Category: Wokingham and West Berkshire Issues

News on the Highways England proposal for the M4 Junctions 3 to 12 Smart Motorway

I attended and spoke on noise abatement and local traffic at the Planning Inspectorate Open Floor Hearing in Reading on 16 November. It was good that several other Earley residents also spoke.

Highways England has already agreed to use lower noise tar on all lanes which will help reduce our noise. Councillors, residents and our MP John Redwood are pressing them to do more in noise hot spots throughout Wokingham Borough. I believe the Planning Inspectors have taken on board our pleas for more noise abatement to be built into the scheme where houses are close to the motorway and some form of barrier is appropriate. I also felt they had grasped the large number of people affected when I met the Inspectors on the Site Visit at Maltby Way, Earley on 10 November.

I also spoke at the Issue Specific Hearing on Environment on 17 and 18 November. This Hearing covered noise, traffic forecasting, air quality, visual impact and flooding. At this meeting the Planning Inspectors asked Highways England to include in their thinking enhancements (ie things above and beyond the minimum they must do). During the meeting Highways England indicated they will shortly publish an enhanced noise mitigation strategy and confirmed that consideration of noise barriers on the stretch of motorway passing Earley will be a priority. This is not yet a commitment to do anything further but significant progress I hope.

Following the Environment Hearing there was an Issue Specific Hearing on Road Safety which I also attended. The main concern raised during that Hearing was what would happen in the event that a vehicle broke down on a running lane at a quiet time. At peak times the detectors in the road would pick up the traffic queuing behind the broken down vehicle and alert operators to switch on warning signs. At quieter times how would other drivers be alerted and move out of that lane? It seemed the system currently proposed would sort that out after several minutes but there was increased danger in the minutes following breakdown. More work to do on that issue I think.

I was asked by the Planning Inspector to identify the location of houses in Wokingham Borough that are most adversely affected by noise and will do so by the 26 November submission deadline.

I look forward to reviewing the Highways England enhanced noise mitigation strategy once submitted in December or January.

 

Dr Norman Jorgensen

Member for Hillside Ward in Earley

22 November 2015

I submitted requests for better noise mitigation for the M4 when the government consulted on their scheme for a Smart motorway between Junctions 3 and 12 at the end of last year. I wrote to them, attended the local consultation, and talked to Ministers.

The Planning Inspectorate is now consulting on the scheme, and is rightly considering whether more should be done to offer better noise reduction. The scheme now incorporates noise reducing surfaces, and some noise barrier. I wish to see more use of noise barriers, and am sending in further representations to reinforce that request. I will also follow it up with representations to Ministers.

The Planning Inspectorate following representations  are considering additional barriers for Lower Earley, Sindlesham and Winnersh, as the current and planned barriers do not extend as comprehensively as we wish. There are further deadlines for all those wishing to make submission in favour of more noise reduction, or other relevant matters concerning the motorway scheme. Deadline IV is 26 November and Deadline V is January 8. I encourage all those concerned about present and future motorway noise to add to the voices asking for better noise protection. Councillor Norman Jorgensen attended the recent local consultation to represent the Council and local community, to make the same points.

I am reproducing below the recent notes from the Heathrow meeting about noise with local community groups, which shows it is not just Wokingham that is unhappy about changed routes:

At the Heathrow Community Noise Forum (HCNF) meeting on 5 November the attached Statement (CNF-statement-05-11-15)was presented on behalf of 8 out of the 9 community groups on the forum, expressing concern about the rate of progress achieved to date and that the creation HCNF had been used directly and indirectly by Heathrow in support of its case for a third runway.

Members of the HCNF are gravely concerned at the misuse of the forum by Heathrow Airport Limited (HAL) to further its expansion ambitions and that MPs and authorities are being misled as to the level of engagement and support by those same communities. Let us be absolutely unequivocal. Contrary to the PR message being broadcast by HAL:
• The Communities are united in their view that the HCNF is failing to accept, address or remedy the current noise issues demanded by Communities.
• The Communities in NO WAY accept the severe and unprecedented levels of noise to which they are now subjected and are demanding measures to revert skies to previous noise patterns.
• The Communities object in the strongest possible terms to the misleading information and analysis distributed by HAL to those parties who will be involved in the decision on further airport expansion, examples in the statement attached.
• The Communities have put HAL on notice that unless significant and immediate changes are made both to the rate of progress of the forum and the behaviour of HAL in its misleading marketing and PR activities, Communities will leave this forum branding it no more than a box-ticking PR exercise.
With an imminent decision on approval for a third runway, this communication ensures that you are now fully aware of the reality of the situation on the ground and the lack of support for current airspace changes resulting in noise for thousands of people, as well as an expansion of HAL’s current operation.

The message the public hears is that our Ministers are being ‘gagged’. Those democratically elected are there to represent the interests of their constituents first and foremost. To fail, or be prevented from speaking up on the issues on behalf of the electorate in favour of corporate interests makes a mockery of democracy.

With the health and well-being of thousands of people now being adversely affected, as evidenced by the unprecedented and record level of complaints made to HAL as well as the rapid rise in the number of community opposition groups, those instrumental in adding yet more noise, distress and harm by the changed use of airspace or further expansion should be prepared for a legal challenge.

On behalf of:
Aircraft Noise 3 Villages (Lightwater, Bagshot & Windlesham)
Englefield Green Action Group

Harmondsworth and Sipson Residents Association
Plane Daft – Ascot
Richings Park Residents Association
Richmond Heathrow Campaign
Steve Bax, Councillor – Molesey East
Teddington Action Group

This afternoon I joined the march from the Town Hall to All Saints with the Town Council, St Sebastian’s Band and representatives of local uniformed organisations.

I read the lesson from St John 15. It is a moving passage recording the words of Jesus to his disciples shortly before his arrest. He tells them to abide in his love. He explains that he is the vine and they are the branches, which have to work together to bring forth fruit. It leads on to the famous statement “Greater love have no man than this, that he lays down his life for his friends”. This makes it a text that is often quoted on Remembrance Sunday, as we remember those others who made just such a supreme sacrifice.

We returned to the Town Hall after the service for wreath laying.

I would like to thank the organisers, all those who helped in a variety of capacities, and to all who lined the route or came to the Church.

I attended the 10.20 am march to the Church, laid a wreath at the War Memorial outside, joined the service and observed the 11 am silence.

I would like to thank the organisers, the representatives of the uniformed organisations and all the others who attended to remember. An especially moving part of the service was the reading of the names of all who died in the 1914-18 war from the village.

We were also reminded of modern dangers facing our service personnel by the Chinook helicopter which came over from RAF Odiham.

31st October 2015

EQUITABLE LIFE PAYMENT SCHEME

I know that the progress of the Equitable Life Payment Scheme (“the Scheme”) is of interest to colleagues, so I am writing to you today to update you.

As at 30 September 2015, the Equitable Life Payment Scheme has now issued payments of nearly £1.08 billion to 915,453 policyholders. This means the Scheme has now paid 88% of eligible policyholders, and 92.9% of the money due. The Scheme has published a further progress report, which can be found at www.gov.uk/equitable-life-payment-scheme.

The Scheme has made major efforts have to trace policyholders, including extensive electronic tracing methods, writing to policyholders’ last known addresses, a national advertising campaign, working with other government departments and liaising with group scheme trustees. As announced at the Summer Budget, a final attempt to trace policyholders has been made through the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) by the DWP sending letters to all untraced policyholders due £50 or more for whom the Scheme holds a National Insurance number and other data such as their name. These letters have now been sent. Despite this there remain approximately 125,000 policyholders whom the Scheme has been unable to pay.

As the Chancellor announced in the Summer Budget on 8 July, the Scheme will be closing to new claims on 31 December 2015. Any policyholders who still believe themselves to be eligible are encouraged to call the Scheme on 0300 0200 150 before 31st December 2015. The Scheme can verify the identity of most policyholders on the telephone, which means any payment due can usually be received within 2 weeks. This will not affect the yearly payments made by the Scheme to With-Profits Annuitants, which will continue for the duration of those annuities. The Scheme has written to all With-Profits Annuitants to make them aware of this.

In the Summer Budget, the Chancellor also announced that payments to non-With Profit Annuitant policyholders who receive Pension Credit will be doubled. Any policyholders who have made a claim from the Scheme by the time it closes on 31 December and are receiving Pension Credit on that date will receive this second payment without having to take any action. Policyholders can check their eligibility for Pension Credit using the Government’s Pension Credit calculator at http://www.gov.uk/pension-credit-calculator.

I hope this information is of use to you and your constituents.

HARRIET BALDWIN

29th October 2015

RE: Junior Doctors’ Contract – not a single junior doctor will see their pay cut compared to their current contract

As you know, this Government was elected on a mandate to deliver a 7-day NHS and ensure NHS care is the same quality across the week.

Independent research published in the British Medical Journal is clear that there are 11,000 excess deaths in our hospitals every year – the ‘weekend effect’. We are determined to change this by ensuring that hospitals can staff their hospitals properly 7 days a week to ensure that patients get the care they need whenever they fall ill. There’s a significant body of academic and clinical evidence backing this up.

• Professor Sir Bruce Keogh, the NHS Medical Director, has said there is a ‘weekend effect which if addressed could save lives’.
•  The BMJ published study found that patients admitted on a Sunday have a 15% greater risk of mortality compared to those admitted on Wednesday. The authors said this ‘raises challenging questions about reduced service provision at weekends’.
• A 2012 study – Freemantle et el – found that the day of admission was associated with increased risk of death in seven of the ten most common clinical conditions. Patients admitted on a Sunday with renal failure, for example, had a 37% greater risk of death compared with those admitted on a Wednesday.
• The Academy of Medical Royal Colleges said in 2012 that the weekend effect was very likely to be attributable to deficiencies in care processes because of a lack of skilled senior staff and a system that doesn’t provide full diagnostic and support services 7 days.
•  In 2010, Aylin et al found that mortality rates are higher for patients admitted at weekends compared to weekdays.

Changing this means reforming contracts – put in place by Labour – for junior doctors in 2000 and for consultants in 2003. Yesterday in the Commons, I gave a guarantee on behalf of the Government that not a single junior doctor will see their pay cut compared to their current contract. This was actually a deal I said to the British Medical Association I hoped we could reach by negotiated settlement back in September – but sadly instead they chose to whip up fear amongst junior doctors.

You’ll have seen that the doctors’ union, the BMA, has been misleading its members in saying junior doctors will get pay cuts of 30 per cent, and be forced to work longer hours. As I have made very clear, the opposite is true, and in fact we are offering a better deal for doctors that allows us to deliver an NHS that provides the same excellent quality of care every day of the week. In summary, we want –

• The same pay for junior doctors as they receive under their current contracts;
• Shorter hours, with a reduction in the maximum number of hours that can be worked in any one week;
• An end to unsafe working.

I have already given the BMA firm assurances on the junior doctors’ contract in advance of the Government’s formal proposal, which still stand. I’ll be setting out more detail in the coming days, but – as the BMA themselves have admitted – the best deal will be reached by negotiation, so we continue to urge the Junior Doctors’ Committee to come back to the table. Many independent and clinical voices are doing the same – including the Royal College of Surgeons, the Royal College of Emergency Medicine, the Academy of Medical Royal Colleges and NHS Providers.

• Firstly, this is not a cost cutting exercise. We are not seeking to save a penny from the junior doctors’ pay bill.
• Secondly, I want the new contract to improve patient safety by better supporting a seven day NHS. For junior doctors, this means some increase in hours which aren’t payable as overtime, but backed up with a significant increase in basic pay. We will still pay staff for antisocial hours, junior doctors will get the same pay on average, and we want to discuss from when on a Saturday overtime is payable.
• Thirdly, I believe that our ambition for the NHS to be the safest health care system in the world is underpinned by reducing, not increasing, the number of hours junior doctors work each week. Junior doctors already work seven days and are the backbone of medical care in hospitals at weekends and at night. There is no question that thiirdly, I believe that our ambition for the NHS to be the safest health care system in the world is underpinned by reducing, not increasing, the number of hours junior doctors work each week. Junior doctors already work seven days and are the backbone of medical care in hospitals at weekends and at nis contract will impose longer hours. In fact, it is the current contract which provides a perverse incentive for juniors to work unsafe hours by paying those who breach safe hours up to 100% of their basic pay.
• Finally, I can now give an absolute guarantee that no-one will lose out compared to their current contract. I have already given the BMA my assurances there will be pay protection for doctors who change to shortage specialities and to support agreed academic work.

The negotiations on the new contract began on the basis of a shared view between the BMA and the Government that the current contract had served its purpose and needed reform. In fact, the BMA accepted that point as far back as 2007.

We are absolutely clear that – as well as being better for patients – this is a fairer deal for doctors. The new contract will mean no junior is required to work more than an average of 48 hours per week, with tougher limits on unsafe hours including a new maximum working week of 72 hours, and a new maximum shift pattern of four consecutive night shifts and five long day shifts, compared with the current contract which permits more than 90 hours a week, 7 consecutive night shifts and 6 long day shifts. It will also better reward pay progression based on achievement and experience.

Finally, there’s a broader lesson from Labour’s time in Government we’re determined to learn. They didn’t take action to address shockingly poor care – and patients at Mid Staffs, Morecambe Bay, Basildon, Tameside and several other hospitals suffered as a result. Since, our tough new special measures process is turning places where care is poor around. We will continue to focus on that – and must never again allow academic debates on the statistical methodology around mortality rates to become a substitute for action to prevent human tragedies unfolding.

Rt. Hon. Jeremy Hunt MP
Secretary of State for Health

New website brings home ownership schemes together including Right to Buy, Help to Buy and the Help to Buy: ISA available from 1 December

A homebuyers website has been launched by the government to help hard working people who are looking to own their own home: www.ownyourhome.gov.uk

According to the British Social Attitudes Survey, 86% of people have the ambition to own their own home, and the government aims to support them with a target of helping one million people into home ownership through government backed initiatives by 2020.

Since 2010, over 200,000 people across the UK have already benefitted from the government’s home buying initiatives, opening the door to home ownership.

Visitors to the government’s new website are able to quickly find the schemes that could help them by answering a few simple questions.

Anyone thinking about home ownership – and those who believe it is out of reach – can find out more here: www.ownyourhome.gov.uk

29 October 2015

The House will shortly debate the Second Reading of the Housing and Planning Bill. The Bill implements a number of the Government’s key manifesto commitments to enable hardworking people to enjoy the security of home ownership, help those who need a new affordable property, and boost overall housing supply.

The Bill includes measures to get the nation building homes faster, by:
• Requiring local authorities to prepare, maintain and publish local registers of brownfield land.
• Reducing uncertainty in the planning process with a new ‘Permission in Principle’ to be granted automatically when housing is allocated in future local and neighbourhood plans or identified on new brownfield registers.
• Maximising housing delivery in London with further planning powers devolved to the Mayor of London to support strategic development.
• Providing more information on the potential financial benefits of major developments.
• Improving the process for establishing Urban Development Corporations.
• Simplifying the compulsory purchase of land or property.
• Allowing planning applications for non-major development to be submitted to and decided by the Planning Inspectorate where the local planning authority has a track record of very poor performance.
• Including housing in nationally significant infrastructure projects.
• Simplifying and speeding up neighbourhood planning.

The Bill includes measures to help more people buy their own home, by:
• Taking forward measures underpinning the agreement with the National Housing Federation to extend the Right to Buy to housing association tenants, including financial powers to pay the housing associations for the cost of the discount, and powers for the regulator to monitor and report on the delivery of the terms of the agreement.
• Requiring local planning authorities to actively promote the development of Starter Homes (at 80% market value), whilst embedding them in the planning system.

The Bill includes measures to ensure the way housing is managed is fair and fit for the future by:
• Requiring social tenants on higher incomes to pay fair rents.
• Placing a duty on councils to manage their housing stock effectively, consider selling their high value assets when they fall vacant, and require them to make a payment to the Secretary of State based on the value of their vacant high value assets.
• Introducing a number of measures to give local authorities tools to tackle rogue landlords.
• Allowing local authorities access to data relating to nearly 3 million tenancy deposits, estimated to cover over 70 per cent of private rented sector properties.
• Simplifying the assessment of housing and accommodation needs.
• Changing the way the redemption of rentcharges and leasehold extensions is calculated by amending a defunct statutory formula.
• Ensuring the Lead Enforcement Authority for Estate Agents is effective, without a single body named in primary legislation.

To assist the House, we have placed a number of fact sheets in the Library, which give further details on all of these measures. If you have any detailed questions on the Bill before or after Second Reading, we would be happy to answer them. We hope that these fact sheets will assist the House in holding a productive debate, and look forward to discussing the issues with you.

Yours ever,

THE RT HON GREG CLARK MP

BRANDON LEWIS MP

23rd October 2015

The Rt Hon John Redwood MP
House of Commons
London SW1A 0AA

Dear Mr Redwood

Thank you for your recent letter.

Since we last spoke, we’ve now received the report from the independent consultant on flight patterns affecting the Wokingham area. This analysis is one of the first of a series of reports that is being produced as part of the new monitoring programme launched in coordination with the Community Noise Forum, which we established earlier this year. It will be shared at the full meeting of the Forum on 5th November. I have enclosed a copy of the report for you.

It shows that on departure aircraft are on average 1,000ft higher compared with 10 years ago, however there are more of them over this area (on average 45 flights per day). The main reason for this is an increase in the number of flights going to destinations in the Americas.

When the airport is on easterly operations, the analysis confirms that there is a higher density of departing aircraft over particular areas because of the procedural change NATS made to the Compton route in June 2014. I know that, like me, you want to see this procedure reversed. In my discussions with NATS they have reiterated that this change was made to enhance safety. It also means controllers can get aircraft higher, quicker on departure because it reduces the interaction between arrivals and departures.

For arrival on easterly operations – the source of your constituent’s concerns outlined in the letters you enclosed – there are no set routes or heights for arrival aircraft before they join the final approach path. This results in a large spread of arrival tracks across a number of areas which the analysis shows.

I appreciate this is a complicated issue but I hope the analysis will be helpful in explaining why some residents feel they experience more-flight now in particular areas. This monitoring programme will carry on alongside other actions Heathrow is taking to reduce the impact of noise from its operations through our Blueprint for noise reduction, which includes trialling steeper approaches to keep aircraft higher for longer and fitting quiet technology to A320s.

Finally, I would like to put your constituent’s mind at rest that the air quality in Wokingham will not be affected by aircraft emissions from Heathrow. Once in the air, emissions from aircraft disperse rapidly and once above 500-600 feet, the contribution and they make to local air quality is negligible.

I would be happy to meet to discuss these issues in more detail.

Yours sincerely

John Holland-Kaye
Chief Executive Officer