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Woodley Town Council would like your views on potential uses for the new community garden in Woodley Town Centre.  

If you have any ideas or would like to be involved please contact us at: feedback@woodley.gov.uk

Thank you!

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You can find more details about the project HERE.

Paths and pavements across the Wokingham Borough are getting back to their best following the start of a new street cleansing contract. Residents and neighbourhood groups in Lower Earley have already seen the benefits of the new partnership with Urbaser, with work focused around Hawkedon Primary School.

School and housing estate entrances, as well as along major roads, have all been identified as areas where increased work has been required to brighten up the borough. It’s been part of a raft of improvements introduced by the new contractor to significantly and immediately improve the look and feel of the borough which residents see they are out and about.

Urbaser has been carrying out the work since the contract began on 1 April, working hard to introduce the improvements despite restrictions due to COVID-19. Its work includes a combination of mechanical and manual street and open space cleaning; cleaning public car parks and subways; removing fly tipping; and cleaning up for special events.

The company is subcontracted by VolkerHighways, the council’s highways and transport maintenance and construction contractor. It has been working with the council since April last year and already works in partnership with Urbaser to provide street cleansing services in the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead.

The company, which will have the contract for six years, has received accolades for the quality of its work in the nearby borough following results from the National Highways and Transport Network (NHT), which ranked the borough as second best nationally for the cleanliness of its roads and third best nationally for the cleanliness of its pavements.

“We know how important it is to our residents to see the borough is well looked after, especially in key areas such as around schools and at the entrances to residential areas,” said Cllr Parry Batth, executive member for environment. “Staff from Urbaser have really hit the ground running with works across our area and I look forward to seeing the high standards sustained for years to come.”

“Providing this service through our existing highways contractor VolkerHighways has helped us transition to the new provider almost seamlessly,” said Cllr Pauline Jorgensen, executive member for highways and transport. “It will also increase efficiency in the years ahead for our roads and pavements, as highway maintenance and highway cleansing are naturally linked services.”

The new contract with Urbaser also includes:

·         A new fleet of vehicles

·         Grade A standard for sweeping litter & detritus on all adopted roads, footways, traffic islands and cycleways

·         Assurance that all litter bins are emptied on time and that flytipping is removed within set timescales

·         Easy monitoring of:

o   Scheduled sweeping

o   Litter bin emptying

o   Highway herbicide treatment

o   Flytipping removal.

Wokingham Borough Council’s Adult Social Care (ASC) team are still very much at the forefront of the response to the Covid-19 pandemic, providing vital health care support to all our vulnerable residents across the borough and have today announced the launch of an eight week online consultation that will help shape its new autism strategy.

The consultation, which is being carried out in partnership with local charity Promise Inclusion, will take place via the council website and aims to ensure that residents with autism are offered same opportunities as other residents across the borough. 

“We welcome the council’s consultation which offers a great opportunity to hear directly from local residents with autism across the borough and their carers about how we can continue to best support them to live healthy, active and independent lives” said Mary Durman, Chief Executive Officer at Promise Inclusion.

The council is offering residents living with autism and their families an opportunity to share their thoughts on what is currently available and the improvements they would like the see.

“Throughout the current crisis our Adult Social Care Team have continued to support out most vulnerable residents, enabling them to live healthy, active and independent lives by securing the support they need to live their lives to the fullest. We are looking to deliver a strategy that has vulnerable residents at its heart, connecting people, places and services in the community”, said Cllr Charles Margetts, executive member for health, wellbeing and adult services.

“This is a time of great change in the delivery of health and social care service, both locally and nationally and our in-depth consultations, with key partners and residents, will help us to deliver a co-produced strategy with our residents, leading the way in helping us to bridge the gaps with services that they think are important for them and their carers”.

To take part in the consultation which closes on 31st August, please visit the Council’s website HERE. If you require assistance completing the survey please speak to your service provider or contact Promise Inclusion at Projects@wokinghammencap.org or 0300 777 8539. 

Wokingham Borough Council has invited Woodley Town Council to suggest areas to be considered for designation as a Local Green Space in the Local Plan Update.  Local Green Space designation is a way to provide special protection against development for green areas of particular importance to local communities.

The Local Green Space designation can only be used where the green space is:

1. In reasonably close proximity to the community it serves;
2. Demonstrably special to a local community and holds a particular local significance, for example because of its beauty, historic significance, recreational value (including as a playing field), tranquillity or richness of its wildlife; and
3. Local in character and is not an extensive tract of land.

Information on the Local Plan Update and Local Green Space designation can be found HERE.

The Town Council has made the following suggestions:

1. Dinton Pastures
2. Ashenbury Park
3. Aldermoors Nature Reserve
4. Vauxhall Park
5. South Lake – including the lily pond and play area
6. Malone Park
7. Woodford Park and the Memorial Recreation Ground (also known as Coronation Fields)
8. Sandford Park, between Hurricane Way and Mohawk
9. Hearn Road play area
10. Crescent Park in Southlake Crescent
11. Mortimer’s Meadow
12. Redwood play area
13. The park between Masters Close and Marathon Close
14. The area between Mohawk Way and the old (closed off) Colemans Moor Road
15. Land over the river from the Loddon Park estate.

In addition, it should be noted that Bulmershe Site of Urban Landscape Value has already been submitted for designation as a Local Green Space.

If any member of the public has further suggestions to put forward for consideration, please send them to:  linda.matthews@woodley.gov.uk   saying why you think the area should be considered for designation as a Local Green Space.

Suggestions must be received by Sunday 12 July 2020.