Fresh produce ready to be donated to local food banks

Woodley Town Council works with local charity Launchpad to provide fresh produce for locals affected by homelessness

Woodley Town Council, in association with the Reading Road Tenant’s Association, has allocated three community plots at its Reading Road Allotment site for local charity Launchpad to engagecorporate volunteers to grow crops to supply fresh garden produce to disadvantaged and vulnerable families via foodbanks, soup kitchens and community fridges.

Launchpad, a Reading-based homelessness prevention charity, workswith teams of regular corporate volunteers to create and nurture these working allotments to cultivate, make good and grow fresh produce seasonally and once picked, washed and packed, to make it available to the local community in need.

The plots

The designated plots were originally overgrown and a lot of work has gone into cultivating them from both Launchpad volunteers and Reading Road tenant volunteers.

Carolyn Davies, a Committee Member of the Reading Road Tenant’s Association, is delighted that the plots have been so well cultivated and able to produce fresh produce in a relatively short space of time.

“I would just like to say how proud I am of what we have achieved in a relatively short time on the Launchpad plots. It doesn’t seem that long ago when we started on the mammoth task of clearing an overgrown area, and we warned Launchpad not to expect anything this year because the ground was so poor!”

In addition to the Launchpad volunteers, many tenants have volunteered to provide expertise to assist on the volunteering days, filling in the gaps between sessions, watering in the evenings, providing tools, seeds, plants and seedlings and more.

Donations

Many local companies have also donated several items to get the project up and running. These include: Hammerson, which donated money for the poly tunnel, Balfour Beatty which provided a container for storage and University College of Estate Management which donated money that will be used to fit out the container and Shinfield Parish Council which provided a water tank.

Donations have also been received following a plea on Woodley focused group pages on Facebook, including tables and chairs, donations of money to buy seeds and compost and two wheelbarrows and watering cans.

The project has been so successful that it was able to deliver fresh produce to Reading FoodBank Readifood and 2kg of broad beans to Sadaka, another local food charity based in Reading, which provides free meals every Saturday.

During the first delivery to Readifood, threepeople were able to take bags of courgettes, onions, kale, borlotto and French beans, resulting in plot to customer in less than two hours.

The Reading Road Tenants Association is looking for more volunteers to help run the project, including some expertise knowledge to supervise tending and cultivating the crops. Please contact  readingrdallotments@hotmail.co.uk for more information.

Food donations at Readifood

 

 

Wokingham Borough Council ahead of schedule with the Lower Earley Way road restructure

 

Wokingham Borough Council has announced another step forward in its fight against congestion as phase two of the Lower Earley Way Dualling, Major Highways Project, is expected to finish two months ahead of schedule.

 

Phase two of the project, which involves widening the northbound carriageway, was originally due to be complete in November but is now on track to be completed before the end of the summer holidays. Phase three, which was scheduled to start in November, will now begin on 2 September.

The scheme

The Lower Earley Way Dualling scheme, which is part of the Council’s £124million Major Highways Project, widens the road to provide two lanes in each direction, between the Loddon Roundabout near Showcase Cinema and the new junction with the Winnersh Relief Road. 

The project is intended to accommodate additional traffic which is expected following the completion of phase two of the Winnersh Relief Road (WRR).

“We are very pleased that this Major Highways Project is progressing ahead of schedule. The Lower Earley Way Dualling scheme—the whole project–is due to be completed in February 2020 but we are hopeful, given our current status, that we will be able to finish before this date,” said Cllr Pauline Jorgensen, executive member for highways and transport. “We would like to thank our residents and local businesses for their patience while these vital works are taking place to help us reduce congestion.”

The next phase of the project beginning in September will see the team finish the diversion of a gas main under the road in its new location before final resurfacing works later in Autumn. The works will involve the installation of narrow lanes on both the northbound and southbound carriageways which will require barriers to be in place.

To allow these works to be carried out safely, overnight road closures will be in place along Lower Earley Way between the Showcase roundabout and the junction with Winnersh Relief Road 8.30pm to 6am from Monday 2 September for up to 6 nights.

Minor delays can be expected during peak periods and road users are encouraged to use alternative routes.

Additional information

·         Cyclists will have access to a cycle path which will be signposted. There will also be a marshal to guide cyclists

·         Further overnight works, mainly for resurfacing and road marking, are planned for late October. Traffic will be diverted down Winnersh Relief Road and Reading Road.

·         Information on public transport and other alternatives can be found on Wokingham Borough Council’s My Journey web-page: https://www.myjourneywokingham.com/discover-wokingham/lower-earley-way-dualling/

·         Lower Earley Way Dualling is a section of the Winnersh Relief Road scheme being delivered for Wokingham Borough Council by Balfour Beatty through the SCAPE Framework. As well as improving reliability for drivers on this busy stretch of road, the additional capacity this scheme provides will support the Council in meeting its targets towards economic growth.

·         To see the full list of phases and for further information on this scheme visit: https://www.wokingham.gov.uk/roadworks-and-outdoor-maintenance/major-new-roads/winnersh-relief-road/lower-earley-way-dualling/

 For further information please contact Cllr Pauline Jorgensen at pauline.jorgensen@wokingham.gov.uk

Further information regarding the Lower Earley Way Dualling Major Highways Project can be found by visiting the council website