Wokingham

When Edith Thomas took early retirement from her job at Barnardos, after 31 years, she wanted a new challenge.

She saw that a pedestrian crossing was needed on a busy road in Norreys where she lives as a Wokingham council tenant. Edith immediately began campaigning for a crossing to be installed.

“We were able to show the council that a crossing was really important, and we got one straight away,” says Edith.

“Following that success I began to see other projects that needed work. I got more involved in the local community and in meetings with the council to try and improve things.”

Since her success with the pedestrian crossing, Edith has worked tirelessly on many community projects, including clean-up walks, a new residents’ association, and a drop-in centre for council tenants.

Wokingham Cllr Iain Brown, the council chairman, usually presents a small gift and a plaque each month to an individual or group that has given good service to the community. Edith won April’s award for her many years of campaign work on behalf of the Norreys Wokingham community. On Friday April 28 she was invited to the civic offices at Shute End to receive her gift of flowers from the chairman.

“Everybody knows Edith,” said Wokingham Cllr Brown. “She has made such a valuable contribution to the residents of Norreys and she thoroughly deserves to be recognised for it. I am delighted to have the opportunity to thank her for her years of work.”

As a tenant representative, Wokingham District Council recently gave Edith the opportunity to attend a course at Oxford Brookes University on tenant participation and neighbourhood renewal.

“It was a very useful course and I was able to share information with tenant representatives from other areas, and bring their ideas back to Wokingham,” says Edith. “There is already a fantastic atmosphere among the Norreys community. But I think there is even more we can improve, especially for younger people.”

The Norreys Residents’ Association, set up by Edith three months ago, has already established itself as an important liaison between Norreys residents and Wokingham Council.

“I want to get people really involved in the community, and improve the profile of the area,” says Edith. “In the residents association, we have many ideas. We hope to set up a community centre at Elizabeth Park. That’s my next big aim.”

The Norreys Residents’ Association is looking for support for the community centre project. If you can help with fundraising, please call Tenants Services at Wokingham District Council on (0118) 974 3767.

Wokingham District Council