Wokingham

A vision for the future of the Wokingham district will be discussed at a conference next month.

The Wokingham District Community Conference, entitled Delivering the Vision Together will bring together all the major community, voluntary, public and private sector organisations in the area to discus how they can work together for a better future. And it is open to members of the public.

The conference has been organised by the Local Strategic Partnership (LSP), which includes all the key stakeholders in the Wokingham district, such as police, fire and ambulance services, district, town and parish councils, health services, voluntary and community groups and local businesses, who work together to improve residents’ quality of life.

The event will include workshops on the LSP’s Community Ambitions, which are: balancing economic prosperity with sustaining quality of life, maintaining a healthy and well educated community, supporting people who need help and creating a community where everybody feels safe, welcome and respected.

Cllr Dianne King, who chairs the LSP, said: “This is a extremely important conference and I would urge anybody who has an interest in the future of the district to come along. The issues that will be discussed are vital to the district’s future and one of the major aims of the LSP and the conference itself is to involve as wide a cross section of the community as possible.”

During the conference, a compact will be signed between Wokingham District Council, Berkshire West Primary Care Trust and the local voluntary and community sector to set agreed standards for future work together and a revised draft of the Community Strategy will also be published to set out objectives for sustaining the quality of life within the

Wokingham district. Details of a competition to design a new logo for the LSP will also be announced during the day.

Simon Hebditch, the chief executive of Capacitybuilders, a government-funded group that helps the voluntary sector work more effectively, will also address the conference on the future of the community sector and will chair the state of the district debate, during which the conference will discuss all aspects of life in the Wokingham district.

The conference is at the Salvation Army Centre in Earley on Friday March 9 and places can be booked in advance, by Friday March 2, from Jane Harvey at Wokingham District Council on (0118) 974 6008 or email at jane.harvey@wokingham.gov.uk.

Wokingham District Council