Category: Wokingham and West Berkshire Issues

At the AGM I thanked all the outgoing officers of the Association for their hard work over the previous year and wished the new team under David Edmonds well for the year ahead.

I said that the overwhelming response from voters over Brexit was to get on with it. The country and the Wokingham constituency want it over with, so Parliament can give more time and attention to the issues of schools, healthcare, economic growth, taxation and transport that have direct effects on day to day lives. I explained how I am trying to get the government to leave the EU on 29 March in accordance with the legislation passed, whilst tabling and seeking to negotiate a comprehensive free trade agreement.

I am determined that government should also tackle the needs and priorities we share for 2019. I am working with government on  a better deal for the schools and surgeries of West Berkshire and Wokingham. We need to get the Council and government together on the issue of enforcement of the local plan constraints on additional housing and on how the five year supply of land is calculated. There needs to be more action on bad junctions and inadequate roads.

The vision that unites us is that of a more prosperous and freer UK. We want more people to become homeowners, more to receive high quality education, more to have access to great training. Current policy is creating more jobs and more better paid and full time jobs. We want people to be well paid because they are productive, with good career prospects from gaining qualifications and experience. We want people to enjoy personal freedoms, with the benefits of new technology supplementing the freedom that personal transport and a good home can bring.

I have been in correspondence with Heathrow Airport about the impact of excessive aircraft noise on behalf of constituents. I enclose a copy of the reply I received from them:

Dear John,

Thank you for your email. As you will be aware, Wokingham is mainly overflown by arrivals when the airport is on easterly operations (i.e. when the wind blows from the east) when making their way from Heathrow’s holding stacks before joining the final approach to the airport. After experiencing a prolonged period of westerly winds last weekend’s change to easterlies may explain why you and your constituents have noticed more aircraft. I wish to assure your constituents that the overall pattern and heights of Heathrow’s air traffic have not changed for many years.

There are currently no defined routes from Heathrow’s holding stacks to the final approach, although flights follow a similar broad swathe. However, your constituents may be interested to know that as part of Heathrow’s expansion proposals we are seeking feedback on our plans for ‘airspace alternation’. By alternating our airspace, we will be able to provide respite for communities further away from the airport as well as those closer in. In January we launched our Airspace and Future Operations public consultation which gives residents the chance to have their say on this topic, along with other topics, so I would encourage your constituents to respond. The consultation is open until 4 March 2019. More information can be found on our dedicated Heathrow consultation website here: https://www.heathrowconsultation.com/.

I hope that this is helpful. Should your constituents have further questions then they are very welcome to contact our Community Relations team directly on 0800 344 844 or by email noise@heathrow.com.

Kind regards,

Connor
Community Relations Manager

Here is a copy of a letter I have received from South Western Rail:

I am very sorry for the disruption on parts of the South Western Railway network on Monday 25 and Tuesday 26 February, which was caused by one of our mainline train services suffering a major air leak at Berrylands shortly after the driver reported hitting something, and a points problem in the Vauxhall area during the morning peak.

Despite taking technical advice over the phone from our engineering staff based in the joint Network Rail / South Western Railway Control Centre, it was not possible to immediately move the train yesterday. This meant that all trains heading out of London had to use the one remaining track, causing a considerable backlog and congestion in the area.

Given the relative position of the lines through Berrylands, it was necessary to block the remaining country-bound track (as well as the London-bound line used by fast services) at various times to enable response staff to access the stricken train which further exacerbated the delays.

It was only eventually possible for the train to move at slow speed to Surbiton after engineering staff attended the site and undertook temporary repairs.

The train was then moved to our Wimbledon depot overnight where a thorough inspection, supported by CCTV footage, took place to try and ascertain what caused the damage.

Unfortunately, disruption continued this morning (Tuesday 26 February) following a points problem at Vauxhall in south London. Network Rail engineers worked to fix this problem as soon as it was reported and lines reopened shortly after the morning peak. However, many customers will have had delays and crowded journeys as a result of this incident.

We know that both of these incidents caused considerable disruption and discomfort for customers travelling in peak times and that’s why we are working very closely with Network Rail to prevent these issues from reoccurring.

South Western Railway

I walked around the town on Sunday to see progress with the redevelopment and did some shopping. The new stores on Peach Street were well supported. I understand there are several more in the later stages of contract negotiation. It is a good centre for shops, food and drink and leisure activities.

I would like to thank Hilary Pollock for organising a well attended public meeting in my constituency to review progress on Brexit. We talked for a couple of hours and covered the main topics including, trade the border, democracy, the Withdrawal Agreement and the current Parliamentary situation.

There is a recording of my speech, which is available on the Three Mile Cross Church website: https://tmc-church.org.uk/sermons/.

Today I attended a meeting with Post Office Management organised by Wokingham Borough Council.

I explained to the Post Office that all three main parties represented at the Council, Conservative, Labour and Liberal Democrats, were united in opposing the plan to close the existing Post Office counters. Our joint opposition reflected a substantial body of opinion in the Town that did not want to see the closure, and had been well represented in the Petition which they had seen. It was also clear from reports of the consultation held on Monday evening when I had to be voting in Parliament that the respondents were critical of the plan and wished to query the whole idea of closure.

I argued that Wokingham is a fast growing community, with considerable pressure on the existing counters at the Post Office. The present building would allow them to open further counters to deal with demand, whilst the proposal to have just 3 counters in WH Smith looks as if it threatens more queues and inadequate capacity. There are worries about access for pushchairs and wheelchairs through the Smiths store to get to the Post Office at the back.

When asked by the Post Office what new thing they could learn from the continuing consultation that might make a difference, I stressed the antipathy of their customer base to the proposal as well as the questions of access and the lack of ambition for the likely growth as housing numbers increase.

The consultation is still open, so all who want to try to get the Post Office to change its mind should write in.

I will be talking about Brexit and listening to the points of view of others tomorrow at Three Mile Cross Church at 10.30 am

The Council is in the early stages of considering the next local Plan and where development might go. I have suggested that we make a case for a slower pace of new housing development in the next plan period given the large amount of housing and its impact on our area currently underway.

The issue of Grazeley and a possible large settlement there is under discussion. I have said that this should only be considered if it was instead of development elsewhere in the Borough, as we would not wish to commit to a large new settlement and have substantial sites elsewhere as well. I have also said there must be an up front considerable investment in infrastructure not just for any new development but also to tackle the knock on effects on transport, health and schools in the wider area affected. I am not myself committed to any given location for development for the new plan.

I would be interested to hear your views.