Category: Wokingham and West Berkshire Issues

I have received the letter below from Transport Focus regarding the extension of the deadline to register their comments about the proposed railway ticket office closures.  The deadline is now 1 September and I would encourage those who share my concerns about these proposed closures to make their views known as directed in the letter.  I have made representations against the closures as they will disadvantage those who are unable to use online ticket booking or who may have trouble with ticket machines. Passengers who may need physical assistance in accessing the train platforms will also be disadvantaged by these proposals.

Dear Colleague

The deadline for people to have their say about the rail companies’ proposals the future of railway ticket offices has been extended until 1 September.  Information about how to send comments is here.

What is our role?

Transport Focus (and London TravelWatch in and around the London) have a formal role in scrutinising the proposals and any mitigation in detail. Under the Ticketing and Settlement Agreement, train companies are required to consult us and provide passengers with an opportunity to have their say. We therefore receive and review the comments we receive. So far our two organisations have received more than 350,000 responses. 

How can we help your constituents?

You can encourage your constituents to send their comments to us (or London TravelWatch). They may want to share what the changes will mean for them such as how the changes might affect their ability to buy a ticket at the station.

What will we do with the proposals and comments received?

We and London TravelWatch will scrutinise train company proposals and any mitigations in detail before responding to train operators. We will be considering factors such as whether the station will continue to be staffed, accessibility, the alternative options for buying tickets and whether passengers will continue to be able to access station facilities like lifts, waiting rooms and toilets.

We can formally object to the proposals but only on specific grounds. Even if we object, the proposals can still go ahead. The train company can refer its proposal to the Secretary of State for a final decision. Here is the Department for Transport’s guidance setting out the approach the Secretary of State will take if this happens. 

Our response

Our response to each train company’s proposal, an overview of the number of responses received and the main issues raised will be published on our website.  

I have received a follow up to  the exchanges I had with Barclays about closing its Wokingham branch. I am pleased to see there will be assistance available  for local Barclays customers in the Bradbury Centre four days a week, close to where the old branch was. I reproduce the letter below from Barclays:

 

 

Following our correspondence regarding Wokingham branch closure, I’m writing to let you know further details regarding our Barclays Local face to face replace service for customers.

From Tuesday 22^nd August, I’m pleased to confirm that Barclays colleagues will be available at the Bradbury Centre, Rose Street, Wokingham on a Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday between 9.30am-12.30pm and 1pm-3.30pm, offering face to face financial support and education for customers, without the need for them to travel.

Customers visiting us at the Bradbury Centre are able to access a wide range of services including assistance with everyday finances and money management (such as helping customers opening accounts, updating customer details, or paying bills), free digital skills workshops and fraud and scams awareness events for the community.   As the replace service is a cashless site, everyday banking transactions including cash deposits and withdrawals will need to be completed at a local Post Office.

Barclays is committed to deploying a range of more flexible ways that customers can physically interact with the bank.  This now includes over 250 pop-up banking sites located in town and city centres, plus presence in spaces such as community centres, libraries, and business hubs where it offers drop in and pre-booked appointments, along with the support of our Barclays van.

 

Conservative Councillors write about the failure to provide the 6^th form at Bohunt on time

Bohunt Sixth form expansion delayed again…

 

In March 2022 following a long public campaign by residents of Finchampstead Wokingham Borough Council reached a deal with the Bohunt Trust to expand the educational provision at Bohunt School. Two petitions were raised by local residents with well over 1400 signatures and the campaign was supported by local conservative cllrs as well as the local MP James Sunderland. This agreement was that WBC and Bohunt would fund the provision of a brand new 6th form facility, additional year 7 places and send provision. This new facility was scheduled to open in September 2023 giving much needed provision for an additional 200 – 300 pupils

 

In May 2022 following the local elections the Liberal Democrats took control of Wokingham Council. In public they were keen to reassure residents they still planned to proceed with expansion at Bohunt however the lack of any meaningful progress on the ground made it clear that all was not well. Costs had risen on the building programme and the crucial stumbling block was Wokingham Borough Council insisting on a new scope and refusing to part fund its share. 14 months after the Liberals took control of the council there is still no agreement on funding and without movement from Wokingham Borough Council no chance of this moving forwards

 

We have been advised that even if funding was agreed today there is little chance of a new building being ready by September 2024 due to logistical issues of construction and hiring the relevant staff. The council have now formally admitted the sixth form will not open ( as they promised at the may 2023 local elections ) in September 2023. It is now time for them to be honest and commit publicly to fund this expansion rather than the endless misleading statements about commitment with no funding

 

We are very dissapointed that WBC continues to fail to honour the promises it gave to the Finchampstead and Aborfield community in March 2022. It is wrong that children from across the south of the borough face long journeys out of borough at Farnborough or to the north of wokingham for 6th form provision because there is no facility nearby. It is wrong that WBC is building 2 new send schools on green fields at Rooks Nest when alternative provision could have been provided earlier and at less cost to the taxpayer at Bohunt. It is wrong that WBC is walking away from additional year 7 provision at Bohunt meaning children from Finchampstead face long journeys across wokingham every day because the capacity at bohunt is full. The catchment area at bohunt gets smaller year by year. Bohunt is a successful and well loved school. WBC should be supporting and developing successful schools in the borough. Children in the south of the borough are being treated like second class citizens and this is not acceptable. The south is forced to take all the housing but gets no infrastructure – this is wrong

 

We remain fully committed to seeing the 6th form, extra year 7 and send provision at Bohunt and will continue to campaign for this important facility to be provided

 

Cllr Charles Margetts, Cllr Rebecca Margetts, Cllr Peter Harper and George Evans  former  Conservative candidate for Barkham |)

The government has today published the figures for increased money for schools in 2024-5 by constituency under the National Funding Formula. The local Education Authority decides the final allocations by school.

Wokingham sees an increase of 7.2%, one of the larger increases, to a total of £107 m for its schools. Wokingham can afford more than the £4655 minimum for each  primary pupil and £6050 for secondary pupils laid down by the government with money for 5% above these figures.

There will also  be extra payments to cover  additional costs of teachers pay awards on top of this grant.

I am glad to see the Lib Dem Council accepts it was wrong to remove public bins without consulting residents and putting it to the Council. They should now reinstate the full services to keep Wokingham clean and tidy. They need to listen to Council taxpayers views and spend the money on the public’s priorities. Instead they behave undemocratically and impose their priorities, wasting money .

I am getting complaints about the increases in parking charges, the extension of parking charge hours and the failure to mend potholes quickly. The Council seems to be out to fleece the motorists, make it more difficult to take a car into the town centre and make it  more difficult for all those who need their car to get to work, to take children to school, to get to the shops. I have put these points to our Conservative Councillors who are trying to get change of policy from the Council. Residents deserve better.

I reproduce below the comments from the Conservative Group on the Council. They are right to highlight deteriorating services alongside waste of money and high charges. 

Wokingham Borough Council’s Conservative Group has hit out at proposals from the Liberal Democrat administration to scrap some public bins and reduce collection on others.

Describing the decision as “out of step with residents’ priorities”, the Conservatives criticised the Liberal Democrats’ plans to cut back on public bins that are already overflowing.

The announcement by the Liberal Democrats to cut funding for a public service comes months after it pumped money into a series of pet projects and funding for expensive interim council staff.

Conservative councillors are calling on the administration to halt its plans at least until further information is provided to residents of where bins and collections will be reduced.

The Conservatives are also demanding publication of the evidence that these bins are “least used”.

The Liberal Democrats’ plans were announced alongside a series of reductions in other Council services, including grass cutting, street sweeping and weed spraying.

Cllr Norman Jorgensen, Shadow Executive Member for Finance, said:

“I’m sure most councillors find themselves being contacted by residents concerned that public bins are overflowing and need emptying.

“The Liberal Democrat administration’s proposals to do away with some public bins and reduce collection will make the situation worse.

“It would be nice to believe that every person walking along a path, unable to find a bin, will take their rubbish home with them, but this simply doesn’t bear up to reality.

“Once again, we see a total lack of transparency from this Lib Dem administration.

“Where are the lists of which bins are going to be removed or emptied less; where are the figures to justify these savings?”

Cllr Pauline Jorgensen, Leader of the Conservative Group, added:

“Cllr Imogen Shepherd Du Bey boasted that the Liberal Democrat led Council had made a budget surplus last year. Now they are cutting a universal service vital to keep our Borough clean.

“They approved a budget in February that decided to allocate taxpayers’ money to pet projects and expensive back-office staff, rather than services for residents.

“They could have allocated additional funding to keep these bins, but they chose not to.

“It is a real demonstration of the Lib Dems’ warped priorities. Like many of their decisions this will be a false economy. How much will it cost to tackle the vermin that will increase as a result of this poorly thought-out policy?”

ENDS

 

Sent from my iPhone

On Friday 16th June I visited Bexprt in Winnersh to learn about the business and meet founder and CEO Mo Hamdy, Chief Marketing Officer Gwen Edwards and Mahmoud El Zayet, Head of Department, Cloud Consultancy and Training. I was delighted to congratulate them on The Department for International Trade’s “Made in the UK, Sold to the World” Award for Digital Exports which the company received last month.

Bexprt is a fast growing small business with a large export customer base, providing specialist consultancy and ICT professional services to clients seeking technology-driven business transformation. It is partnering with Amazon Web services to help people use the Cloud system for external storage of data. There are opportunities for businesses to contract their data storage and processing to an external supplier using powerful computers in specialist warehouses with high levels of cyber security and service.

The company is positive about the opportunities for Artificial Intelligence as faster searches, machine learning and new language models enhance computer services. We are moving to a world where people can have an AI assistant to provide data, commentary and assistance by speed reading and repeating materials available through big data storage. I wish Bexprt every success as it grows its way to greater success, offering interesting services to local and international businesses.

With Founder and CEO Mo Hamdy

On Saturday I attended the Wokingham Choral Society’s concert in the newly refurbished All Saints Church.

The Society put on an excellent programme of Opera arias and well known songs from musicals. It was a most enjoyable entertainment. I would like to thank all involved. The Church offers a great space for events with its new floor and extra door out onto the Churchyard.

I am pleased to learn that Addington Special School is to open a new early years centre to provide care and education to children from nursery to year one with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND).  This is particularly welcome as early intervention is known to result in better outcomes for children with  special educational needs.

Addington Early Years Centre will open at the former Farley Hill Primary School site and act as a satellite to the main Addington Special School in Woodley.

The new early years centre will offer places to 40 children and will open in the Autumn term with an initial intake of 16 children, gradually building to full capacity.