Category Archives: Wokingham and West Berkshire Issues

    I have held brief follow up meetings with Ministers about a possible new bridge over the railway in Wokingham. I have stressed to  Ministers that Network Rail needs to be sensible in negotiating a possible bridge over their railway, and should not regard it as a ransom opportunity against the local community. It is in [...]

               At the request of the NFU, I met local farmers to discuss their issues with me last Friday.               They raised a series of planning concerns. I set out for them the twin approaches of Coalition national policy – to give Councils more say over individual  planning matters, and to give more general guidance [...]

The Rt Hon John Redwood MP pictured next to the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee stained glass window in Westminster Hall. (Click to enlarge photograph) Parliament gave the Queen this window for her 6oth anniversary. The stained glass will be placed in the large north end window of Westminster Hall. It was paid for out of voluntary [...]

   On Saturday morning  I attended the official launch of the new Community Responder vehicle for Burghfield and Mortimer. I would like to thank all those who have raised money to buy the car, and all those volunteers who make the service possible. It means trained help can reach an accident or stroke victim in [...]

On Tuesday morning I visited the Mitford Field development in Shinfield with Mark Prisk, Housing Minister, David Lee, Leader of the Borough Council and representatives of  Bovis Homes and Reading University, the landowner. The Minister and the Council announced that they had agreed finance for the Eastern by pass road for Shinfield, to carry the [...]

   On Saturday I spoke to Berkshire Conservatives at Englefield.     The mood of the meeting welcomed Mr Cameron’s policy of negotiate and decide through a referendum, but many wanted him to go further. I suggested the Mandate referendum soon. It would ask voters “Do you want the UK government to negotiate a new relationship with [...]

            I attended Wokingham Choral Society’s Saturday evening programme at St Paul’s Church. With professional  help from Emily Vine (Sporano) and Sam Pantcheff   (baritone) they sang a variety of Church music.           In  the first half they tackled twentieth century settings of the Magnificat, Nunc Dimittis, Venite and Te Deum by Herbet Howells, Charles Stanford and [...]

             I had a meeting to get up to date with the progress in introducing the new Clinical Commissioning Group for West Berkshire. The people in charge of it will have a £690m budget next year to pay for the health care the people within the West Berkshire health area need. The CCG includes Wokingham [...]

              I visited Reading University yesterday evening, and had  meetings with the Vice Chancellor and the Head of the Business School. I gave a lecture to a Business School audience on how the UK is proposing to recover from the Credit Crunch, looking at further options for promoting growth.           I will be taking up [...]

I went to visit the Railway Minister, Mr Burns, yesterday afternoon. I asked him to do two things for Wokingham. First, I want him to put the right people at Network Rail into contact with Wokingham Borough Council, so they can start to sort out the issues about a new bridge over the railway to [...]