Category: Wokingham and West Berkshire Issues

The bad floods in some parts of the country are a reminder of the dangers of building on flood plains and low lying land. One of the best arguments for a lower rate of new building in Wokingham in the next plan period is the need to protect the remaining floodplain in our area. Those of you responding to the Council Consultation document on the local plan might like to include this crucial point. Putting in better management of the water around development to dump it more quickly into the rivers is not the answer as the rivers are already full when it rains a lot.

February 2020

Dear Sir John,

Following your recent meeting with one of my colleagues, I wanted to follow up with you regarding our airspace plans. You have always been clear with us that Heathrow needs to focus on operational improvements today, as well as with expansion, to improve our airspace operations.

I thought it might be helpful to outline initiatives that we have already implemented; recent announcements; and our plans with both expansion and airspace modernisation.

Heathrow was the first UK airport to introduce a pioneering ‘Fly Quiet and Green’ league table which ranks airlines according to their noise performance, encouraging them to bring their most advanced fleet to the airport. The league table also takes into account operational performance which includes how well airlines keep within the flight tracks and to their scheduled arrival and departure times. In tandem with the league table we also use our landing charges to reward airlines who bring their cleanest and quietest aircraft to the airport.

We are determined to continue to reduce the number of movements during the night period and have changed the way we charge for flights during the Night Quota Period (2330-0600).

Previously noise charges were only applied to arriving, undispensed, aircraft within this period and at a charge of 2.5 times the day noise charge. From January 2020 we have implemented charges on both arriving and departing aircraft, regardless of whether they have been dispensed, and this will be charged at 5 times the day noise charge.

I know that keeping planes higher for longer is also important for your constituents. Following some successful trials of steeper approaches at the airport, which increases the angle at which the planes come in to land, we plan to launch a consultation later this year in order to implement this operational change. I’m also aware that changing the Compton route is something you have particularly pushed for and we are pleased to be progressing with these changes, looking to have a consultation on flight paths next year.

Finally, you will be aware that with expansion we have made a number of commitments including a 6.5 hour night flight ban and periods of predictable respite for all our local communities. We are also looking at how we can use operational procedures such as displaced thresholds to see planes staying higher for longer by landing further down the runway. Airspace modernisation also gives us the opportunity in the future to use airspace alternation as another way to provide respite for our communities, as well as bringing an end to routine stacking.

We appreciate that you have continued to highlight changes to airspace as a priority issue for your constituents and hope that we can continue to work closely on these issues.

Best regards,

Nigel Milton

Director of Communications

I have received this update from the Secretary of State for Transport:

Dear John

South Western Railways update

I would like to provide you and your constituents with an update following the reckless strikes which affected thousands of South Western Railway journeys throughout December.

Due to the unprecedented level of strike action by members of the RMT union, and the wholly unnecessary impact this had on passengers, I am pleased to say this Government has worked with South Western Railway to secure compensation arrangements.

The compensation package offers up to five day’s worth of travel to season ticket holders and daily ticket holders who travelled frequently during the strike. Season ticket holders whose station received no train service or bus replacement will receive the full cost of travel for the days in which they had a valid ticket during the period of the strike.

The compensation scheme will run in two phases: the first phase targets SWR season ticket holders who will be contacted directly to arrange compensation, and the second phase is for customers for whom SWR doesn’t hold details, including weekly season ticket holders, who will need to apply for compensation. SWR will notify customers when each phase opens and further details can be found here:

www.southwesternrailway.com/december-2019-strike-compensation.  

This compensation is above the standard Delay Repay scheme which entitles holders of any ticket type – including passengers who travel less frequently – to claim compensation for delays of 15 minutes or more, whatever the cause of the delay. The Department continues to encourage passengers to also claim using Delay Repay.

I hope this update provides some relief to your constituents who were affected by the senseless strikes on South Western Railway. This Government remains committed to protect commuters from unreasonable strike action in the future and are introducing new laws to address this. I will also shortly be bringing forward reforms to the railway to ensure the whole industry is focused on delivering what passengers want: reliable trains that run on time.

Yours ever,

Rt Hon Grant Shapps MP

SECRETARY OF STATE FOR TRANSPORT

I have received this update from Wokingham Borough Council:

There’s great news for visitors to Wokingham town centre today as the council has just finalised a deal to re-open the former Eurocarparks section of the Denmark Street car park. Completion is due in the next couple of weeks.

WBC has exchanged contracts to purchase the car park and surrounding properties from the current owner who was seeking to redevelop them. This means the future of the site is now safe and the car park can be operated as a council pay and display public car park in the same way as the existing smaller car park alongside.

The 130 space car park has been closed to the public since the end of August 2019. A planning application to redevelop the area for residential use was refused in July 2019 for a number of reasons including permanent loss of town centre parking.

Cllr Stuart Munro, executive member for business and economic development said: “We’ve invested significantly in creating a future for Wokingham town centre over recent years and facilities, like the Denmark Street car park, are an incredibly important part of helping the town and its businesses thrive. Its closure has proven an issue for visitors to Wokingham over the last few months and we know this is something so many of our residents have asked us to address.

“The car park is ready to operate as a council car park using the existing ticket machines in the lower car park but more machines are being added after completion. Recognising the impact this closure has had on the town and the pressure it has placed on other car parks, we want to allow people to start parking again as soon as possible. Just buy a ticket from the existing machines in the adjacent car park, as directed on the local temporary signs.”

The new car park will operate in exactly the same way as the current Denmark Street car park and tickets will be interchangeable across the combined car parks. The parking regime allows a maximum stay of four hours. Charges will apply Monday to Saturday between 8am to 6pm.

Cllr Munro continued: “We’ve bought these properties as part of the council’s property investment portfolio which is proving a great success in securing the council a regular source of income that can be used to fund essential services across the borough. This purchase has the double benefit of also allowing us to secure and protect the future of this popular car park which has such wider importance for the town itself.

“Given the previous owners application to redevelop the site I’m sure some people will think we have bought this to submit a similar large scale scheme ourselves and I’d like to reassure people this isn’t the case. As a council we firmly recognise the importance of parking in the town centre and, whilst this demand remains so strong we have no plans to stop providing public parking in this location.”

I recently met with Julia Simpson, Area Director at the Environment Agency (EA) on 27 January 2020.

During the meeting, I set out the concerns constituents have expressed about the noise and odour emanating from the site and emphasised the need for more to be done to ensure A1 is a good neighbour. I also raised a number of further points which Ms Simpson has addressed in her latest response (copy enclosed below).

She confirms that the EA has undertaken a programme of visits to Tiffany Close, Kent Close and Limmerhill Way over the last three weeks and at various times of the day in which the A1 site has been operating. The EA has also completed a noise assessment by their national noise expert, and they intend to publish their findings at the end of this month.

Ms Simpson also wishes to reassure constituents that the regular noise logs they have been sending to the EA are being actively considered as part of their overall assessment of the noise. These will be taken into account when the EA determines how to proceed further.

I will continue to make representations to the EA on this matter. I await the outcome of the noise assessment with interest.

Response from Julia Simpson:

Dear Sir John,

It was good to meet with you on 27 January 2020 to discuss the latest situation at A1 Wokingham Car Spares, alongside flood risk management issues within your constituency. Further to this, please find below my response to your letter dated 13 January 2020 to Sir James Bevan, which also includes our response to your follow up questions raised on 27 January, relating to both A1 and some more specific flood risk matters within the area.

In relation to your request of 13 January 2020 seeking further details of the noise monitoring we have undertaken, this has included completion of a proactive programme of officer visits to residential areas across 3 weeks from 03 September 2019 to 20 September 2019. The visits included Tiffany Close, Kent Close and Limmerhill Way and were at various times of day during the operating hours of the A1 site.  We also completed a noise impact assessment by our National noise expert on 14 November 2019. This assessment included noise monitoring at the A1 site, at a location between the A1 site and the residential area and also at Kent Close and Dorset Way in the residential area.

Going forwards we will complete our assessment of the recent noise monitoring and meet with the Site Operator to discuss the latest position and any potential next steps. We will also keep the residents who have reported their concerns updated on our findings and proposed next steps and plan to meet with them by the end of February 2020. I recognise that some residents are frustrated by the time our assessment is taking but we need to gather and assess our evidence of the current situation to evaluate if the A1 facility is compliant with its environmental permit and if additional actions are required to mitigate the noise generated on site.

Further to our meeting, and in relation to the email from your office dated 27 January 2020, seeking additional information on specific questions relating to A1 Wokingham Car Spares, I have set our response to the three questions below for ease / clarity.

Question 1: When do the EA intend to publish their conclusions on the noise report undertaken into A1 Wokingham Car Spares? 

Response; The Environment Agency will inform the residents of the findings of the noise monitoring and our proposed way forward by the end of February 2020.

Question 2: A number of constituents are sending the EA regular noise logs via email. Are these being taken into account as part of the overall noise assessment?

Response; The reports by residents to our Incident Hotline have been the reason we have undertaken additional noise monitoring and site inspections. They are also being considered as part of our overall assessment and the proposed way forward.

Question 3: Is prior non-compliance by the site management, where this has occurred, factored into the decision making process by the EA when making determinations on whether A1 is in compliance with the site permit?

Response; our overall assessment of site compliance with the environmental permit is made on an annual basis and is dependent on the overall results of site inspections that we have made during that period. Hence a site’s Compliance Band (A to F) is assessed and can vary from year to year.

I trust that this provides a helpful update on the information you requested. Please do not hesitate to contact me if you require any further information.

Kind regards,

Julia

Julia Simpson
Area Director – Thames
Environment Agency

I have received a reply to my congestion busting suggestions from the Roads Minister. She says:

The Department is “delivering the street manager project which will be a new digital service for planning and managing street and roadworks. …every organisation will be using it from 1 April 2020”

“With regards to your suggestions about rephasing traffic lights, you will be pleased to know that we have advocated this approach for many years. Responsive systems monitor traffic flow using sensors and automatically adjust timings as needed. At busy times the main road will be prioritised with the signals working to reduce queue lengths on all approaches as far as possible. The default is usually to leave the signals resting on green on the main road in the absence of any demands for side roads, particularly at quiet times.”

Armed with this support for some of my ideas I will send this to Wokingham Borough where rephasing is needed on crucial junctions.

On Friday I visited new homes under construction by Crest at Arborfield Green, in order to accompany the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government. He was on a visit to launch the government’s new policy of promoting more affordable homes for purchase.

He used his visit to Wokingham to launch  a new scheme which can offer a discount of up to 30% on the price of a new home for a first time buyer from the locality or a key worker like an NHS medial professional or teacher.

I also talked to the Crest staff about local issues connected to traffic, water management and pace of development.

Out and about and on  doorsteps I find congestion is the most common concern. The combination of new traffic lights, road closures for utility renewal and road closures for new homes and related works are delaying too many people trying to take children to school, to get to work or get to the shops.

The advent of new lights on King Street Lane for the junction  with the Winnersh by pass has created new delays. I have asked the Council to rephrase those lights from four way to two way with filters, with the main flow north south having the longest time in  the complete phase to reflect traffic patterns.

The main crossroad lights in Winnersh with the A 329 and B3030 should be converted to two way with filters from four way, which would increase the capacity of the junction considerably. The Council should also consider re phasing of the lights on Wellington Road and by the station as this too is a bottleneck.

I met the management of Heathrow again recently. They are consulting further on the development of the airport, and will early next year consult on possible flight path changes.

I reminded them of the noise increases constituents have experienced since the change of the Compton Gate and routes and pressed them again to change back. I also urged them to make faster progress with new technology that allows air traffic control to slow planes at distance from the airport to remove the need to stack over built up areas, with the extra noise and risk that entails. I also revisited the issue of on angles of descent and climb to get planes higher over Wokingham, and on work to reward airlines with quieter fleets and good conduct by pilots.

If you are troubled by noise report it to the Noise line at Heathrow, and put in your views to the airport over how in future we need less intensive routes over us and other measures to ensure quieter flights.

I held a recent review meeting with the Environment Agency over a constituency case and over the more general problems of flood risk.

I have asked for an up date on progress with schemes to reduce the risk of flooding throughout the constituency on low lying land, and to control the run off of water into rivers from developments to a pace the rivers can handle.

I looked in particular at the flows into the Emm and Loddon, and asked about areas at risk of flood in Wokingham, Winnersh, Shinfield and Earley. I will post their responses when they come.