Category: Wokingham and West Berkshire Issues

Last night  I opened the Wokingham Arts Society Summer Exhibition at St. Paul’s parish room.

The Exhibition is full of joyful oil and water colour painting, with some great ceramics and wood carvings. There is a lot of local talent that has captured the wonders of nature and  the beauty of many places. Wokingham’s pubs jostle alongside castles, seaside scenes, birds and animals and holiday destinations in the paintings on display.

I talked about the contribution art can make to our lives and thanked all involved in setting up such a good exhibition which we can share. Paintings are for sale if you want to go along and visit.

I recently attended Tesco’s Centenary reception in Parliament on 3 July.

I took the opportunity to raise a number of points about the Wokingham store. I have now received the enclosed reply:

I have been told by the Post Office that the Winnersh office “is temporarily closed for operational reasons”
They have not given me any more details or any indication of when they will be able to resume their service. I have urged them to restore it as soon as possible.

Congratulations to Bohunt School of Wokingham on its first OFSTED report since its opening in 2016. It received an overall ‘good’ rating with ‘outstanding’ ratings for leadership, management, personal development and welfare. The report particularly mentioned the pupils’ close engagement with learning, great pride in their school and excellent behaviour in and out of lessons. It also praised ‘the highly aspirational culture’ and high morale of both students and staff.

I first visited Bohunt when it opened and again in 2018. I am delighted to see it go from strength to strength.

Well done to Bohunt’s headteacher, staff, students and governors for this excellent achievement.

I recently asked a Parliamentary Question about aircraft noise in Wokingham and what is being done to mitigate the impact of this. I have now received an answer from the Government:

Question:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps his Department is taking to limit aircraft noise over Wokingham constituency. (270234)

Tabled on: 27 June 2019

Answer:
Michael Ellis:

The Government recognises that aviation noise is a key concern for communities that aircraft fly over, including areas such as Wokingham.

As part of its forthcoming Aviation Strategy, the Government has put forward a number of proposals designed to incentivise the aviation industry to successfully modernise airspace. The benefits of airspace modernisation are well known. For example, it should allow aircraft to climb more quickly than they can at present, and descend continuously, both of which will have a noticeable noise reduction benefit for overflown communities.

The Government has also taken forward proposals for additional ways of representing communities’ exposure to noise and requirements for optional analysis and consultation that will ensure communities are more engaged in the future decisions around airspace that affect them.

London Heathrow Airport is developing its proposal for the Compton departure route, the operation of which affects communities near Wokingham. We expect that London Heathrow Airport will consult on its proposals next year, and this will provide an opportunity for communities to influence the final design for this departure route.

The answer was submitted on 04 Jul 2019 at 12:20.

I have submitted more evidence to the recent Heathrow consultation about the need to reduce aircraft noise, and have received an answer to my recent Parliamentary Question:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps his Department is taking to limit aircraft noise over Wokingham constituency. (270234)
Tabled on: 27 June 2019
Answer:
Michael Ellis:
The Government recognises that aviation noise is a key concern for communities that aircraft fly over, including areas such as Wokingham.
As part of its forthcoming Aviation Strategy, the Government has put forward a number of proposals designed to incentivise the aviation industry to successfully modernise airspace. The benefits of airspace modernisation are well known. For example, it should allow aircraft to climb more quickly than they can at present, and descend continuously, both of which will have a noticeable noise reduction benefit for overflown communities.
The Government has also taken forward proposals for additional ways of representing communities’ exposure to noise and requirements for optional analysis and consultation that will ensure communities are more engaged in the future decisions around airspace that affect them.
London Heathrow Airport is developing its proposal for the Compton departure route, the operation of which affects communities near Wokingham. We expect that London Heathrow Airport will consult on its proposals next year, and this will provide an opportunity for communities to influence the final design for this departure route.
The answer was submitted on 04 Jul 2019 at 12:20.

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I have heard from three constituents who say they were greatly delayed trying to get to the lobby last week. I am sorry the Commons authorities were unable to help people get in more quickly. I felt I needed to make the agreed time and place for the appointment, and was told by the constituent wh0o did attend that he had got through OK and had not seen others. I was unaware of the delays as Westminster Hall was full with other people visiting their MPs. I stayed there for half an hour in case others turned up. I was  not told whilst waiting of the problems getting people in.

I visited High Close School Wokingham at their request on Friday 28th June. I was pleased to see the good work they are doing with children with a range of special educational needs. It was particular pleasure to meet Teresa Mason, one of their teachers who has won an award for excellence in Special Needs and who let me see one of her lessons. It was well prepared and engaging with a clear purpose.

The Principal of the School showed me around. The boarding facilities and the  equipment for design and meal preparation were particularly good. I wish them every continuing success.

I went to see the Superintendent responsible for our area at the Loddon HQ of Thames Valley Police on Friday.

We reviewed the position on visible policing, drug dealing, anti social behaviour, modern slavery, domestic violence, internet crime and motoring offences.

I took several questions on behalf of local Councillors.

Two Emmbrook pupils attended my surgery today and interviewed me on the topic of school funding for their media studies work.

They were  most professional camera crew and interviewers, who wanted to know what I had done and what more I would do to secure more cash for their school.

I explained the campaign I have been pursuing with other MPs to get more money for local schools, and pointed out Wokingham schools received an uplift of £5.1m extra this year. I look forward to more from the next  budget, given the promises currently being made in the Conservative leadership election. I have argued to both candidates that we need a more generous schools settlement.