• Archive Index
• Archive Index 2009

News Archive - Week Beginning 21st June 2009

The editors say: Morons drop litter, including on grass verges. The grass then gets cut. The litter then gets shredded and spread around a far wider area. Surely it's not beyond the intelligence of the council or its contractors to clear up the verges before cutting. But perhaps it is ...

Crime

A Reading Post ‘Exclusive’ says that prostitutes on Reading’s Oxford Road have been ‘heading north to places such as Caversham’ in order to avoid a Thames Valley Police crackdown on kerb crawlers and prostitutes working in the road. (Reading Post 24/06/09 pp1,3)

A feature marking the departure of Caversham Neighbourhood Specialist Officer PC Stuart Murdoch to a different role within Thames Valley Police contains an update on the incidence of burglaries and anti-social behaviour in the local area. Burglaries are said to have increased compared to the same period last year, whereas incidences of anti-social behaviour have ‘fallen notably’ in the Upper and West Caversham police neighbourhood areas. However, such incidents have ‘increased significantly’ in the Lower Caversham neighbourhood: trouble hotspots include the Amersham Road estate, and a CCTV camera has been installed to discharge gatherings outside P&A Stores in the Amersham Road. (Reading Chronicle 25/06/09 p26)

Roads

The closure of Gravel Hill in Emmer Green for a trial six-month period from Wednesday, 17 th June (as described last week) receives further comment in the ‘Chronicle’. The closure of the narrow country lane by the RBC is mainly for environmental reasons, and there are further details on the Council’s website. (Reading Chronicle 25/06/09 p26)

Traffic

The RBC’s bid to win £380m of Government funding for local transport infrastructure schemes via the Transport Innovation Fund (Tif) is said to face potential difficulties owing to West Berkshire Council objecting to congestion charging. Such charging is a prerequisite of the scheme, and West Berkshire transport leader Cllr Alan Law has said “we cannot have our hands tied by the Government in this way and won’t agree any Tif bid which includes such schemes”. Wokingham Borough Council is also said to have concerns with Reading’s plans for congestion charging. (Reading Chronicle 25/06/09 p7)