakes with no plan to replace them.
They shout climate emergency yet do nothing in the planning area to stop development that allows for trees to be cut down and over capacity roads to take more polluting traffic. If it were a European football match it would be more Houses 10-Protecting the Environment 0.
Residents can end this by putting their X next May anywhere but Conservative as the only thing the Conservatives understand is where you put that X. Residents Action Groups need to grasp the opportunity to put more independent candidates in their respective Wards/Parishes to fight this insidious Conservative party which has but one and that is to stay in power
so they can concrete over all our remaining green fields as long as its not in the north of the borough.
As an aside I did by letter ask the executive member for planning how many houses has got planning permission in his parish of Hurst vs planning permissions inShinfield, Arborfield and Winnersh. He declined to reply. I rest my case.
Cllr Gary Cowan, Independent Borough Councillor for Arborfield at Wokingham Borough Council
Rattled cages
If last week’s Wokingham Borough Council Executive meeting is anything to go by, the Conservatives locally seem to be rather rattled.
Conservative councillors ranted at the Lib Dems, and even tried to blame us for housing development.
Of course, it’s the Conservatives who are in power and who are, for example, planning to “dump” (to use their word) more than 4,000 houses in the countryside between Sindlesham and Arborfield, squash in 130 houses and a care home next to Toutley Depot, and build 100 houses and flats on council land at Winnersh Farm, together with an access to open up the fields behind for hundreds more.
All the decisions on housing sites have been made by the Conservatives for the last 19 years.
And that is their problem: they know that they can’t escape the blame for the relentless building across the borough.
But why these sudden signs of panic?
Well, the Conservative government intends to “reform” the planning system by introducing what is being called “developers’ charter”.
And that is one of the reasons why there was a 25% swing from the Conservatives to the Lib Dems in the Chesham and Amersham by-election on June 17, turning a Conservative majority of 16,000 into a Lib Dem majority of over 8,000.
In Wokingham constituency the Lib Dems only need a fraction of that swing to win, and we are moving in the right direction, gaining three seats from the Conservatives at the last Local Elections.
As our victorious candidate Sarah Green said after the by-election, if Chesham and Amersham can have a Lib Dem MP, so can anyone else.
And that explains why you can confidently expect much more Conservative ranting about the Lib Dems over the next few months.
Cllr Prue Bray, Liberal Democrat councillor for Winnersh ward, Wokingham Borough Council
