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• Archive Index 2009

News Archive - Week Beginning 26th July 2009

The editors say: Reading - 3rd worst place to live in England and Wales for burglaries. Every year, council tax goes up and a hefty chunk goes on policing, but 91% of burglaries are unsolved. If the police were the private sector, it wouldn't be tolerated. Why do we?

Crime

Home Office crime statistics for 2008-2009 released last Monday show that Reading had the third highest incidence of burglary in England and Wales. Reading household burglaries rose by 4% over the year to 1,769 or 30 per 1,000 households. Separately, Conservative MP for Reading East Rob Wilson has found out via the Freedom of Information Act that more than 91% of burglaries in Reading between 2008 and 2009 remained unsolved, with an individual being charged in just 6% of cases. However, at a Safe Reading Campaign meeting on Monday, July 20 th, Thames Valley Police Superintendent Steve Kirk said that burglaries in Reading homes had in fact fallen by 13% (63 fewer offences) between April and June 2009, against the same period last year. (Reading Post 29/07/09 p2, Times 29/07/09, Reading Chronicle 30/12//09 p12, Get Reading 31/07/09 pp1,8)

At the Safe Reading Campaign meeting on Monday, July 20 th, Superintendent Steve Kirk of the Thames Valley Police said that Caversham was the centre of burglary crime in Reading. He said that many of the perpetrators came from Lower Caversham, including from the Amersham Road estate. According to the Superintendent: “Caversham is Reading’s burglary hotspot”, and is a particular focus for the police-initiated Operation Eyewitness, which encourages improvements to home security as well as targeting known recidivists and felons. (Reading Post 29/07/09 p2, Reading Chronicle 30/12/09 p12, Get Reading 31/07/09 p9)

Festivals

This year’s Reading Festival organisers Festival Republic have been given permission to add 10,000 extra tickets over the next three years – 3,500 this year and next year and a further 3,000 in 2011. For the first time, Reading residents will have priority booking for tickets, and the festival (over the Bank Holiday from August 28 th-30 th) will also be louder – with the volume turned up from 65 to 70 decibels for the headline acts on the three nights. At the RBC licensing meeting on Friday, July 24 th where the announcement was made, CADRA representative Helen Lambert said “we are not anti-festival but we are concerned to get a fair and reasonable balance between festival-goers’ enjoyment and local people going about their normal occupation”. To help with the direction of sound, the Radio 1 / NME stage will be rotated eastwards – away from Mapledurham which it currently faces. (Reading Post 29/07/09 pp1,3)

Pubs

The ‘Reading Post’ publishes a series of terrifying photos of near-naked participants who bungee-jumped at the charity fun (fun?) day at the Gardeners Arms pub in Surley Row, Emmer Green, on Sunday, July 26 th. The individuals were raising money for the Great Ormond Street Wishing Well Appeal. (Reading Post 29/07/09 p5)

Conservative MP for Reading East Rob Wilson is supporting a 13-point guide to retain and promote local pubs. The guide, formulated by an all-party parliamentary group of MPs, is available via http://bit.ly/WADaD. There is also a petition on the matter at http://bit.ly/21PWF9. (Get Reading 31/07/09 p13)

Roads

There is further coverage of the local Caversham campaign to get a pedestrian crossing installed at the junction of Kidmore Road and Oakley Road, which gets busy during the rush hour and at peak school run times. The action has been given urgency following an accident there involving an eight-year old girl on June 30. Campaigners have been invited to present a petition with over 600 signatures to the RBC traffic management advisory panel meeting on September 10 th. Signatures to the petition can be added at the Caversham Fod and Wine Store in Kidmore Road or at the Word Play bookshop in Prospect Street until the end of August. (Reading Post 29/07/09 p8)

River Thames

Thee annual Thames WaterAid Raft Race took place on the River Thames by Caversham Bridge last Thursday, 23 rd July. Two dozen teams competed in the mile-long race to raise £20,000 for the WaterAid charity, which helps provide safe water and sanitation to disadvantaged areas. (Reading Post 29/07/09 p29,Get Reading 31/07/09 p14)

Schools

The Hill Primary School in the Peppard Road has been nominated for a ‘Pride of Reading’ award as a result of its new nature area. A parent nominated the ‘outdoor classroom’ scheme at the school, which forms the first part of a project to rejuvenate a large nature area on the school’s grounds. The awards will be made on Wednesday, November 4 th. (Get Reading 31/07/09 p20)

Shops

Conservative MP for Reading East MP, Rob Wilson, has criticised the state of paving in St Martin’s precinct, after receiving a number of complaints from constituents. He said: “The paving in St Martin’s precinct in particular is unacceptable. Action needs to be taken as soon as possible in order to prevent any more people getting injured. I have contacted the managing agents of St Martin’s precinct, Cushman & Wakefield, and been in touch with Reading Borough Council to see what can be done". (http://www.robwilson.com 31/07/09)