Woodley Town Council is delighted to list its halls, Coronation Hall and Chapel Hall, in the village hall Domesday Book.
Action with Communities in Rural England (ACRE), a national charity representing and supporting rural communities, has created a virtual ‘Domesday Book’ for village halls to record the work they are doing in 2021.
ACRE hopes the record will help make the case for sustained funding and support for village halls, particularly with the impact of the coronavirus pandemic.
Lord Gardiner of Kimble, Former Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Minister for Rural Affairs and Biosecurity) said of the venture:
“Village halls have been a crucial part of rural life for the past century. They provide a space for activities and events that bring people together, create a sense of community, reduce loneliness and support local businesses.
At a time when many village halls are closed because of coronavirus, it is especially important to recognise and celebrate the work they do. As such, I wholeheartedly encourage anyone involved with a village hall to sign this ‘Domesday Book’ and help create a record demonstrating how important these buildings are, and what is needed to make sure they survive in the future.”
There are now over 380 village hall entries in the ‘Domesday Book’, including Coronation Hall and Chapel Hall.
As we count down to the festive season and gear up to spend time with loved ones, here are some tips to stay safe and protected from Covid-19 and other winter viruses.
Here are Wokingham Borough Council’s top 12 tips for staying Covid-safe this festive season.
1. Stay safe when doing your Christmas shopping
If you’re heading into town to shop, remember to pack your face covering, as it’s now compulsory to wear one inside shops. Many local retailers are practising good hygiene by providing hand sanitiser, so use this too.
Please also be respectful to staff – always, but especially during these busy times. Visit Wokingham Borough Council’s website for tips on staying safe during a pandemic.
2. Enjoy local outdoor activities
There are lots of exciting events happening in the borough this month, from Christmas Fayres to the synthetic outdoor ice rink. Meeting outside where Covid-19 particles can blow away will be much safer for you and your loved ones. Visit Wokingham Borough Council’s website for details of its Christmas events.
3. Get protected ahead of the festive break
Remember, it takes two weeks for your immunity to build from the Covid-19 vaccine, so make sure you book yours to get protected over the Christmas season and beyond. Book your vaccine appointment on the NHS website.
4. Check foreign travel rules
If you’ll be enjoying the festivities outside of the UK, remember to check foreign travel advice, arrange any Covid-19 tests you need for entry, access your NHS Covid Pass to prove your vaccination status and check what you need to do when you return to England.
This now includes taking a PCR test at the end of the second day of your arrival and self-isolating until you have a negative test result. Visit the Gov.uk website for travel advice this season.
5. Stock up on rapid tests
Remember, 1 in 3 people infected with the virus don’t show any symptoms, so stock up on your rapid tests ahead of the festive season. Taking regular lateral flow tests means you can check you aren’t infected and unknowingly spreading the virus to others.
There are several ways to get them – including ordering them through the Gov.uk website or collecting them from local test centres.
6. Look out for vulnerable people
Older relatives, friends, and neighbours; be sure to check in on them to see if there’s anything they need during the busy festive period. You can also refer them to the One Front Door website for help and support during these challenging times.
7. Stay home if you’re feeling unwell
It’s tempting to brush the sniffles off, but remember, Covid-19 symptoms can vary from person to person. If you’re feeling unwell, it’s best to stay home to avoid passing any illnesses onto others. Consider booking a PCR test on the Gov.uk website to check you aren’t infected.
8. Enjoy your festivities safely
Whether you’re out with your friends, family, colleagues, or anyone else, take precautions to stay safe, keep Covid at bay and have fun this Christmas by taking a lateral flow test before meeting others, getting vaccinated and self-isolating if you test positive.
9. Take care on public transport
Heading to a festive activity? Or travelling to another part of the country for the Christmas break? It is now mandatory to wear a face-covering on public transport in England (unless you are exempt).
Remember to plan ahead and try to avoid rush hour if you can. Find out tips on travelling on public transport safely on the Gov.uk website.
10. Have a backup plan in case you get ill or need to self-isolate
Make sure you have enough medication in case you are unable to go out and ensure you get your prescription medicines before pharmacies close on Christmas Eve. Visit Wokingham Borough Council’s self-isolation webpage for advice.
11. Don’t forget – help is here
The festive season can be a hard time for many, so check in on friends and family, and access local and national support lines if you are struggling. Wokingham Borough Council’s online Local Support Hub website can help with a range of issues from finance to health.
12. Host your festive activities safely
Have friends or family coming over during the holidays? Viruses can spread easily when we’re gathered inside, so make sure you let fresh air in by opening a window or door and practising good hand hygiene. Visit Wokingham Borough Council’s website for tips on staying safe.
Most of all, we wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!
We are delighted to have hired a living, pot grown Christmas tree from the Festive Tree Hire for the Oakwood Centre as part of our commitment to reduce our carbon footprint.
The specially selected tree will return to the Festive Tree ‘family’ in January, to continue to grow and be nurtured, ready for us to hire next Christmas.
We’ve decorated the Christmas tree with the same baubles we have used for several years and it is lit using LED lights for that carbon-conscious Christmas sparkle.
We are aware that the tree is leaning slightly to one side but we think it adds to its charm and beauty of being a real, sustainably sourced living tree.
We hope the Christmas tree brings you some sparkle and joy during the festive season!
Merry Christmas to all of our residents.
Tree recycling tip!
If you have a real Christmas tree this year that cannot be replanted or grown, this should be recycled.
If you are registered with the garden waste scheme or have purchased garden waste bags, please chop your tree up and pop it in there for collection. Alternatively, take it along to one of our recycling centres.
If you’d like to take the hassle out of recycling your tree, while supporting a good cause, you could use Just Helping’s Christmas Treecycling scheme, who will collect and recycle your tree in return for a minimum £10.50 donation to a local hospice.
Initially the hub, which is located at Waterford House in Wokingham town centre, will open for appointments only. Appointments can be booked by calling (0118) 228 0480 or emailing reception@vcshub.co.uk from 8 December.
And it will fully open its doors in the new year for members of the public to drop-in and seek help, advice and support. It is open Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm.
Earlier this year, Wokingham Borough Council agreed grants and contracts worth more than £2million with voluntary, and community sector (VCS) organisations to provide prevention services to adults.
The charities who will use the hub are Involve, Cranstoun Wokingham, Home Start Wokingham District, Health Watch Wokingham Borough, The Link Visiting Scheme, Mind in Berkshire, Citizen’s Advice Wokingham, CLASP, Promise Inclusion (Pinc), Wokingham Foodbank and Wokingham Volunteer Centre.
In celebration of National Tree Week, Wokingham Borough Council is launching a pilot Garden Forest Scheme, which is part of its aspiration to becoming a net-zero carbon borough, and invites residents to apply for a tree, or trees, for their own garden.
Over the next five years, the Council is looking to plant 250,000 trees across the borough to increase carbon sequestration rates. Carbon sequestration is a process whereby the trees will draw excess CO2 from the atmosphere and store it.
In order to apply to the Garden Forest Scheme, the Council invites you to visit its Engage platform, where you will find an application form and more information about the scheme, and the project as a whole.
Plant a tree in Autumn 2022
The scheme is set to initially run for two years, after which it will be reviewed, and a decision made on whether to extend it. The initial application window, open until 31 January 2022, and applicants will be contacted throughout March, with successful residents being given more information on arrangements for collecting a tree, which will be early Autumn 2022, to coincide with planting season.
In order to be eligible, you must have space in your garden for a tree and permission to plant the tree if the garden is not yours.
Councillor Wayne Smith, executive member for planning and enforcement, said: “I am really excited that we are able to launch the Garden Forest Scheme, and offer residents another way that they can help towards reaching our goal of a net-zero carbon borough.
“We know that as a council we can’t do this alone, so being able to offer residents ways in which they can help is so important.”
John Tucker, Director of Woodland Outreach at the Woodland Trust added: “The Woodland Trust is proud to be supporting Wokingham’s Tree Project through our Emergency Tree Fund. Planting new trees is a vital step in fighting climate change and nature loss.
“By joining in the Garden Forest initiative, residents across Wokingham can play their part and get the lasting benefits of trees to enjoy for years to come.”
Councillor Gregor Murray, executive member for residents, communications and emissions added: ““The Garden Forest Project is just one part of our plans to plant 250K trees across the borough over the next five years.
“Through this project, we are inviting residents to get involved in greening up Wokingham borough. We know that we can’t get meet our climate emergency aspirations alone – we need to work with residents, partners, businesses and town and parish councils. Sign up and get involved.”
For more information about the scheme, please email: mailto:250ktreeproject@wokingham.gov.uk
Dozens of electric vehicle charging points are set to be installed across Wokingham borough in a bid to reduce its carbon emissions and tackle the climate emergency on a local level.
Wokingham Borough Council’s executive has approved a small-scale rollout of about 36 on-street points in residential areas.
This would be subject to public consultation once preferred sites are agreed and several more could be provided in about 10 of the authority’s car parks.
They would be owned by the council and maintained by a supplier with expertise in the field who would cover any costs, and the scheme would operate at no net expense to the taxpayer.
The council would invest £66,000, a quarter of the cost, which it would get back from income generated, as long as it secures the remainder through Government funding this financial year.
Green gains in the long run
After 18 months, the charging points’ effectiveness will be reviewed and the findings will inform the council’s electric vehicle strategy for years to come.
This, in turn, will help the authority meet its pledge to do as much as it can to bring the borough’s carbon emissions down to net zero by 2030 and will also improve air quality.
Road travel is the biggest emitter of greenhouse gases and nitrogen dioxide, a harmful pollutant created by burning fossil fuels, so moving away from them is key to meeting these goals.
However, many residents don’t have their own driveways and this is where electric vehicles are most often charged.
Because of this, charging points will be installed in areas where off-street parking isn’t available and residents broadly support the idea.
On-street charging is easier and cheaper than using rapid hubs, which are the EV equivalent of petrol stations, and typically save drivers more than £100 a year by comparison.
The council will identify sites by working with the Energy Saving Trust to work out where demand is greatest using previous resident surveys, number of EV registrations and other data including numbers of properties with no parking.
The Government’s share of funding would come from the Office for Zero Emission Vehicles’ On-Street Residential Chargepoint Scheme.
‘Leading by example’
Councillor Gregor Murray, executive member for resident services, communications and emissions, said: “The climate emergency requires immediate action and we’ve committed to playing as full a role as possible, leading by example as well as encouragement, in achieving a net zero carbon borough by 2030.
“Electric vehicles are a crucial element in this because transport, and cars in particular, account for more than a quarter of carbon emissions so there is a clear benefit in achieving a reduction in this area.
“However, lack of off-street parking is a major hurdle for many residents who want to make the switch so we’re doing all we can to help them realise the benefits, and at no net cost to our finances.”
Councillor Pauline Jorgensen, executive member for highways and transport, added: “This is just the latest in a series of measures we’re taking to improve air quality and reduce carbon emissions while keeping traffic moving on our roads.
“These also include smart traffic signals whose timings can be changed according to demand as well as electronic message signs which warn users of disruption and suggest alternatives including public transport.
“This not only fights congestion but reduces emissions by ensuring vehicles spend less time idling.”
From Tuesday 30 November, face coverings will be mandatory in shops and on public transport and all travellers returning to the UK will require PCR testing.
Temporary and precautionary measures to prevent the spread of the new COVID-19 Omicron variant in the UK will come into force today on Tuesday, the UK government has confirmed.
From 4am Tuesday 30 November, face coverings will be compulsory in shops and other settings such as banks, post offices and hairdressers, as well as on public transport unless individuals are exempt from doing so.
All travellers arriving into the country from 4am on Tuesday 30 November will be required to take a PCR test on or before day 2 and self isolate until they have received a negative test result. These PCR tests can be purchased from private providers. Free NHS tests are not valid for this purpose.
Please may we remind you that face coverings must be worn in the Oakwood Centre. Thank you for your co-operation.
Announcement from: 2nd Woodley Scouts Christmas Postal Service 2021
After last year’s Covid-cancellation, we were planning to resume our Christmas postal service for the community in Woodley.Unfortunately we have not been able to enlist the help of enough parents to make this viable this year.We would like to thank all those who so kindly offered their help – it is greatly appreciated. Please let your friends and family know.Let’s hope that the situation next year will allow us bounce back again and we will be back to normal. Should you require any information about the 2nd Woodley Scouts group please email: chassky@sky.com or call 0118 9699885.We would like to wish you all a very healthy Christmas and a happy New Year. Thanks, Chas, 2nd Woodley Scouts
*** PLEASE NOTE THAT THIS IS FOR INFORMATION ONLY AND IS NOT A WOODLEY TOWN COUNCIL SERVICE ***
Measures for schools to consider until end of term
Wokingham Borough Council is continuing to work closely with headteachers of local schools to keep local education settings as safe as possible for children and young people.
The Council has recently written to headteachers asking them to consider implementing a number of measures until the end of term, based on recommendations from the Berkshire West Health Protection Board.
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