Armistice Day & Remembrance Sunday 2023
We will remember…
Armistice Day 11th November 2023
Thank you to everyone who attended our annual Armistice Day and those who laid a wreath.
Our particular thanks go to Pat Jackson, Chairman of the Winnersh and District Royal British Legion, who read the Exhortation to the Fallen and recited the Kohima Epitaph. We also thank him for his help to organise the event.
Our thanks also go to Rosemary Edgington of the Winnersh and District Royal British Legion Women’s Section and Vice Chairman of The Royal County of Berkshire and the Vale of the White Horse Royal British Legion for her help in organising the event.
Thank you also to Woodley Town Deputy Mayor, Cllr Juliet Anderson, for her moving words, summarising the importance of Armistice Day.
“As we stand here in peace and safety, I would like to thank you for joining Woodley Town Council and the Winnersh and District Royal British Legion to pay our respects and remember all of those who have fallen; all of the wounded; and all who have served in conflicts and wars.
Our thoughts are particularly with those currently in conflict and we hope for peace for all.
Remembrance Day is the day we all remember the brave who have served and continue to serve our country during times of war, conflict and peace. We remember those who volunteered, sacrificed, served, fought and died for our freedom.
As Woodley Town Deputy Mayor, I am honoured to represent the residents of Woodley today to pay our respects and I wear my poppy with pride as a symbol of remembrance and hope for a positive future and peaceful world. Thank you.”
You can watch video footage of the event on our YouTube channel HERE.
Woodley Schools Remembrance event 10th November 2023
All of the Woodley schools took part in a Remembrance event at the War Memorial in Woodford Park on Friday 10th November.
The Exhortation was read by students from Waingels College and The Bulmershe School; the Last Post and Reveille were played by a student from Waingels College.
The Kohima Epitaph was read by a pupil from St Dominic Savio Catholic Primary School.
Proceedings were led by Mr Hickey, Head of Highwood Primary School, and the schools were very pleased to be joined by The Mayor of Woodley, Cllr Janet Sartorel, Pat Jackson, Chairman of Winnersh Royal British Legion and Rosemary Edgington, of the Winnersh and District Royal British Legion Women’s Section and Vice Chairman of The Royal County of Berkshire and the Vale of the White Horse Royal British Legion.
(School photos by Waingels College)
Woodley Memorial Remembrance Sunday 12th November 2023
A separate event was held by the Woodley Memorial Remembrance Sunday Community group at the War Memorial in Woodford Park on Sunday 12th November. The group also decorated the side of the Miles Suite at the Oakwood Centre and one of the trees in Woodford Park with stunning poppy waterfall displays.
We would like to thank everyone for attending the events and paying their respects.
Cycling Strategy
Woodley Town Council has adopted the following statement as its Strategy for Cycling to work towards improving an infrastructure for, and promoting cycling within the area.
“The Town Council’s strategy is to increase the number of cycling journeys in Woodley, both to support our commitment to climate change, and to promote health and wellbeing in the town. We will do this by a programme of communication, collaboration and education in the local community aimed at improving conditions for cyclists, facilitating access to cycles, and encouraging more people to get on bikes. And we’ll provide a forum for experienced, new, and Woodley cyclists to have their say on what’s needed to improve cycling in Woodley.”
More details will be released in due course.
Wokingham Borough Council’s Licensing Policy Consultation
Wokingham Borough Council is updating its Statement of Licensing Policy to reflect changes in legislation and best practice since it was last reviewed.
Have your say on the proposed changes
The Council would like to hear from you whether you agree with some of the changes it has made.
Wokingham Borough Council as the licensing authority must have a Statement of Licensing Policy. All businesses and organisations that undertake licensable activities on a permanent basis must have a premises licence from their local authority. These include:
- Selling alcohol, such as in supermarkets, pubs and bars, cinemas and village and community halls.
- Hot food and drink served between 11pm and 5am
- Regulated entertainment, such as live music, boxing, indoor sporting events and performing a play
The licensing policy will be used as a guide when making decisions about licensing matters, such as reviewing applications for a new premises licence or a variation to an existing licence.
Click HERE to find out more and take the Survey
Changes to waste collections in Summer 2024
Waste collections are changing – get ready for a greener future
Residents are urged to recycle as much as possible as Wokingham Borough Council prepares to change how it collects household waste in summer 2024
Residents are urged to play their part in driving up Wokingham Borough’s recycling rates as the council prepares to change how it collects most people’s domestic waste in August 2024.
These changes offer an opportunity for the borough to become one of the best in the country for recycling while meeting, and hopefully exceeding, the Government’s future targets.
From next summer, most households will be putting their rubbish out in a 180-litre black wheeled bin which will be emptied fortnightly, replacing the current weekly blue bag collections.
The wheeled bins will be rolled out to these properties from May onwards, and enough additional blue bags will be issued to cover the period until collections start.
Recycling will still be collected from green sacks, which are free and with no limits on how many are put out, but this is also changing to fortnightly collections on weeks when rubbish isn’t taken.
The weekly food waste collections and optional fortnightly garden waste collections are unaffected and will continue at the same frequency, and from the same containers.
Stay up to date with the changes
More information about collection dates, including any changes to existing collection days, will be available well in advance and will be widely publicised.
To help residents prepare for the changes, the council has created a detailed online guide. This will be regularly updated as the changes get nearer and more information becomes available.
Not all properties are suitable for wheeled bins, so alternative arrangements will be made in some cases, like flats or properties that don’t have any space to store them. The council is also reviewing the needs of larger households and those that produce medical waste.
Find out more:
https://www.wokingham.gov.uk/news/2023/waste-collections-are-changing-get-ready-greener-future
Independent Remuneration Panel
Woodley Town Council has received the report of the Independent Remuneration Panel appointed to review the allowances paid to councillors of Wokingham Borough’s Parish and Town Councils for 2023/24.
This report has provided recommendations from the parish remuneration panel in relation to allowances.
These recommendations are for an allowance for elected members of up to 5.1% of the Wokingham Borough Council’s Basic Allowance, or £400 per year and an allowance for the Chair of the Council of up to 15.4% of Wokingham Borough Council’s Basic Allowance, or £1200, in addition to the basic members allowance.
Copies of the report of the Independent Remuneration Panel are available from the Town Council in electronic format or in printed format at a cost of £1 per copy, by request to the Town Clerk:
townclerk@woodley.gov.uk or 0118 9690356
Household Support Fund Winter 2023
Up to £240 to help with winter costs
Wokingham Borough Council has launched a new round of its Household Support Fund alongside its Hardship Alliance partners.
Payments have been increased for the winter months, which are often more expensive because of the need to stay warm at home.
If you’re struggling to pay for things like food, energy, bills or other essentials, you can get help. The options are:
- Parents of children who receive means-tested free school meals can get £20 per week for each eligible child during the school holidays
- Households with pensioners, carers, a disabled person and/or households with four or more people can get a one-off £250 payment
- A one-off £120 payment is available for any other households which are struggling to pay for essentials.
If you’ve applied and received a grant from Age UK Berkshire or Citizens Advice Wokingham between April and September 2023, you can now apply again. New applications are welcome.
Please apply HERE.
Wokingham Borough Council Cost of Living Survey
As the higher cost of living continues to impact residents and communities, Wokingham Borough Council wants to know how you’re feeling after the summer and looking ahead to the winter.
Higher bills, housing costs and weekly shops are adding up to make things more difficult for residents.
Please take the survey and tell the Council your views.
The survey will close on 9 November.
Your responses will shape the Council’s work alongside its Hardship Alliance partners, as it continues to implement the joint Anti-Poverty Strategy.
Previous cost of living survey reports can be found on Wokingham Borough Council’s Engage site:
Armistice Day 11 November 2023
Woodley Town Council’s Armistice Day event
We will be hosting our annual Armistice Day event on Saturday 11th November 2023, at 11am, at the War Memorial in Woodford Park.
Everyone is welcome to join us. Please arrive in time for a prompt 11am start.
If you would like to take part in the ceremony by laying a wreath at the War Memorial, please email matthew.filmore@woodley.gov.uk by 3rd November.
Wreaths can be purchased from the Royal British Legion, and should be ordered before the end of the third week in October to ensure delivery before Armistice Day.
Community event
A separate, non-Council community-led event is being held by local residents on Sunday 12th November at the War Memorial in Woodford Park.
Please email woodleymemorialcommittee@gmail.com for more information as this event is not run by the Council.
Woodley Roadworks from 6th October
Barrier replacement works on A3290
The barriers on the A3290 between the A4 Suttons Seeds roundabout flyover and Thames Valley Park in both directions are being replaced. The work will take plaace throughout October until mid-November and temporary closures will be in place.
27 September to 7 November – A3290 southeast towards Wokingham
- Lane one will be closed 24 hours a day from Thames Valley Park to the flyover.
- Lane two will remain open to traffic.
- Pedestrians will be diverted through safe areas alongside the work site.
2 October to 11 November – A3290 slip road southeast towards Wokingham
- Lane one of the slip road will be closed 24 hours a day.
- Lane two will remain open to traffic.
30 October to 13 November – A3290 northwest towards Thames Valley Park
- Lane one will be closed 24 hours a day from the flyover to Thames Valley Park.
- Lane two will remain open to traffic.
- The slip road toward Thames Valley Park will be closed 24 hours a day. A diversion will be in place for those wanting to access Thames Valley Park, via the A3290 towards Wokingham to the Winnersh Triangle interchange then via the A3290 to Thames Valley Park.
- Pedestrians will be diverted through safe areas alongside the work site.
- Bus services will be affected and we share more information nearer the time.
Woodley
6 to 9 October – Road Closure – The Bader Way Woodley
This closure will be in place between A3290 and Mohawk Way on 6 to 9 October, 8pm to 5am to allow The Electricity Network Company Ltd to carry out removal of scaffolding on bridge for cabling works.
9 to 11 October – Road Closure – Sandford Lane Woodley
This closure will be in place at the jct of Mohawk Way on 9 to 11 October, 8am to 6pm to allow CityFibre to carry out excavation works for fibre optic cable installation.
Please contact Wokingham Borough Council for updates and visit the One Network website for all listed roadworks.
Woodley Town Council appoints new Town Clerk
Following the retirement of Deborah Mander in June 2023, Woodley Town Council welcomes Kevin Murray as the new Town Clerk.
Kevin joined the council in 2008, and has served in the roles of Service Support Manager, Deputy Town Clerk and more recently Acting Town Clerk.
“I am absolutely delighted to be able to continue serving the people of Woodley and delivering our services to the community, in the role of Town Clerk. We have a strong, dynamic Council, a fantastic, dedicated staff team and I’m very excited to be taking the Council forwards in meeting the challenges and opportunities ahead,” said Kevin.
Woodley Town Council Leader, Cllr Keith Baker is looking forward to working further with Kevin in his new role.
“Kevin joined Woodley Town Council many years ago and progressed to the post of Deputy Town Clerk quite rapidly. He did his job exceptionally well but there was much more to come. A couple of years ago the previous Town Clerk became ill and had to take a couple of long periods of absence. During these lengthy periods Kevin, not only carried out his own duties, but took on the responsibilities and work of the Town Clerk which was a tremendous ask of him. He did this extremely well to which I am really grateful.
“When the Town Clerk retired it was not a foregone conclusion that Kevin would automatically be promoted. For the first time in my experience a highly professional recruitment process was put in place to appoint a new Town Clerk. There was a good number of applicants which were eventually whittled down to four well qualified people and the final part of this process was completed. Kevin was up against extremely stiff competition but the selection panel decided that he was the best candidate. As leader of the Town Council I look forward to continuing to work with him in the future,” said Keith.
Wokingham Borough Council’s Budget Engagement Consultation
With the borough council needing to make difficult budget decisions and ensure a safe financial future, it is seeking residents’ views on how best to balance books and protect services.
The combination of consistently low funding from central government, high inflation and increasing resident needs means Wokingham Borough Council’s financial situation is as difficult as it has ever been – with savings needed this year and into the future.
This challenge will require difficult decisions in the short term and innovative solutions to safeguard the council and its services in the long-term. And the council is seeking views on how to meet that long-term challenge.
Take the survey
The Budget Engagement survey launched this week asks residents views on the principles by which the council will make its financial decisions, about long-term changes that could be made and about ways in which the community could help save taxpayers money.
If you need help filling in the survey, you can complete the survey over the phone by calling its Customer Services Team on (0118) 974 6000. You can also request a paper copy of the survey by completing a contact form on its website.
Planning ahead
Executive member for finance Cllr Imogen Shepherd-DuBey said: “The number of local councils getting into serious financial difficulties – including becoming effectively bankrupt is frightening. We are not in the worst situation here in the borough but cannot afford to be complacent and do need to make savings and increase income to pay for services.
“When we come to set our budget for the year ahead, we want to do so with some sound principles to guide the difficult decisions we will have to make. We have proposed principles and are asking what people think of them before they are set. Once agreed, these principles, along with our corporate priorities will guide our budget setting.”
A key aspect of the council’s long-term plan is to significantly increase and improve the way it works with partners in order to pool resources and expertise, maximise assets and impact of work by closer collaboration.
Leader of the council Stephen Conway said: “We must think and act differently if we are to thrive in a future when finances are going to remain tough for local authorities. We can realistically expect inflation to fall but would be foolish to assume that government funding will improve dramatically no matter who is in power nationally or that the needs of our residents will suddenly decrease. Therefore, the answer must be to modernise and innovative.
“I passionately believe that people and organisations are stronger and better when they work together, that is why we are creating a community vision for the borough with partners and why we are asking the community about our budget setting principles through this consultation.”
