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• Archive Index 2010

News Archive - Week Beginning 24th January 2010

The editors say: We can only agree with the Lib Dem Councillors who voted against the Council's decision to lobby the government to grant Reading city status. We can't see any point to it - it smacks of vanity on the part of those in favour, and not a lot else ... Read more.

Buses

Kendrick schoolgirl Jocelyn Hutch has taken part in a youth motion presented to the RBC on Tuesday 26th January to urge Reading Buses to cut its fares for the under-18s and to make its timetable changes clearer. However, RBC transport leader (and Labour councillor) Tony Page got unanimous support from other councillors for an amendment reflecting the reality that Reading Buses cannot reduce fares because it is required to cover its costs. (Reading Chronicle 28/01/10 p9, Get Reading 29/01/10 p15)

Caversham People

Pauline Palmer, fundraiser for the Caversham branch of the Royal British Legion, has raised a milestone £250,000 for the Legion since taking on the role in 1998. Amongst other achievements, she was instrumental in ensuring that the most recent war victim in Reading – Rifleman Cyrus Thatcher from Caversham – was commemorated on the Caversham War Memorial. (Reading Post 27/01/2010 p9, Reading Chronicle 28/01/10 p33)

Eli Rosen and his fellow staff at Caversham cleaning equipment manufacturer Rosemor International celebrate 25 years in business this week. The firm, which is based in Caversham Park Village, is said to have made ‘a small fortune’ after manufacturing the world’s first automatic escalator cleaning machine. (Reading Post 27/01/10 p7)

Planning

The RBC’s ‘Sites and Detailed Policies Document’, forming part of Reading’s Local Development Framework (and which has already been through considerable public scrutiny) was discussed at a full RBC meeting on Tuesday, January 26th. It outlines proposed sites for development for homes and commercial, educational and other types of building: when the draft is published it will be subjected to further community scrutiny before being sent off to be examined in public by a Government-appointed inspector. The policies document includes protection measures for more than 700 acres of open space including Christchurch Meadow, Hills Meadow, View Island and King’s Meadow. (Get Reading 29/01/10 p18).

Planning

The RBC meeting on the evening of Tuesday, January 26th agreed to lobby the Government again for City status for Reading. The motion was carried by 36 votes to seven with the Liberal Democrats voting against. Leader of the RBC Lib Dems Councillor Kirsten Bayes said: “I don’t see what’s in it for us”. (Get Reading 29/01/10 p4)

Schools

Caversham Park Primary School is looking for past staff and students to celebrate its 40th anniversary this summer. The anniversary of the Queensway school is on June 1st, and celebrations will include a summer fair on June 12 th. Contact the school on 0118 901 5433 for further details. (Reading Chronicle 28/01/2010 p33)

A meeting takes place in Tilehurst on Monday evening involving school staff from around Reading, who are liaising on measures to make their schools sustainable – a declared aim of the government, which wants every school in England to be sustainable by 2020. The meeting will include an exhibition on the building and grounds of the Hill School in Emmer Green. (Get Reading 29/01/10 p26)

Rubbish

A rubbish ‘eyesore’ of waste material (including old mattresses) dumped on a private land site in Sherwood Street, close to the junction with Chester Street, has led to complaints from local residents. The problem of the waste dumped at the site has been exacerbated by further waste dumped there by flytippers. The RBC has contacted the owner of the site urging it to be cleared ‘as a matter of urgency’. (Reading Chronicle 28/01/2010 p33)

Traffic

The Department of Transport is reported to have started assessing the RBC’s phase one bid to the Transport Innovation Fund (Tif), months after it was received. ‘Phase one’ is centred around a Low Emissions Zone (LEZ) in Reading town centre from late 2011, hitting polluting lorries with a £50 charge if they come within the IDR boundaries. It will be enforced by numberplate-recognition cameras. In return for enforcing the LEZ, the RBC would get funding towards a raft of projects including a footbridge linking Vastern road with Christchurch Meadows. A decision on Phase one is expected over the next few months, and, if approved, would lead to phases two and three of the bid – which would bring investment up to £380m but would be linked to congestion charging. (Reading Chronicle 28/01/10 p13)