In The Know » Essential Services

You can find here the contact details for the majority of main 'essential' services, along with the local police phone number.

Latest Updates: Credit updated.

This page probably should contain more - but hopefully it provides a start. It also provides advice for those with parking grievances …

» Chemists/Pharmacies
» Community Help
» Credit
» Dentists
» Doctors
» Library (Caversham)
» Litter
» Parking Fines
» Police
» Post (The Last)
» Potholes
» Recycling
» Vets

Chemists/Pharmacies:

As well as opening on weekdays, the Boots branch on Church Street provides a Sunday service (including a pharmacy): 9am to 6pm Mondays through Saturdays, and from 10am to 4pm on Sundays. There's also:

L Rowland & Co (Retail) Ltd
T/a Caversham Pharmacy
59a Hemdean Road
Caversham RG4 7SS
Tel: (0118) 947 1776

Mon - Fri 8.30am - 1.00pm. Mon - Fri 2.00pm - 6.30pm, Sat closed. N.B - Caversham Pharmacy is open for dispensing prescriptions on Sundays between 6pm and 7pm.

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Community Help:

Caversham Good Neighbours is a voluntary group that works on behalf of the RG4 community. The Neighbours provide advice, visits and help to the sick, lonely and / or housebound. The group also provides transport on essential journeys for the elderly and handicapped. Since it is an entirely voluntary organisation, it depends on the goodwill of the people of Caversham - donations are always appreciated. The Neighbours can be contacted via its secretary, Mrs Christine Baker, at Church House, 59 Church Street, Caversham RG4 8AX, Monday-Friday 9:30 am-11:30 am

There is also a pilot Buddies scheme for older people in Peppard Ward, supported by local MP Rob Wilson. Call 0118 967 5797 for more information.

Reading Council's Social Services provide a wide range of social services under their remit as a local authority - for normal purposes, their contact number is Tel: 0118 955 3600, although they also offer an out-of-hours emergency community care number - Tel: 01344 786543

»» Website

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Credit:
If things aren't going well financially then - above all else - deal with honest people as you work to sort things out. You could do far worse than going to the Reading Credit Union. It's regulated by the FSA, it's community based and it aims to offer affordable loans to members. What's more, it is now able to operate throughout Berkshire. Their website tells you more.
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Dentists:

Caversham Heights Dental Practice
25a Kidmore Road
Caversham RG4 7LR

Tel: (0118) 947 4848

Prospect Street Dental Practice
19 Prospect Street
Caversham RG4 8JB

Tel: (0118) 947 2517
Emergency phone: 07626 935318
»» Email

Riverside Dental Practice
20 Bridge Street
Caversham
RG4 8AA

Tel: 0118 947 1852

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Doctors:

Balmore Park Surgery
59a Hemdean Road
Caversham RG4 7SS

Tel: (0118) 947 1455
Fax: (0118) 946 1766
»» Website

Priory Avenue Surgery
2 Priory Avenue
Caversham RG4 7SE

Tel: (0118) 947 6828
Emergency phone: (0118) 947 2431
»» Website

Mon-Fri (morning) 8.00am - 12.30pm. Mon - Fri (afternoon) 2.00pm - 6.30pm

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Caversham Library:

Opening Times (revised in June 2008)

Monday 09:00 - 17:00
Tuesday 09:00 - 19:00
Wednesday 09:00 - 17:00
Thursday 09:00 - 19:00
Friday 09:00 - 17:00
Saturday 09:00 - 16:00

Contact details for the Library -

Caversham Library
Church Street
Caversham
Reading
RG4 8AU

Telephone: 0118 901 5103
Fax: 0118 901 5104
»» Website

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Caversham Library
Litter:

We live in a very nice part of the world. It totally defeats us as to why people would want to drop litter and dump rubbish ... but they do. Doing 'your bit' to just pick up stuff near your own house helps a lot and is worth doing. For more major littering/tipping, the Fix My Street site can help and we recommend taking the trouble to report problems. It's an observable fact that the more litter there is left around, the more it attracts. So, nipping a problem in the bud is a smart move for everyone.

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Parking Fines:

Possibly not a service as such, but if you think you've unfairly received a parking fine in Reading:

  1. Lodge a complaint in writiing at Reading Borough Council, Parking Fines Department, Admail 3392, Reading RG1 1ZB.
  2. If not satisfied with the result, then contact the National Parking Adjudication Service for England and Wales here. Good luck.
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Police:

Tel: (0118) 953 6000 (non emergency)
Thames Valley Police: Main Enquiry Centre: 08458 505505

You should report ALL crimes, however minor or trivial they seem, and whatever you think the chances are of the police catching someone. Policing - the number of policemen/women allocated to an area - is determined by the number of crimes reported for an area. Don't report any crime and you won't get any policing. It's that simple.

Thames Valley Police aren't shy about their own PR and produce no less than five publications to tell you how wonderful they are. Any or all of them can be downloaded from the force's website. In amidst the puffery there is some useful stuff though. Not least, enter your postcode in the search box on the site and you will be shown your local officers' contact details. The 'crimestats' sub-site shows the reality of reported crime. It would all be much more meaningful, of course, if their claimed efficacy was related to their ever-increasing cost.

The police helicopter is often quite obtrusive - you can find out some details of what it's been doing here.

Meanwhile, the Caversham Neighbourhood Police Team is using Twitter to keep in contact with local residents – with the team keeping its 'followers' up to date with the latest witness appeals, meetings, events and day-to-day activities. Click here if you're interested.

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Post - Last Post times:

The Post box on the corner of Hemdean Road and Church Street (outside the bakers) has a 7pm collection on weekdays. There's also a 2pm collection on Sundays.

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Potholes:

The roads of and around Reading (like elsewhere) are falling apart. It is common for Councils to blame the winter but note that any recently surfaced or well-maintained roads are fine. Roads that were hitherto poorly maintained are deteriorating rapidly after the snow, but only because they were neglected in the first place. We strongly suggest cursing Council managers every time you hit a pot hole, and using the 'Fill That Hole' free service to report each and every incidence. (It's not just for cyclists!)

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Recycling:

Caversham Globe (Go Local on a Better Environment) has organised a local used battery collection scheme. Globe has put collection containers at V&I Hardware in Milestone Way, Emmer Green, Caversham Cobbler & Key Smith in Bridge Street and in Woodcote Way News in Caversham. Containers will be emptied regularly by Globe volunteers and batteries taken to a recycling centre.

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Vets:

The only vet that we're aware of in Caversham, and the feedback we've heard is that they're very good.

Oakley Veterinary Clinic
65 Oakley Road
Caversham RG4 7RN

Tel: (0118) 947 9298
Fax: (0118) 947 2270

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