Category: Wokingham and West Berkshire Issues

Last week I was made aware that WHSmith was advertising for jobs for the proposed move of Wokingham Post Office to their premises.  This was despite the fact that the consultation is still underway and that I, along with three Wokingham Borough councillors are meeting with the Post Office Network and Sale Director on 22 February to discuss our concerns.  I immediately raised this with the Post Office and I have received the reply below.

Thank you for drawing this to our attention.

It is normal practice for WHSmith and other potential new operators of Post Offices to advertise for possible new roles in potential replacement Post Offices, and it is not the case that this pre-empts any final decisions about moving a branch.

Once a branch goes into consultation, both Post Office and the potential new operator begin all the detailed planning for the move. Any recruitment is conditional upon the proposal being approved. The reason this detail planning is done at an early stage, ahead of a final decision, is that we know, should the decision to move the branch be made, it is much better for our staff and the community that the transfer proceeds without any unnecessary delays.

We can see that only one of the three adverts for roles at the potential new Wokingham Post Office makes this clear. We have contacted WHSmith and asked them to correct this ASAP.

Kind regards,

Ken

External Affairs Manager
20 Finsbury Street,
London
EC2Y 9AQ

I was pleased to hear the news that Cook, The Blue Orchid Bakery and Tearoom, the record and music shop Beyond the download, Sit and Sip a craft beer company and the leafy Elephant gin bar are all signing up for the new central Wokingham development.
They are all very welcome and will add variety and interest to Wokingham’s offer of shopping, food and drink. They will help attract more people to the new town centre, and will add to the enjoyment of visits.

The government has put out the following statement:

The Government is aware of long-standing concerned raised by the public and colleagues around unauthorised encampments. These can cause settled communities significant distress and perpetuate a negative issue of the travelling community, the vast majority of whom are law-abiding citizens and amongst whom we see some of the worst life chances in our society.

Action is needed to address the sense of unease and intimidation residents feel when an unauthorised encampment occurs; the frustration at not being able to access amenities, public land and business premises; and the waste and cost that is left once the encampment has moved on. This week, the Government has published a response to a detailed consultation, which will take forward a comprehensive range of measures across government, and ensure fair play: www.gov.uk/government/consultations/powers-for-dealing-with-unauthorised-development-and-encampments

Extended police powers to tackle trespassers

The Government will consult on proposals to amend the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994 to:
• Permit the police to direct trespassers to suitable authorised sites located in neighbouring local authority areas;
• Increase the period of time in which trespassers directed from land would be unable to return;
• Lower the number of vehicles needing to be involved in an unauthorised encampment before police powers can be exercised – changing this from six or more, to two or more; and
• Enable the police to remove trespassers from land that forms part of the highway.

Considering a new criminal trespass offence

The Home Office will conduct a review that will consider whether it should criminalise the act of trespassing when setting up an encampment. This will consider the financial and operational impacts that new legislation would have, investigate the effectiveness of similar legislation in Ireland and consider how such a power could work in practice. This could act as a real deterrent to such activity in the future, and it is therefore right that this option is explored fully.

Additional support for local authority enforcement activities

• New statutory good practice guidance to support local authorities use of powers to deal with unauthorised encampments; and a commitment to keep these powers under review, particularly in instances of deliberate and repeated breaches of planning.

• Further work to ensure that measures are in place to address issues around the clean-up costs which can occur following an unauthorised encampment.

• Up to £1.5 million of funding for local authorities to support planning enforcement through the next round of the Planning Delivery Fund, helping them deal with unauthorised development (i.e. where unauthorised sites are on land owned by travellers).

• Extending the period of time that a Temporary Stop Notice can be in place for.

Further reforms to the planning system to tackle unauthorised development and encampments

• New guidance making clear that the Communities Secretary will be prepared to review planning cases where concerns are raised that there is too high a concentration of authorised traveller sites in one location.

• Strengthening policy on intentional unauthorised development, helping to maintain confidence and fairness in the planning system.

• Make information on permanent and transit sites freely available in open data format so that local authorities have a single clear source of data on the availability of such sites.

Supporting law-abiding Gypsy, Roma and Travellers

The Conservative Government’s ground-breaking Racial Disparity Audit identified significantly worse health and education outcomes for Gypsy, Roma and Traveller communities than the rest of society. The Government is funding projects across England to improve outcomes in the areas of educational attainment, health and social integration, and to reduce the community’s vulnerability. We will continue work across Government on a strategic approach to improve outcomes for Gypsies, Roma and Travellers, as well as the settled community.

We are also supporting the provision of more authorised sites, through the New Homes Bonus (paid to councils at the affordable housing premium rate) and through our Affordable Homes Programme. This locally-led approach is working, as the number of caravans on authorised sites has increased from 14,498 in July 2010 to 19,569 in July 2018.

Taken together, we believe that these measures will go a long way to addressing the issues which have been highlighted and informed by representations from colleagues and the responses to our consultation. We want fair and equal treatment for both travellers and the settled community.

The budget for Thames Valley Police in 2019-20 can rise from £389.7m to £422.4 m  assuming the Commissioner sets the permitted amount for local tax revenue. . This is an increase of 8.4%, which means the force will be able to recruit more officers and expand its service to residents. I welcomed the  news in the Commons today, and look forward to seeing the Police Commissioners plans. Local priorities include tackling vandalism and violence, and assisting in reducing drug dealing  and anti social behaviour.

I have received this letter from the Department for Education:

Dear Sir John Redwood,

Statement of Intent for a new primary free school in Shinfield West,
Wokingham

I am writing to inform you that Keys Academy Trust has been given Secretary
of State approval to sponsor the new free school, which is proposed to open
from September 2019 or September 2020.

Since Floreat Education Academies Trust withdrew from the project in May
2018, Wokingham Borough Council invited proposals from other potential
sponsors under section 6A (the free school presumption’) of the Education
and Inspections Act 2006 (referred to as the Act’). Following the local
authority’s assessment of the proposals received, the Secretary of State has
agreed, in principle, that sponsorship of the new free school be awarded to
Keys Academy Trust.

With effect from May 2015, all new schools established under s6a of the Act
have been classified as free schools. The school is not required to use the
term free school’ in its name, in line with practice within the department’s
centrally managed free schools programme.

Letters have also been sent to Wokingham Borough Council and Keys
Academy Trust informing them of the decision.

Yours sincerely

Martin Post
Regional Schools Commissioner, North West London and South central

In  the long run up to the next local plan for Wokingham various landowners and developers will try to promote certain areas where they have an interest as future development sites. The Council has the job of identifying sites that are compatible with their environmental, transport, planning and public service policies, and including the appropriate ones in the draft local plan. This draft document will then be subject to consultation and assessment before it can become a finalised local plan.

I understand the wish of some in the local community to set out opposition to particular sites being pushed by landowners or builders at an early stage in the process. The best thing to do is to write in with objections to the use of such sites to the Council planning department or to the  local Councillors in the affected ward, so these can be taken into account during the early process of sifting possible sites for inclusion.  Any site for housebuilding needs to take into account a range of factors including the  impact on local road network, access to public transport, impact on land drainage, danger of  erosion of green gaps between settlements or areas of special landscape interest or good quality farmland, strains placed  on local health and education services and general environmental impact.

This afternoon there was a meeting  by worried residents about the possible naming of Fox Hill as a future development site. I checked that a local Councillor would be present to explain the long process the Council goes through before identifying possible new development locations as well as writing myself  to one of the organisers about it.

The Council has a duty to consider sites proposed by landowners, developers and others, but it also has a duty to listen to the local community and to assess which of the possible sites are the best to meet housing targets that  do least damage to the countryside, drainage system and  environment. Any final decision on a site for inclusion needs to show how the development would fit in with local infrastructure and public service provision.

Anyone with views on this or any other piece of land should send their views to the Planning Department at Wokingham Borough Council.  As MP I do not get a formal say or vote  in these decisions, which are a matter within the power of the Council.

Today I visited the CAB. I thought I was just dropping by their stall in the Marketplace to hear how well they were doing encouraging people to save money on their energy bills. CAB were telling people about how to switch tariffs or supplier to get a better deal. They were also explaining how to improve insulation and efficiency of boilers and machines at home to cut demand. I am all in favour of green policies which save us money, letting us stay warm and clean whilst using less power. Thats  a win win for  us all. Getting on the cheapest tariff can also help with the family  budget.

Whilst at the stall I was invited to visit their offices and meet more of the staff and volunteers.  I was pleased to learn they are recruiting more people who would like to help others in the community, and are training them so they can be confident in the advice they provide.  I like to keep in touch with the CAB and hear  of any problems affecting a number of people, especially where government might be able to help or  to do something better or differently to cut down on the numbers.

 

I said a big thank you to all  involved. The CAB are always interested in recruiting  more volunteer advisers. It can be very worthwhile and interesting work.

I have written to the Post Office regarding their proposal to move the Wokingham Post Office to commercial premises citing my reservations about the move.  They are currently running a consultation and I would encourage residents to contribute to the consultation to make their views known.  You can find the consultation at: https://www.postofficeviews.co.uk/national-consultation-team/wokingham-rg40-1aa-008939/.

I, along with Wokingham Councillors, will be meeting with Mr Gale next month.

Some constituents have sent me copies of a national campaign email wanting the government to stop the roll out of Universal Credit, and expressing worries about it. I am pleased to report that when I visited our local Benefit Centre I was told that introducing it for new claimants had gone smoothly, and the system was liked by both staff and recipients who thought it superior to the multiplicity of benefits with different requirements under the old system. I have had very few constituency cases about it, and no pattern of systemic failures or major issues.

The government is going slowly over transferring existing benefit recipients onto it, and has promised people should not normally lose over it. The government is going to undertake a pilot and is ready to make changes if problems emerge. There has been understandable concern about the speed of receipt of first payments when going on to the system. I have lobbied on this with others, and some improvements have been made. I repeated this wish in the Commons during the Statement his week on UC.

I am also concerned about the treatment of housing costs, understanding that people cannot easily move into a smaller property when the benefit system says they no longer qualify for full rental assistance owing to the size of their home. I also raised this, and will follow up with the Minister who did not give a clear answer.