When I was out about last week end doing one of my usual visits around the constituency I was saddened to see the neglect and damage being done to our environment by the Council.
I started at Shute End. There were cobwebs over the main entrance to the Borough offices. On the lefthand side glass there were two side remnants of some red poster sticking to the window where most of the poster had been ripped off. The garden borders were overgrown with weeds in front of the buildings.
As I made my way there were countless yellow diversion signs on roads. Some were badly positioned. None told you where they were diverting you from or to. The one by the Woosehill roundabout was partly missing and hanging off a rusty metal frame at a lopsided angle.
I visited California Crossroads over my boundary. The contractors are installing expensive yellow bricks, which will doubtless shift position and discolour badly where cars are driven over them. Clearly the Lib Dems are out to paint the Borough yellow in as many ways as possible.
I found several pavements where the hedgerows overhang and had not been clipped back. Road drains are often blocked causing excessive water across roads when it rains. Grass goes unmowed. The potholes grow and grow.
Why will the Council not take a pride in our place? Why will they not carry out proper maintenance?
May 15, 2024
Just back from the yellow brick road. No tin man but a number of hard hats and high vis protective clothing. I think the cost for this nightmare is £6.5million. Speaking to local business the word is 60% loss in trade. Speaking to a family member the additional cost to his business to cope with diversion is alarming.
Difficult to pass on to his customers.
We know that it will only make traffic congestion worse and pedestrians no safer crossing the road.
The big joke of course is there will be seats so you can sit with your lunch and watch the nightmare unfolding. I guess the council think all the vehicles passing will be electric and not toxic gasses building up. But even with good exhaust filters there will be the demon CO2. Perhaps just leave your pot plants on the seats and see them grow Quicker.
May 15, 2024
I agree with you, Sir John. The council isn’t doing their job. Perhaps the people who voted them in will finally see what a mes they are making of Wokingham.
May 15, 2024
Sir John, I completely agree with your comments. WBC is useless. (That’s the polite version!)
May 15, 2024
Badly-inclined people tend to avoid doing wrong when they are exposed for fear of shame and being held to account. A small group of perhaps 12 Wokingham residents could help prevent much of the neglect. Nowadays, high quality cameras on mobile phones are readily available to snap instances of poor maintenance and neglect in seconds.
That small group could easily arrange a Wokingham website focusing on Council failings. A Rogue’s Gallery of images showing embedded dates will expose any instance of Council neglect with visual proof as truth. No explanatory words need be included. Update images either way would add to knowledge of what is or not done to remedy the situation. Links of social media would add to the awareness.
Instances of graffiti spray painting signatures and litter can be similarly included. Dates, times and places will soon create a pattern to track the offenders and even capture them in the act.
May 15, 2024
Hi sir John
You think your area is bad come to Birmingham, the labour council are allowing our streets to become dumping grounds in my area we have a team of volunteers litter picking I sweep the gutters in the road but it’s some of the people of Birmingham who have no respect for their area, it’s always someone else’s job, To clean their rubbish up the grass verges are not being cut litter bins stay full for weeks. And the are charging us 20% on our council tax to pay for their massive mistakes, gog help us when labour win the election , this should be the best country in the world we been let down by Westminster, than you
May 17, 2024
What Birmingham needs are Wardens empowered to confiscate the mobile phones of litter droppers on the spot. Confiscation could last for 3 months. Alternatively the Warden could drop the phones as litter elsewhere around the City just one week later for the owners to find and pick up.
May 16, 2024
totally agree, what is worse is the facade WBC have – they have a great website where you can report all these issues, there are polite email responses, however there has, in my case, been zero action on the reported issues – really sad to see the borough degrading in the way it is. Our Parish Councillor is really proud of the graffiti removal and litter picking he conducts – surely his time would be better spent canvassing inside WBC for them to take action !!! after all i pay my council tax for these services
May 16, 2024
Be interesting to see a response from this council
May 16, 2024
Not just the yellow bricks John we have coloured tarmac as well
Green for cycle paths,
Blue for disabled parking places,
Red for warning of approaching road hazards, (bends and traffic lights)
Beige for approaching minor hazards.
So many road signs now that it would be impossible to read all of them whilst driving, and still keep your eyes on the road.
Then we have multiple white and yellow lines.
Then of course the endless and increasing pot holes.
Place looking like Toy Town .
May 17, 2024
Having had occasion to use emergency services lately I’d like to place on record that travelling in the back of an ambulance on our pot-holed roads is damn uncomfortable and slows the journey to hospital. Rather than doctrinaire and extravagant remodelling of junctions WBC should simply provide decent road surfaces.