IN MAY, small businesses in Wokingham were feeling the pressure.
The town needs a bank hub and fewer parking restrictions, said Wokingham businessman Phil Edgecombe of Phil’s Good Food store.
People who would have come to draw cash, and to shop, he said, were put off by the lack of banking facilities and an abundance of traffic wardens.
Motorists expressed concern about powers given to councils to enforce moving traffic offences by dishing out fines.
Almost half of locals polled felt that councils would see these as an opportunity for making money rather than improving safety.
In Hurst there was drama around the village pond when a crocheted model of King Charles was found decapitated.
The unfortunate woollen royal was one of a number of yarn creations made by Hurst Hookers.
A group of women found the King’s head in the pond, but the culprit wasn’t thought to be someone with anti-royalist views, but a heron, attracted by jewels in the King’s crown.
Striking teachers gave children the day off school, as they gathered in Wokingham to show solidarity after rejecting a pay offer, and to march, whistle and chant.
Wokingham’s annual May Fayre took over the town, with stalls, activities, and rides lining the roads, and extending into Elms Field.
Despite a drizzly start to the day, spirits were not dampened at one of the annual highlights of the town’s year.
Music, dancing, a children’s train, ferrets, and birds of prey, were just some of the attractions that drew around 20,000 visitors to the town.
In Shinfield, more than 800 runners took part in the village’s annual 10k race.
Raising money for charity, the competitors were cheered on their way by residents from their doorsteps.
But May was perhaps especially notable for the King’s Coronation, and for the parades, parties and pageants that residents enjoyed as they celebrated.
At Waltham St Lawrence, children on ponies, floats, brass band music, and flying union flags led villagers to their afternoon of community fun.
The villages of Barkham, Finchampstead and Woodley followed suit with coronation celebrations held in brilliant sunshine.
Schools, communities and charities across the borough held picnics, competed in best crown competitions, and rang bells For King Charles III.
Local elections took place in May, delighting Wokingham’s Liberal Democrats, who increased their representation in the borough.
One vote away from a majority, Liberal Democrat councillors now numbered 26.
The Conservatives lost four seats, bringing their total down to 22, Labour picked up two seats, reaching a total of five, and there was one independent councillor.
Young film makers in the borough had some good news.
With construction of the new Shinfield Studios well underway, the British Film Institute awarded £600,000 to a Berkshire Skills Cluster, which will help to train emerging film and TV production crew, and make the industry more accessible to newcomers.
Also in Shinfield, its cricket club played a friendly match against the University of Reading’s team to celebrate the opening of its new facilities at Manor Ground on Brookers Hill.
Three traffic collisions in the borough led residents to voice safety concerns, with Finchampstead villagers calling for the Reading Road speed limit to be reduced from 40 miles an hour to 30, to avoid what they said was a catastrophe in the making.
And, in a move to cut costs, Wokingham Borough Council scrapped the Greenredeem scheme that had rewarded residents for increased recycling and waste reduction.
But with a £600k award from the government, the council was able to plan for a new shared use path for cyclists and pedestrians to travel from Winnersh to Wokingham town centre, with work on the active travel link to begin the following year.
To end the month on a positive note, Thames Valley Police’s chief constable said that despite a very busy year, his officers had increased the number of charges made for knife crime and sexual offences.
He was proud of the progress made to act on domestic abuse, up 27%, sex offences, excluding rape, with charges up 52%, and a 42% decrease in homicide.
