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News Archive - Week Beginning 2nd August 2009
The editors say: Government is to re-think funding congestion charging because it's so unpopular. Reading Council is one of few authorities still interested. Do they never learn? Motorists are a reality. Ultimately, they bring prosperity. The Council should work with and not against them.
Environment
RBC Parks Development Manager Carolyn Jenkins describes the historic background to the Caversham Court riverside garden in the context of its reopening celebrations, scheduled for Friday, August 7th. (Get Reading 07/08/09 p9)
Caversham Court Gardens celebrated its grand reopening on the afternoon and
evening of Friday, August 7th - and the sun shone. The efforts of the
developers was immediately apparent, with extensive refurbishment of the
Court's gardens and the remains of the house itself. Large numbers of local
people came to see both the gardens and a range of performers - including
music and entertainment for children. Thoroughly worthwhile, a credit to the
Friends of Caversham Court Gardens, and well worth the wait.
Public Order
The neighbourhood specialist police officer for Oxford Road in Reading, PC Anna Croft, has replied to earlier reports that prostitutes were relocating their trade from Oxford Road to north of the Thames, and has said “there have been a couple of isolated incidents but it would be incorrect to say the prostitutes in Reading are taking their clients towards the rural areas. We do not want residents to think Caversham or Emmer Green is going to be full of street girls”. (Get Reading 07/08/09 p4)
Caversham People
Caversham resident and campaigner Alan Jones is profiled in a feature that comments on his involvement with the You Value Justice (YVJ) charity, which he founded in order to help people on legal aid in tribunals, small claims court and other disputes. He has successfully helped a driver to claim costs and damages from the car clampers Parking Control Management, and says that he intends to help other motorists combat car clampers. YVJ can be contacted on 0118 946 4400 (Reading Post 05/08/09 p11)
BBC TV’s ‘Apprentice’ winner for 2009, Caversham resident Yasmina Siadatan was back in the local area on Wednesday, August 5th to launch her new role for Sir Alan Sugar – representing Amscreen Healthcare, which is installing state-of-the-art patient information screens in hospitals and doctors surgeries. The venue for the launch was the Emmer Green Surgery in St Barnabas Road – said to be her local GP’s surgery. (Reading Chronicle 06/08/09 p1)
A feature comments on the departure from Caversham of the Reverend Dermot Thornberry and his wife Charlene – who have left the Caversham Methodist Church in order to start a new ministry in Paignton in Devon. Rev Thornberry rather strangely says that he’ll miss Caversham’s branch of Costa Coffee (has he not tried the local-branded alternatives?) as well as RG4’s parks and the river. (Reading Chronicle 06/08/09 p22)
Festivals
In the words of the Reading Post, ‘transgender issues will be at the forefront when the Reading Pride gay festival explodes over the town next month’. The organisers of Reading Pride say that it will be larger and better than before – it takes place on Saturday, September 5th at King’s Meadow. (Reading Post 05/08/09 p9)
Roads
A row is said to have broken out between Conservative RPC councillor Richard Willis and RBC Labour councillor Richard Stainthorp over the issue of the Tory–initiated petition calling for improved safety at the junction of Kidmore Road and Oakley Road. Cllr Willis has used his online blog to accuse Cllr Stainthorp of failing to sign the petition, although the Labour councillor says that he did in fact sign on Tuesday, August 5th. (Reading Evening Post 05/08/09 p16)
A (very cross) letter to the ‘Chronicle’ headed ‘Is Caversham on a secret black list?’ claims that RBC councillors have long seemed to despise Caversham residents and traders. In support of the claim, the writer questions why road works have been instigated on the busy Henley and Peppard Roads at the same time, saying that advice to ‘seek an alternative route’ is fatuous – since there only are these main two routes to choose from. The writer (who really does seem deeply enraged) then lambasts the RBC’s decision to impose double yellow lines on the Richfield Road, saying that it will affect local parking provision at the Rivermead, and that ‘the other car parks in Caversham are already full’. (Reading Chronicle 06/08/09 pp14-15)
Shops
There is further comment on MP Rob Wilson’s decision to contact Cushman and Wakefield, the managing agents of St Martin’s Precinct, to see what will be done to improve the ‘unacceptable’ paving slabs in the shopping precinct. (Reading Chronicle 06/08/09 p23, Get Reading 07/08/09 p6)
Transport
Under the headline ‘Transport Bid Losing Pace’, the ‘Chronicle’ reports that the RBC’s chances of obtaining £300m of Government money via its Transport Innovation Fund (Tif) bid are growing increasingly slim. The parliamentary Transport Select Committee has demanded that the Government rethinks the whole scheme, saying in a report that “congestion charging proposals have not proven popular with the public”, with a number of local authorities abandoning Tif plans in response to public anger. Reading is said to be one of very few local authorities to still be interested, and will place a bid for the funding later this year. (Reading Chronicle 06/08/09 p5, Get Reading 07/08/09 p2)
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