Do you know of a local hero who helps people in a voluntary capacity in the Woodley area?

Each year, Woodley Town Council celebrates local heroes at its Citizens’ Awards ceremony for individuals whose good works and deeds benefit an individual or organisation in Woodley. These might be people carrying out voluntary work, or those who care for people in our community, or neighbours who go above and beyond in their help and kindness. Nominees can be any age and there is a youth category for nominees aged 19 or under. Mayor Cllr Kay Gilder will present the awards at a Civic Reception on the evening of 27 March 2020 to which the award winners, their family and friends, and the nominators will be invited. If you know someone you think deserves recognition for their work in Woodley, you can make a nomination by filling in the form and returning it to the Council offices at the Oakwood Centre by Monday 20 January 2020. Forms are available on the Council website: www.woodley.gov.uk or please call to request one on 0118 9690356.

Do you know someone who will be on their own this Christmas?

The LINK Visiting Scheme Christmas Day celebration is open to those living in the Wokingham Borough community who are alone on this day. They provide an opportunity to spend the day in the company of others, enjoying delicious food and a festive, party atmosphere. A team of volunteers give up their time to provide transport, catering, hosting and entertaining – everything it takes to ensure it’s a special day. It’s been running for seven years, with the number of guests growing each year.

The scheme is also reaching out for donations to help run the cost of the event and also to provide a present for those attending.

Could you donate a Christmas gift up the to value of £10?

It could be toiletries, winter gloves or scarves, socks, books, puzzles or games, chocolates, or special hamper style goodies.

All donations can be dropped off at its office (Westcott Annexe, Westcott Road, Wokingham, RG40 2ER) between 08:30 – 14:30, Monday – Friday, or call 0118 9798019 to arrange a pick up time.

Donations will be so gratefully received before the Christmas Party on December 8th or before Christmas Day.

Alternatively, can you donate one of the following:

Christmas wish list

Could you donate any of the items below for our Christmas celebrations?

• Supermarket Gift Cards (for the purchase of food for our events)

• Red or white paper tablecloths

• Christmas serviettes

• White paper plates

• Battery operated fairy lights for the table

• Mulled Wine (Kindly donated by Ludgrove School. Thank-you!)

• Gift Bags of Various Size

• A fully decorated Christmas Tree!

• Food – Chocolate, Biscuits, Christmas Puddings, Brandy Butter

To find out more and to apply to attend the event, please follow this LINK.

The Electoral Commission is urging UK citizen’s to make sure they are registered to vote with a new Got 5? campaign.

In order to vote at the general election on Thursday 12 December, you need to register by midnight on Tuesday 26 November.

Register now at: www.gov.uk/register-to-vote.

Candidates for Woodley Wards

Coronation Central, Coronation East and Warren Wards:

Conservative Party: MP Theresa May

Labour Party: MP Pat McDonald

Lib Dem Party: MP Joshua Reynolds

Green Party: MP Emily Tomalin

Bulmershe, Loddon Airfield, Loddon South, Loddon West, South Lake North and South Lake South Wards:

Conservative Party: MP Craig Morley

Labour Party: MP Matt Rodda

Lib Dem Party: MP Imogen Shepherd-Dubey

Green Party: MP David McElroy

Brexit Party: MP Mitchell Feierskein

Christian People’s Alliance Party: MP Yemi Awolola

To find your local Polling Station, please call Wokingham Borough Council on: 0118 9746522/9746523

Do you ever wonder exactly what plastic you can put in your recycling box?

re3 has made it even easier for residents to recycle plastic by producing new A-Z Plastic Recycling Wheels. The new wheels are designed as an easy-to-use reminder for people to keep at home when they are sorting out their plastic waste. They encourage using your kerbside recycling bin or box as well as prompt you to recycle plastic via recycling stations at the larger supermarkets or TerraCycle drop off points.

The wheels will be available to collect from Bracknell Forest, Reading and Wokingham’ Council Offices, local libraries as well as both re3 Recycling Centres. They have also been delivered to selected households as part of the campaign.

Recycling Wheels are the latest of the re3 recycling promotions, alongside a smartphone app called re3cyclopedia which includes a waste item search function.

Since 2018, re3 residents can recycle a wider range of plastic items such as plastic bottles, pots, tubs and trays and according to recent data, 60% more plastics were recycled in 2019 than in the previous year. In addition to the increase of plastic recycling, the re3 Partnership has confirmed arrangements with the plastic re-processor allowing us to recycle all re3 plastic in the UK.

How does the Plastic Recycling Wheel work?

• The outer wheel has the item to be recycled eg. meat tray
• Spin the inner wheel until the arrow points to the item
• The cut-out window on the inner wheel will reveal a colour
• This colour corresponds to a key which tells you where to dispose of the item eg. meat tray goes into the recycling bin

The re3cyclopedia app is available by searching for “re3cyclopedia” in the Apple App Store on iPhones and in the Google Play Store on Android smartphones.

More information on plastic recycling including Plastic Guide can be found on the re3 website.

Please find details of the next Woodley & North Earley Forum’s Meeting

Wednesday 20^th November 2019, 7-9pm

The Maxwell Room, Oakwood Centre, Woodley RG5 4JZ

Chair: Jackie Rance

A G E N D A

1. Welcome and apologies
2. Minutes of previous meeting and any matters arising
3. Reports from Neighbourhood Policing Team
4. Policing priorities
5. Minute taker – volunteers?
6. WANE Facebook page
7. Reminder: Saturday 23^rd. November – Carol Concert– volunteers for leafletting on the day
8. Reminder: Woodley Extravaganza – Sunday 1.12.19
9. Any Other Business
10. Date and venue of next meeting

Thames Valley Police, in association with Wokingham Borough Council, are hosting a Burglary & Fraud Community Conference on Wednesday 27 November.

Due to a reported increase in the number of residential burglaries across the Bracknell and Wokingham areas, targeting unoccupied homes in order to find and steal jewellery, cash and other items, Thames Valley Police have issued the following advice.

TVP are advising if you are home in the late afternoons and early evenings, please keep an eye out for your neighbours and don’t hesitate to report any suspicious activity on the Thames Valley Police website or via the Police non-emergency number 101. If you suspect a burglary is in progress, please dial 999.

You can help protect your home and belongings by considering the following:-

Internal lighting
Use an automatic plug-in time-switch to operate a lamp or light at pre-set times when you’re out.

External lighting
A clear, low white light that activates at dusk to dawn is ideal for lighting a yard and garden and allowing any person to be clearly seen.

CCTV and Video Doorbell Systems
A wide range of CCTV cameras and video doorbell systems are available and have proven useful in investigations.

Alarms
Consider an accredited burglar alarm system with audible alarm boxes mounted high at the front and rear of your home.

Doors, Windows and Gates
Close and lock all your doors and windows, even if you’re only going out for a few minutes and make sure any side and rear gates are locked.

Social Media
Be careful not to publicise when your home is unattended on social media, post your holiday or party snaps once you are back home.

The next phase of work to expand the Ofsted rated outstanding Addington School has begun, as the £4.4million project gathers pace. It means the council will be able to improve the lives of 50 more young people, due to the increased capacity, by giving them the best SEND education possible, when the new building officially opens in September 2020.

Groundworks for a new single-storey block at the school in Woodley have now started, with completion anticipated on the building, which will include four classrooms, a café and social/breakout areas, in the spring.

The expansion will boost the school’s capacity to more than 250 students. It means more children with special educational needs and disabilities from the Wokingham borough will be able to be educated closer to home, making families’ lives easier by reducing journey times, as well as reducing the council’s travel costs.

Between 60 and 70 per cent of the construction will take place off site by contractor Reds10. This approach will reduce disruption to the school and its students. The building will be made indoors, in sections and then transported to the school in Woodlands Road, Woodley. Site set up began this week with groundworks taking place until January before the main build and fit out starts.

The construction method means the materials can be packed flat, often with a whole building on one truck, reducing the number of vehicle trips required as part of the project compared to traditional construction. Using construction approaches such as this will help Wokingham Borough Council towards its goal of becoming carbon neutral by 2030.

Work should be completed in the spring, with the facilities officially opening for the new school year in September 2020.

This follows the official opening of two new multi-use games areas (MUGAs), a new sensory path and an expanded car park at the end of September this year. The school’s students were joined by Reading FC Women’s stars Brooke Chaplen and Grace Moloney as the new sports facilities were unveiled. These were constructed over the summer to ensure pupils had all the facilities they need upon returning to school for the Autumn term.

“I’m delighted to see the next phase of this exciting expansion project begin,” said Sal Thirlway, assistant director for children’s services (learning, achievement and partnerships). “The construction method we have chosen means there will be minimal disruption for the school and its students while still providing a fantastic, modern facility fitting the need of Addington School’s young people. It also showcases a type of construction method which will help the council in its goal of being carbon neutral by 2030.

“Being able to increase the number of places we are able to offer SEND children in Wokingham borough by building this new block, will help to improve the lives of our young people as well as their families by reducing travel times. Addington is rightly an Ofsted-rated outstanding school, which produces brilliant outcomes for young people. We are delighted we are going to be able to offer the chance to be educated there to even more children in our Borough from next year.”

On Monday, 11th November, BBC Children in Need’s Pudsey Bear made a surprise visit to a group of children supported by Me2 Club.

To read more about Me2 Club and its visit with Pudsey, please click HERE.

Me2 Club with BBC Children in Need’s Pudsey

Michelle Jordan from BBC Berkshire interviewing children supported by Me2 Club

The Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner (OPCC) has launched a video  ‘Don’t Disappear’ to raise awareness of relationship abuse.   This is following its ‘Know this isn’t Love’ coercive control campaign from earlier in the year.  It has been launched under the branding of Victims First.  Victims First supports victims and witnesses of crime across the Thames Valley and is managed by the OPCC.

The film – ‘Don’t Disappear’  – tells the story of Jamie and Emma; from the seemingly loving early stages of their relationship, to the development of coercive and controlling behaviours such as jealousy and possessiveness, control, love bombing and isolation.

While anyone of any age can be a victim of coercive control, the OPCC is particularly keen to promote this to younger people who may have less relationship experience and people who are at the beginning of a relationship.  The aim of the video is to raise awareness of  the red flags – the early signs of coercive control which at the time, may be missed or misinterpreted as acceptable behaviour in a relationship.

The OPCC hopes the video will help people who may be in controlling relationships to identify with it and potentially seek help.

Anyone who is concerned they may be experiencing this can contact Victims First for support on 0300 1234 148  You can find further information about coercive control at www.victims-first.org.uk/what-we-do/campaigns/

We are collecting donations for the Reading Toys and Teens Appeal up to 1st December. Please bring your donations to the Council reception at the Oakwood Centre. Thank you.