Wokingham

On Monday night, December 22 Wokingham Borough Council, Horseman Coaches and a hotel in Chineham in Hampshire stepped in to help families from the Wokingham Borough after they were stranded in bad weather.

Some 38 mums, dads and children from Wokingham Borough Council’s My Family Matters project had been enjoying a Christmas trip to Winchester. And it was on their way back to the Wokingham Borough that their coach became stuck on the A33 in Hampshire following severe weather. With the prospect of spending the night on the coach stuck in freezing temperatures, the borough council’s community resilience team set about finding somewhere for the children and their families to stay.

After seven hours, the coach driver from Horseman’s Coaches managed to steer them to shelter to the Hampshire Centre Court Hotel, after Wokingham borough council arranged for the group to spend the night there. They were fed with sandwiches and chips by hotel staff, who went that extra mile to ensure the families, the bus driver and My Family Matters and children’s services staff had a safe night in the warm function room by providing blankets and pillows. They arrived back in the Wokingham Borough on Tuesday morning, tired, but safe and well.

Anne Taplin, Wokingham borough council’s senior home school liaison officer, said: “On behalf of the whole team I would like to pay tribute to Graham, our coach driver, for his calm, patient attitude throughout the journey. I would also like to say a huge thank you to the hotel staff for whom nothing was too much trouble.

“All credit to the mums and dads and the children who remained calm and positive through the whole experience. Wokingham Borough Council also deserve a mention for their hard work and professionalism in getting things organised.”

Cllr Rob Stanton, executive member for Wokingham children’s services, said: “This was a case of everyone pulling together to find a solution to a rather difficult situation. As the snow continued to fall, the council set about the task to find somewhere for them to stay as we didn’t want the youngsters spending the night in freezing temperatures.

“I would like to extend my warmest thanks to the hotel staff for their hard work to ensure the group had refreshments and a safe place to rest for the night. My thanks also go to the bus driver whose patience and calmness enabled everyone from the My Family project to get safely to the hotel for the night after being stranded like many other motorists in the Hampshire area. It’s good to see others leaping into action to help out in times of need and I am very grateful for their assistance.”

Wokingham Borough Council

Residents across the Wokingham borough will soon find it even easier to keep in touch with Wokingham Borough Council thanks to a new email and text messaging service being launched early next year.

Currently, Wokingham residents can receive a selection of email updates but as of the New Year the borough council will be developing a new service to allow residents to receive up-to-the minute targeted information about a range of council services from road works to recycling and arts to street cleaning.

Simply by registering online at www.wokingham.gov.uk, via the online TV service at any of the public information kiosks across the borough or by calling Wokingham Direct on (0118) 974 6000, residents will then be added to a central database used to send out emails and text messages specific to each resident.

Wokingham Borough Council website manager Nicholas Spencer said: “Residents are invited to sign up to this new service as we are not only offering residents some of the latest news and events from across the borough, we will also be able to contact them via text message in case of an emergency such as flooding or a road closure relating to them.”

Anyone who registers before Sunday January 31, 2010 will be entered into a draw to win £50-worth of Carluccio’s Restaurant vouchers provided by Wokingham borough council’s partners New Voice Media.

Nicholas Spencer added: “This new email and text message service is a great way for residents across the borough to stay informed about all the latest news and services the council has to offer.

“Email and text messaging are some of the most popular way for people to keep in contact with each other so to have Wokingham Borough Council taking part in this is a great way to stay in touch with our residents.”

Once registered, Wokingham residents can also manage their own email and text message updates via an online account so if they wish to add or remove updates they can do it simply by a click of a few buttons.

Wokingham Borough Council

Wokingham Borough Council is asking residents to put their money where their milk is in the battle to reduce excessive household packaging by asking them to sign up and use their local milkman.

Wokingham Borough Council’s waste and recycling team has pledged its support to the Milk & More campaign, which is being run by national dairy produce chain Dairy Crest. The campaign is a new online service to encourage people to use their local milkman – which has the added benefit of reducing packaging from milk bottles.

Peter Baveystock, Wokingham waste and recycling manager, said: “We don’t usually endorse campaigns of private companies, but in this case it’s important to support local milkmen as they provide a service that could greatly reduce the packaging thrown into landfill by our residents – and could save tax payers some cash too!”

The company offers a drop-off service for a range of household goods including milk and fruit juice, which come in reusable glass bottles and vegetable and fruit boxes, which are delivered in crate – this is significantly less packaging compared to some supermarket and shop-bought fruit and veg.

Residents can check if they can use the Milk & More online scheme by typing in their postcode at www.milkandmore.co.uk – most parts of the Wokingham Borough are covered by the new online service, which allows residents to order their goods via the internet.

Cllr Simon Weeks, executive member for the Wokingham environment, said: “Not only could using a local milkman reduce the amount of waste that needs to be sent to costly landfill or sent to the recycling centre, it can also cut down on carbon emissions as milkmen doing their rounds is a lot more environmentally friendly than residents individually driving to the shops.

“Reusing milk bottles is a great way of reducing waste and so I’d urge local residents to make greater use of the local milkman where possible, but by reducing waste we reduce the cost that the council has to pay out in landfill tax or for recycling so it could even mean taxpayers saving cash in the future.”

Wokingham Borough Council

Wokingham Borough’s young people have elected Mako Mbiba as their new Member of Youth Parliament (MYP) after a record number of young people voted in the tenth youth parliament elections.

16-year-old Mako, who attends Maiden Erlegh School and lives in Shinfield, was elected by youngsters aged 11 to 18 years from across the Wokingham Borough, which saw a staggering 5,357 votes being cast – some 1,189 more than last year making it the highest ever number of young people voting in the history of the Wokingham Borough’s youth elections.

Mako received 1,201 of valid votes cast. Ballot boxes were located across the Wokingham Borough at local schools and youth centres as well as the Connexions office in Wokingham. Mako will take over from current MYP James Evans on February 1, 2010.

Beth Stockham (15) who attends The Piggott School, was voted in as deputy MYP after receiving 885 votes. Mako and Beth learnt of their success at a special ceremony on Thursday (December 17), attended by Wokingham Borough Mayor Cllr Barrie Patman, executive member for children’s services Cllr Rob Stanton, chief executive Susan Law, children services general manager Andy Couldrick, James Evans MYP and candidates families and supporters.

Mako’s has pledged to campaign for more entertainment in the Wokingham Borough as young people have to travel to neighbouring towns for entertainment and fun and she firmly believes that the fun must start here in the Wokingham Borough! Mako also believes there should be free transport for young people aged between 11 and 15 years. Also, high on her campaign is to unite the community – Mako wants to break down barriers, ask young people to forget about their differences and start focusing on what we can do to change the way things are.

Mako said: “I deem it a great privilege to have been given this amazing opportunity. Many have fought for this position which takes great courage and determination. It also gives me the opportunity to congratulate every candidate that stood in the elections, especially Beth Stockham, deputy MYP, whom I will be looking forward to working with.

“I am extremely overwhelmed at the number of votes that were cast. I would like to thank every young person that voted for me, all my friends and family of which were a great support, my head of campaign Reu-el Rashida Fleary-Griffiths, Lindsey McNeil of Maiden Erlegh School, who was of great assistance, and Catriona MacMillan, who organised the elections.”

Wokingham Borough Mayor Cllr Barrie Patman said: “This year, nine young people campaigned hard to be the next MYP and it was good to see a record number of young people heading to the polls in this hotly contested election. All the candidates were exceptional and it was good to see them campaigning on a range of issues that are really important to them. I wish Mako and Beth the best of luck for their year in office.”

Cllr Rob Stanton, executive member for children’s services, said: “The candidates drew up some interesting campaign pledges and it just goes to show how passionate they are about local issues and things that are important to them. I would like to extend my congratulation to all the candidates for their hard fought campaigns and the young people have now elected Mako and Beth to represent their views at the Youth Parliament. For all the candidates it was a great chance for them to try something new and it has given them a wonderful insight into the workings of politics both locally and nationally. I look forward to working with Mako and Beth in the coming year.”

Catriona MacMillan, participation worker, said: “Becoming the Member of Youth Parliament for the Wokingham Borough is a fantastic chance for Mako to make a real difference and have her say, on behalf of all the borough’s young people, on how things can be improved not only at a local level but regionally and nationally.”

Wokingham Borough Council

Wokingham Borough Council is pleased to announce it will be continuing to support a scheme that helps perpetrators of domestic abuse to change their abusive behaviour.

The purpose of Changing Ways is to enhance women’s and children’s safety. It is a free, voluntary programme for men who physically or emotionally abuse their partners. The Wokingham programme is open to any man aged 18 and over who accept he has been violent, abusive or threatening and who wants to change. Men can put themselves forward for the programme or be referred as part of an agreement with another agency, such as social services. The aim of the programme is designed to make women and children safer by making changing the behaviour of those responsible for domestic abuse.

The programme consists of 30 group sessions designed to help the men understand their behaviour and learn how to change – it is not a counselling service but instead concentrates on challenging and changing behaviour.

Wokingham Borough Council executive member for community safety Cllr John Kersley said: “Despite the Wokingham Borough being an extremely safe place, we are not immune from problems such as domestic abuse and that is why it is important for the council to support the Changing Ways programme in all its work. Changing Ways tackles the root cause of domestic abuse - the abuser’s attitude and behaviour – and tries to change that. Every success brought about by Changing Ways means one fewer man who is a risk to his partner and children.”

The Changing Ways programme is supported by Wokingham Borough, Slough, Bracknell Forest and Windsor and Maidenhead councils and any men living within these boroughs can refer themselves to the scheme by calling John Roberts on 07818 054 563. Agencies can also call John Roberts to refer men to the scheme.

Wokingham Borough Council community safety officer Carol-Anne Bidwell said: “We have been offering this service since 2007 and generally the feedback from those who have attended and their partners has been very good. Real, positive changes have been made in many relationships. We would encourage men who are abusive to their partner to reflect on their behaviour and face up to the things they have done. There may have only been one of two incidents where things have got out of control but that may be just the start of a pattern of behaviour that could escalate with disastrous consequences.”

Men may also be victims of domestic abuse and are also encouraged to come forward and seek advice and support. If you are concerned about a family member or friend, be they male or female, then Berkshire Women’s Aid is a charity that provides help and support for all victims of domestic abuse as well as refuges for those who can no longer remain in their own homes.

Anybody suffering domestic abuse (male or female) should call Berkshire Women’s Aid on (0118) 950 4003 (10am to 5pm weekdays, and outside these times in emergencies) or Thames Valley Police on 0845 8 505505.

Wokingham Borough Council

Tracking down information on all the Wokingham Borough’s streets is easy thanks to the hard work of Yvonne Latymer who has just been crowned best street gazetteer custodian in the South East.

Yvonne, who works for the Wokingham council’s place and neighbourhood service, is responsible for collating all the data on the borough’s streets so that it can be fed into a national database. This database provides a major information point for utility companies that need to dig up roads and pavements and helps highways specialists when they inspect the borough’s roads and estates.

Yvonne said: “To be recognised as one of the best in my field in the country is fantastic – I really feel honoured to have been presented with such an award.”

Yvonne is part of the Wokingham council’s Highways Alliance and collates all the street gazetteer data for the highways and street works team and the waste and recycling team. Each month she logs all the borough’s street details and details about new developments into the National Street Gazetteer database so that there is a full and accurate picture of the whole borough – all 44,211 acres!

As well as helping plan major utility work and referencing for each street in the Wokingham borough, this information hub also feeds into the National Land and Property Gazetteer – the country’s official address database.

Last month, Yvonne was presented with her award by Intelligent Addressing – the company that looks after the National Land and Property Gazetteer database – for her dedication to accuracy and hard work.

The council’s land and property gazetteer custodian, Claire Tokeley, was also nominated in the same category and was commended under the most improved award.

Wokingham Borough Council

Year 9 and 11 students from schools across the Wokingham Borough will have the opportunity to find out more about Diplomas, which will be available to them as part of their option choices from September 2010.

A qualification for 14 to 19 year-olds introduced in September 2008, the diploma is available in 10 subject areas:

• Business administration and finance
• Creative and media
• Construction and the built environment
• Environmental and land-based studies
• Hair and beauty studies
• Hospitality
• Information technology
• Engineering
• Sport and active leisure
• Society health and development.

Designed to help students develop work-relevant skills in a creative and enjoyable way, the diplomas combine theory in the classroom with practical work experience, giving students the chance to gain transferable skills that any employer, in any sector, will recognise.

And in January, two Diploma Roadshows, sponsored by the Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF), will be co-hosted by Wokingham and Reading Borough Councils. Being held at The Blue Room at The University of Reading on January 6 and Reading Town Hall on January 21, the roadshows have interactive kiosks and inflatable pods that allow students to discover the Diploma in a structured but informal environment. Connexions Berkshire personal advisers will be on hand throughout the roadshows to give students practical and impartial information, advice and guidance on the Diploma.

Wokingham Parents who wish to find out more about the Diploma are also welcome to visit the roadshows, taking place on both days between 3pm and 8pm.

Cllr Rob Stanton, executive member for children’s services, said: “I hope that many of the borough’s year 9 and 11 students will take up this opportunity to find out more about the diploma which could open many doors for them. Previous roadshows have been very informative for students and their parents and have provided them with lots of information which has allowed them to make informed choices about their education.”

Wokingham Borough Council

Pupils from Winnersh Primary School showcased their creative talents as well as their musical talents by producing the artwork for the Wokingham Borough primary school schools’ carol concert programme.

Wokingham Borough Mayor Cllr Barrie Patman chose year 6 pupil Shannon Dicker’s artwork for the front cover of the carol concert programme. And, year 6 pupil Holly Burns designed the back cover, whilst the rest of the programme featured other drawings from the school.

Wokingham Cllr Patman said: “I was delighted pupils from Winnersh Primary School used their creative talents to create some fantastic artwork for the primary schools’ carol concert programme. I am looking forward to attending the assembly to meet all the pupils and to especially thank Shannon and Holly for their contributions.

“The annual primary schools’ carol concert is a high point in the civic year and one that everyone eagerly looks forward to. I am so pleased that so many schools took part, including Winnersh Primary School. And this year, it didn’t disappoint. It was an excellent evening showcasing the musical talents of the primary pupils of the borough. I hope everyone enjoyed it as much as I did.”

Wokingham Borough Council

As part of this year’s Christmas drink drive awareness campaign, Cllr Barrie Patman, Mayor of the Wokingham Borough, will be publicly breathalysed to show what happens when police suspect that someone is over the limit.

If you drink heavily you may not be okay to get behind the wheel the next morning, is the message that Wokingham Cllr Patman will be helping spread by taking part in the breathalyser challenge tomorrow (Wednesday). He will be joined by road safety officers and Thames Valley Police to warn that one for the road could kill or injure drivers, passengers or innocent bystanders this Christmas and New Year – with the focus of this year’s event being ‘The Morning After’.

Wokingham Cllr Patman said: “Drinking and driving is not only illegal but endangers the lives of many people. It’s naïve to think that if you drink and drive you will get away with it as it impairs your reactions and ability to control the car, so I beg everyone living in the borough or visiting it over the Christmas and New Year period to think twice and have none for the road.”

As well as Cllr Patman being breathalysed there will also be demonstrations and information available from local Thames Valley Police officers and the road safety team from 10am to noon. There is also a display this week in the Mall at the council’s Civic Offices in Shute End. A drink drive quiz is available in the Mall and Market Place, Wokingham with prizes for the winners to highlight people’s knowledge of driving under the influence.

Wokingham Borough Council

Speaking on the redevelopment of Wokingham Town Centre, council leader Cllr David Lee said: “The redevelopment is a top priority for the council. We want to create the right kind of town for local residents, workers and visitors and we are working closely with members of the public to create a clear vision for the town’s future.”

To make sure the right decisions are made in the future, the Wokingham council is using its roles as both planning authority and major landowner in the town centre.

In its role as the local planning authority, the council is developing a ‘masterplan’ for the town centre, in consultation with local Wokingham people. Workshops have taken place to identify and prioritise issues and ideas have emerged about how new development could help address these issues.

An informal exhibition of the objectives for the town centre and emerging masterplan will take place at the civic offices in Shute End, Wokingham, from January 4 until February 12, 2010, providing an opportunity for members of the public to comment on the proposals.

Formal consultation is then set to take place from March 29 to May 7, with adoption of the plan by Wokingham council scheduled for summer 2010.

“Once the masterplan is formally adopted by the council in the summer, any planning applications submitted within the town centre will be informed by it and have to conform to what’s in it – including those that will come forward as part of the redevelopment,” said Cllr Gary Cowan, executive member for local and regional planning.

“The masterplan will provide a long-term vision for the future of the town centre and it will be used to assess all planning applications for new development in the town centre. The views of local people are critical to the preparation of the masterplan and I would urge everyone to come along to the public exhibition in January to have their say on the proposals for the town centre, which are currently being drawn up.”

The council is keen for residents to have their say on the Wokingham Town Centre masterplan. To find out more please go to: http://www2.wokingham.gov.uk/environment/planning/news-and-information/shaping-our-communities

As a landowner, the council is working in partnership with three shortlisted developers to develop ideas about how to revitalise the town centre. The three developers are making good progress, developing their original ideas into practical schemes for regenerating the town centre.

The council’s development partner will be selected in spring 2010 based on a combination of the quality and viability of the scheme and the partnership arrangements put forward.

Cllr Matt Deegan, executive member for Wokingham community regeneration, said: “It will be the developer who captures the goals and aspirations of the council’s design brief within a viable scheme and demonstrates good partnership arrangements who stands the best chance of being our long term partner. My thanks go to everyone who has over the past months and years given us their views, ideas and feedback, which have greatly informed the design brief.”

Cllr Deegan added: “The town centre regeneration is a key priority for the council but we must be clear that it is a completely different and parallel process to the masterplanning; though with a single objective which is to secure what is best for the town.

“We’re not going to be prescriptive on how the brief should be delivered, as it will be our chosen partner’s expertise and innovation that will give us the best possible scheme. But we are very clear from the feedback we have received over the years from residents and their representatives about what we want the town to be. And the council will make sure this happens because it is driving the agenda.”

Wokingham Borough Council

Great Britain hockey player Jo Ellis joined some of Wokingham Borough’s finest sportsmen and women at a special ceremony on Friday November 27 to mark their recent successes.

Sportsmen and women from across the borough attended Wokingham District Sports Council and Wokingham Borough Council’s sports awards ceremony held at Loddon Valley Leisure Centre. And helping them celebrate was Jo Ellis, who has 25 GB Caps for hockey. She plays her club hockey for Bowdon Hightown and was first selected for Great Britain in 2007, a year after she made her international debut for England against Australia. Just two months later she was in the England squad that finished seventh at the world cup in Madrid, before going to the champions challenge in Baku, where she won a bronze medal.

The winners of the 19 Wokingham categories were as follows:

• Leisure Connection Shield (primary school) - Nine Mile Ride Primary School
• Ivor Baker Awards Cup (under-14 girls) - Hafsa Kabeer from Wokingham Canoe Club
• Wokingham Borough Council Cup (under-14 boys) - Daniel Barnes from The Forest School
• Richard Worth Cup (under-18 girls) - Chloe Farrance from The Bulmershe School
• Wokingham & Bracknell Chauffeurs Cup (under-18 boys) - Ben Fletcher from The Emmbrook School
• Leisure Connection Shield (best secondary school) – The Forest School
• Electronics 2000 Cup (senior woman) - Claire Taylor of Reading Cricket Club
• Wokingham Borough Council (team award) - Bowman of Burleigh (archery club)
• Simpson Springs and Pressings Cup (senior man) - Ryan Dyer (gymnastics) – The Forest School
• WBSC Cup (coach of the year) - Kerry Scott (gymnastics) - Bulmershe Gym Club
• Reading Evening Post Shield (service to sport in the community - individual) - John Barlow - Wokingham Hockey Club
• Times Newspaper Series Shield (service to sport in the community - club) - Redingensians RFC youth section
• Wokingham School Sport Partnership (volunteer of the year) - Bob Webb, youth football volunteer at Laurel Park Football Club
• Electronics 2000 Cup (service to disabled sport) - Bridges Resource Centre
• Woodley Town Council Cup (The path to excellence in sport) - Woodley Town Football Club
• John Cunningham Cup (courage award) - Charlie Granger - The Emmbrook School
• Earley Town Council Rose Bowl (spirit of sport) - Earl Hewett and Darren Crocker Wokingham Canoe Club
• WBSC Chairman’s Cup (chairman’s award) - Peter Evans - Wokingham Half Marathon
• Wokingham Borough Council (Olympic sports ambassadors) - Charlotte Timmins - The Holt School and Dominic Gosling - The Bulmershe School

Helping them celebrate their awards was Wokingham borough mayor Cllr Barrie Patman, who said: “The sports awards is a terrific event that recognises and celebrates the achievement and contributions of sports people and clubs from the Wokingham Borough over the past year. The award ceremony acknowledges some of the finest sporting talents in the borough and also the many coaches and volunteers who give up their time and put in so much effort to produce sporting stars of the future.”

Jack Sulman, Wokingham District Sports Council, said: “This year’s awards attracted more nominations than ever before, making the task for the awards committee doubly difficult. Having grown from a small backroom event into a borough-wide gala evening bringing together so many different sports, ages and abilities, it offers a unique opportunity to celebrate and recognise the achievements of our sporting community.

“True to say, many have already achieved high national and international honours, however to be recognised and appreciated on one’s own ‘turf’ is hopefully an additional accolade. To all who give so freely of their time, energy and expertise, our congratulations and thanks for bringing the enjoyment of sport into our lives.”

Wokingham Borough Council

The country’s leading expert on E. coli and other bacteria bestowed his Wokingham words of wisdom on more than 60 environmental health professionals to ensure that Berkshire remains a safe place to live, work and visit.

Professor Hugh Pennington, who penned the widely-circulated ‘Don’t Pick Your Nose’ article on MRSA, was Wokingham guest speaker at the county’s annual environmental health conference - which aims to provide professionals across Berkshire with a forum to discuss current issues or ones that may arise in the future.

Professor Pennington addressed more than 60 environmental health officers from the six Berkshire councils when he stopped by the conference held at Wokingham Borough Council’s Shute End offices last month.

Steve Richardson, health and protection manager for Wokingham Borough Council, said: “To have a guest speaker with as much experience as Professor Pennington is a real coup – it’s like getting the environmental health equivalent of David Beckham to come to Wokingham and share his wisdom!

“The conference was absolutely packed with professional environmental health officers from across the county wanting to soak up some of his knowledge. It was a fantastic event and one that will ensure we have some of the brightest and most up-to-date environmental health officers keeping Berkshire safe.”

Professor Pennington is credited with being one of the country’s leading experts in E. coli bacteria and chaired the public inquiries into the E. coli outbreaks in South Wales and Scotland.

He also acts as an expert in microbiology and food safety for the UK, Scottish and Welsh governments and recommended that the UK government set up the Food Standards Agency.

Cllr Liz Siggery, executive member for Wokingham corporate services, said: “I’m pleased that someone so knowledgeable was able to provide environmental health officers with important information that could help safeguard our residents and visitors from unpleasant illnesses in the future.

“I hope that everyone who attended the event found the professor’s words of wisdom useful and beneficial in furthering their knowledge.”

Wokingham Borough Council

In the latest raft of government inspections, Wokingham Borough Council is seen to be performing adequately, with many priority areas improving and its services for older people and financial management judged as performing well.

Wokingham Chief executive Susan Law said: “Many priority services such as adult social care and waste and recycling are performing well, and local satisfaction with the council is above average. We are seen as having a good track record in delivering value for money and efficiency, and our long term ‘Transformation Project' aims to make us even more efficient and effective. Making services responsive to the needs of all groups, including minorities and more vulnerable people is important to us, and we’re working hard to make this happen.

“I’m particularly pleased that our services for older people are rated by the Care Quality Commission as performing well.” The organisation assessment carried out by the Audit Commission reports that: ‘Older people receive support to live independently in their own homes and the council listens to what they want. People with learning disabilities are supported well’. I’m also pleased that the progress we are making on our priorities has been recognised.”

A second report – the area assessment – sets out how all the local public services are working together to tackle the major issues facing the Wokingham borough.

The partnership of agencies - which includes the Wokingham council, health services, police, fire service as well as businesses and the voluntary sector - has formed the Wokingham Borough Strategic Partnership to tackle the following local needs: balancing economic prosperity with a sustainable quality of life; being a community where everyone is safe, welcome and respected; being healthy and well educated community and supporting and caring for people that need help.

Headlines from this Wokingham report include:

• Most people are satisfied with Wokingham Borough as a place to live – a little less than 90 per cent which is higher than most other places
• Education standards are high with good exam results
• People in the borough are generally healthy and their health is improving
• Crime levels are low in Wokingham Borough compared with the national average
• The ageing population in the borough presents a challenge for how people will be supported in the future. The council is building more facilities to help meet the need for extra care and enhanced sheltered housing, and people who use care services are involved in providing feedback and shaping the way the services are run.
• People in Wokingham Borough are being supported through the recession. The number of people out of work is increasing, but plans are in place to lessen the impact of the downturn and to prepare for the redevelopment of the town centre.

Cllr Simon Weeks, chairman of the Wokingham Borough Strategic Partnership, said: “I’m very pleased that all the hard work and effort that the council and its partners are doing to improve residents’ quality of life across the borough has been recognised. People like living in the Wokingham Borough and they recognise that the council and its partners are doing a pretty good job – services are performing well and we’re providing value-for-money.”

Areas of concern include the way Wokingham children in the area are safeguarded. Cllr Weeks said: “We have invested much time, effort and money in recent months to turn safeguarding services around. I’m pleased that these improvements have been acknowledged. Whilst we still face a number of challenges, significant improvements have been made in recent months and we are definitely on the right track. We know we’ve got to embed the improvements that we’ve made, and that is exactly what we are doing.”

Another issue is the need to improve council housing and the growing demand in the area for quality, affordable housing. “Housing is a bit of a dilemma“ said Cllr Weeks. “Indeed, the difficulty of providing affordable housing is an issue broader than Wokingham Borough and a problem that is shared with many authorities across the South of England.

“And, with regard to the need to improve our housing stock, we are doing our very best but there is the massive problem of funding. At the moment, some 50 per cent of the rent we collect from tenants has to be handed over to central government to be spent on housing in other parts of the country. So how can we improve our housing unless the government allows us to keep the rent we collect from our tenants? We are searching for a solution because, unless something changes, we can continue to keep the homes wind and watertight but not much more than that.”

Wokingham Borough Council

In the independent report, Wokingham council is rated as performing ‘well’ in all the seven subject areas looked at by the commission, which are: improved health and emotional well-being, improved quality of life, making a positive contribution, increased choice and control, freedom from discrimination, economic well-being and maintaining personal dignity and respect.

Major highlights for the council show the inspectors recognised the way Wokingham Borough Council works to help people before they develop serious care needs in order to prevent them developing major problems and also the many opportunities for all social care clients and their carers to take part in mainstream community activities.

Wokingham Borough Council executive member for social care Cllr Chris Edmunds said: “I am particularly pleased that the commission recognises what we have achieved with our emphasis on prevention services. We made a deliberate policy decision a couple of years ago to target our limited resources at prevention and we are now seeing the benefits.”

It also looks at leadership in Wokingham adult social care and comments that: ‘The senior management team has continued to build on improved performance secured in previous years’. It also looked at commissioning and use of resources and concludes that the council works well with partners in the health service and voluntary sector. The report also states that more than 95 per cent of people for whom the council purchase domiciliary care rate it to be good or excellent, compared to 80 per cent nationally.

Among the other areas praised in the reports are:

• Imaginative and positive work to tackle hate crime – including the safer places scheme to provide reassurance to vulnerable adults and others in case they feel harassed or threatened in Wokingham Town Centre.
• Proactive work to ensure social care clients and their carers receive effective financial advice.
• The work of the Short Term Assessment and Reablement Team (START) to help people return home and regain independence after a hospital stay.
• The range of information, support and leisure activities available to promote healthy lifestyles.
• The Caring, Listening and Support Partnership (CLASP), a self-support and advocacy group for people with learning difficulties, which was described as an ‘empowering experience’.
• The momentum for expanding the use of self-directed support, which is giving social care clients control over their care and support.
• The ‘sustained effort’ by the council to get people with learning disabilities employed in real jobs. This is described as ‘commendable’ and is twice the rate of the average similar council.
• The high rate of training for safeguarding for staff in independent sector homes, the awareness of safeguarding issues relating to self-directed support and the strong safeguarding arrangements to ensure social care clients are kept free from harm.
• The way social care clients and their carers are involved in decision-making on services.

Wokingham Borough Council executive member for social care Cllr Chris Edmunds said: “This report is pleasing but what is really great is the reality behind the report for local people. Self-directed support is giving social care clients control over their support; our information service is making sure people know what is available; we are helping to get social care clients into real jobs and involving them in decisions through self-help groups.

“This report also recognised that our focus of preventing social care problems and stepping in early to stop them getting worse is paying off – and again there is real benefit for people in this. For example, a visit from a falls advisor could prevent an older person tripping over and ending up in hospital or help given to somebody who has suffered mental health problems to get a job could boost their self-esteem and help prevent problem reoccurring. The council is supporting social care clients in increasingly imaginative and flexible ways and it is gratifying that the Care Quality Commission has recognised that.”

The Wokingham report does suggest areas for improvement, such as working with partners to improve engagement with minority and hard to reach groups and improving some recording and counting issues with carers’ services and care management assessments and the council will take these comments on to further improve its services.

Wokingham Borough Council

A group of artists from Caversham hold their exhibition “Exuberance” at 43 Peach Street Wokingham over the Christmas and New Year as part of the Empty Shops Initiative.

Trish Holihan Steinhardt, Cultural Development Manager at Wokingham Borough Council comments: “With support from the Community Safety Partnership, The Cultural Partnership launched the Empty Shops Initiative in 2008. Since then more than eight additional community partners have enabled more than ten exhibitions at 43 Peach Street – enabling visual artists and designers of all ages to contribute to the vibrancy of Wokingham Town Centre.”

Caversham Artists were approached to exhibit at 43 Peach Street, Wokingham after their previous successes organising & participating in the Caversham Arts Trail and Henley Arts Trail.

Terri Jones artist comments: “We were thrilled to be given the opportunity to exhibit at 43 Peach Street. The Empty Shops Initiative gives artists a fantastic opportunity to bring their work to the public and is great for Wokingham and its people – our colourful display of gorgeous artwork will certainly cheer up the empty shop space. We will provide a visual feast for our visitors over the festive period, and a chance for them to meet the artists who produce all the lovely art. We will have a mixed show including painting, photography, sculpture, ceramics, wood and decorated furniture – something of interest for everyone.”

The Wokingham exhibition entitled “Exuberance: Caversham artists step out of the workshop” is in two parts with one set of artists exhibiting in December and another in January. “Exuberance” artists, opening times and meet the artist dates are:

Wokingham Show number one 2009:

Artists: Terri Jones (painting & drawing), Gloria Pitt (weaving), Mary Lomas (pottery), Joanne de Nobriga (photography), Louise Spiers (decoupage), Roger Smalley (stone carving), Lauren Denney (ceramics)
17 – 19 December (Thursday to Saturday 12.30 - 5pm)
17th December Thursday late opening - Meet the artists 5 – 9 pm
21 – 23 December (Monday – Wednesday 12.30 - 5pm)
28 – 30 December (Monday – Wednesday 12.30 - 5pm)

Wokingham Show number two 2010:

Artists: Therese Wicks (stained glass), Nina Krausewicz (calligraphic painting), Anne Webster (photography), Mary Phelan (painting), Peter Quarmby (woodwork), Julie Simmonds (painting)
4 - 9 January (Monday – Saturday 12.30 – 5pm)
7th January Thursday late opening - Meet the artists 5 – 9 pm
14 - 16 January (Thursday – Saturday 12.30 - 5pm)

Terri Jones

The second Have a Safe Christmas event being organised by Wokingham Borough Council and its partners will take place at the Bradbury Centre in Rose Street, Wokingham from 10am to midday on Tuesday December 8.

The Wokingham event will offer residents the chance to meet representatives from the emergency services, trading standards, the borough council’s community safety team and others involved in all aspects of keeping people safe. It follows a similar event that was held at the Oakwood Centre, Headley Road, Woodley on Monday November 30.

The Wokingham events have been organised with the help of the Take Notice Group, which is a self-advocacy group of people with learning disabilities that champions the interests of people with learning disabilities and ensures they are involved in planning services. Organisations that will be at the event include: Age Concern Berkshire, the council’s drug and alcohol action team, Wokingham Black and Minority Ethnic Forum, Wokingham Pub Watch, the council’s falls advisory team and the emergency services. At the event in Wokingham on December 8, there will also be a chance to find out more about the Putting People First programme that is changing the way adult social care is provided in the Wokingham Borough to give people more control over their care.

Wokingham Borough Council

Published by the Department for Children, Schools and Families, the results show that Wokingham Borough pupils are ranked consistently in the top seven in the whole country for tests taken by 11-year-olds in English, maths and science in May 2009.

All of Wokingham Borough’s results published are above the national averages and remain high, although the number of pupils achieving level 4 or higher in English, maths and science have dropped very slightly from last year’s results reflecting the national picture.

At key stage 2, level four is the expected level for 11-year-olds taking the tests and overall attainment in English at level four saw some 86 per cent of Wokingham Borough pupils achieve the expected level compared with the national percentage of 80, ranking them third in the country. And the borough’s primary school girls have excelled by being ranked second in the country for level four and above in English with 91 per cent compared with 85 per cent nationally, whilst the boys are ranked fifth in the country with 81 per cent compared with 75 per cent nationally.

In maths, the Wokingham borough’s pupils were ranked seventh in the country with 83 per cent achieving the expected level compared with the national average of 79 per cent. And the borough’s primary school girls were ranked fifth in the country for level four and above in maths with 84 per cent compared with 78 per cent nationally, whilst the boys were ranked seventh in the country with 83 per cent compared with 79 per cent nationally.

Some 92 per cent of pupils achieved the expected level in science, which is four per cent higher than the national average (88 per cent) placing the borough fifth in the country for this. Girls were ranked fourth in the country with 94 per cent of them achieving the expected level compared with 89 per cent national, whilst the boys were ranked fifth in the country with 91 per cent compared with 88 per cent nationally.

Some 79 per cent of Wokingham pupils achieved the expected level in the combined English and maths tests, which is seven per cent higher than the national average (72 per cent) and were ranked sixth in the country.

And many of the borough’s pupils also achieved at level five, which is higher than the expected level – the borough came fifth in English (37 per cent against a national average of 29 per cent) and fifth in maths (43 per cent against a national average of 35 per cent). In science, pupils came fifth with 53 per cent compared with the national average of 43 per cent.

Cllr Rob Stanton, executive member for Wokingham children’s services, said: “The results published show that our primary school pupils are achieving higher than the national average at key stage 2 and I would like to congratulate them on their achievements. Results like these will stand them in good stead as they continue their education in secondary school.

“It can be hard to improve results year on year, especially when starting from an already high base, but we must sustain this. We are committed to make further improvements to our key stage 2 results and will work hard with our schools to achieve this.”

Wokingham Borough Council

Wokingham Borough Council has 56 different trees up for grabs this week – which have been offered to local Town and Parish councils for free to celebrate National Tree Week.

Mature trees, ranging from 25ft Rowans to 15ft Hawthorns are available to towns and parishes borough-wide as a unique gift from the Wokingham borough council to local communities during National Tree Week.

The Wokingham borough council’s parks and open spaces team have 56 different trees to donate and have written to all the town and parish councils asking if they would like to select and plant from a selection of trees in the next few weeks.

Neil Carr, head of neighbourhoods, said: “I’m really pleased that the parks and open spaces team have been able to offer to donate more than 50 trees that are ready for planting in the community as part of National Tree Week.

“Trees are a very important part of our environment and so I hope our towns and parishes jump at the chance of getting hold of their tree-present in the next few days.”

The following trees are ready for planting immediately:

• Eight Hawthorne trees (between 15ft and 20ft tall)
• 20 Rowan trees (between 20ft and 25ft)
• Three Silver Birch trees (around 20ft each)
• 25 Hornbeam trees (around 15ft tall each)

The Wokingham borough council’s parks and open spaces team have nurtured, watered and weeded the trees as saplings and now they are all in need of good homes so that they can become strong specimens for the community to enjoy. The trees will be bare-rooted and bagged by contractors for the parks and open spaces team on the tree site, so all that towns and parishes have to do is collect and transport the tree to their desired new home and plant it.

Neil added: “It’s not often that our parks and open spaces team are able to offer such a long-lasting gift so I’d urge all interested town and parish council’s to get in touch straight away as it’s first come first served in bagging a tree bargain.”

The tree donation is part of the borough’s commitment towards National Tree Week, which marks the start of the tree planting season. It is the UK’s biggest annual tree celebration and this year runs from November 25 until December 6.

Wokingham Borough Council

School support staff from across the Wokingham Borough who go that extra mile were recently rewarded for their efforts by Wokingham Borough Council.

Wokingham Borough Council’s recognition award for school support staff is in its third year and schools were invited to nominate their unsung heroes. And this year’s winners were: Lorraine Abbott and Jane Bowie from Ryeish Green School, Carole Dovey and Angie Gibbs from Hawkedon Primary School, Jo Morsman and Juan Perez from Hillside Primary School, Jim Sim from Polehampton Infant School, Collette Burgess from Hawthorns Primary School, Frank Ponton from The Piggott School, and the whole of Aldryngton Primary School’s support staff team.

Each of the Wokingham winners were presented with a certificate and a gift voucher for the contribution they make in Wokingham Borough schools by the borough council’s general manager children’s services Andy Couldrick at a special ceremony on Wednesday (November 25). Andy said: “School support staff play an important role in the smooth running of the borough’s schools and many of them go above and beyond their daily duties. Their efforts are greatly appreciated and they are very much valued by their school communities. I was pleased to present them with their awards along with all those staff who have achieved an academic qualification this year. I congratulate them all on their achievements.”

Caroline Lyness, Wokingham school support staff development officer, said: “Once again, we are delighted to be celebrating the academic and personal achievements of so many school support staff. We have received many nominations from our schools for support staff who go that extra mile or who have faced a personal challenge with a smile on their face. Every single member of support staff who attended the ceremony should feel proud of the way they contribute to their school and this award scheme is a great way to recognise their efforts. This is really good example to set our children and young people to see adults taking up learning opportunities.

Wokingham School support staff also received certificates at the ceremony in recognition of gaining an academic qualification such as adult key skills in literacy and numeracy, support work in schools, first aid, special education needs, foundation degrees, degrees, higher level teaching assistant status and NVQs in various subjects.

Wokingham Borough Council

Wokingham Residents aged 60 and over and 16 and under will be able to take a free dip in the borough’s public pools from January 2010 until March 2011 after Wokingham Borough Council recently joined the national Free Swimming programme. The council will be working in partnership with its leisure contractor (Leisure Connection) and Woodley Town Council to provide free swimming at Loddon Valley Leisure Centre, Carnival Pool and Bulmershe Leisure Centre.

And from Monday November 30, eligible Wokingham residents can register to take up this great offer. In order to do so, they need to complete a registration form and provide evidence of eligibility. They will then receive a membership card which will enable them to swim for free at general swimming sessions at any of the borough’s public pools. Registration forms are available at council offices and facilities across the borough. It can also be downloaded from the council’s website at: www.wokingham.gov.uk/freeswimming

Loddon Valley Leisure Centre in Lower Earley and the Carnival Pool in Wokingham will be accepting registration forms, along with a £2 registration fee, everyday from Monday November 30 until Sunday December 20 between 10am and 8pm. Throughout December, eligible residents can also register at various community locations and full details can be found at: www.wokingham.gov.uk/freeswimming or by calling (0118) 974 6265.

The Wokingham borough council decided not to join the national Free Swimming programme earlier in 2009 because the government funding on offer was insufficient to cover the full costs of the scheme. A number of other councils took the same decision. The council has now been able to negotiate an improved deal which means that free swimming can be offered to the two key age groups without an additional burden on local taxpayers.

As an added benefit, the three public pools will also be entitled to funding from the Amateur Swimming Association for free swimming lessons. Additional funding will also be available to support swimming lessons for hard to reach groups in the two age categories.

It is important to emphasise free swimming will be at no cost to council taxpayers in the Wokingham Borough – it is dependent on continued funding from the government. Cllr Liz Siggery, executive member for Wokingham corporate services, said: “Swimming is the most popular sporting activity in the country and we are pleased to be able to offer the free swimming programme in the Wokingham Borough. We are committed to helping keep our residents active and by joining the programme it is a great opportunity for them to take part in a fun, healthy activity at no cost.”

Neil Carr, head of neighbourhoods, said: “There’s 15 months of free swimming to be had and just think how much fitter eligible residents will feel if they take up this great offer on a regular basis. So don’t delay – sign up today!”

The Free Wokingham Swimming programme will start in January 2010 and will run until March 2011, and will be available to everyone in the Wokingham Borough aged 16 and under and those aged 60 and over. The scheme will run at the borough’s three public pools:
• Loddon Valley Leisure Centre, Lower Earley (operated by Leisure Connection on behalf of the borough council)
• Carnival Pool, Wokingham (operated by Leisure Connection on behalf of the borough council)
• Bulmershe Leisure Centre, Woodley (operated by Woodley Town Council)

By rolling out free swimming at all Wokingham Borough public pools, further funding will become available for swimming lessons for children aged 11 to 17-years and people over 60 who currently cannot swim. These free sessions will enable everyone eligible to have a lesson for an hour a week for up to six weeks without any charge as the cost will be picked up by the Amateur Swimming Association.

Wokingham Borough Council

Get in the Christmas mood on 12 December with two Wokingham Christmas-themed concerts from the Trinity Concert Band.

The Wokingham afternoon concert is a real family event that encourages children to join in the music. On stage, Trinity Concert Band will be joined by two local school choirs, Caversham Park Primary & Aldrynton Primary. As well as singing traditional carols, the audience will be encouraged to join in on the kazoo to accompany the theme tune to Chicken Run.

In the evening, the concert becomes more formal affair, with a mix of Christmas tunes and concert band classics. The audience will still be invited to join in singing carols but can also enjoy listening to a range of music from traditional folk songs to more contemporary pieces right up to the Beatles.
Both concerts are being held at Bearwood College Theatre, Bearwood College, Winnersh, Wokingham, RG41 5BG with the afternoon concert kicking off at 2.30pm with tickets costing £5 Adults and £1 Children. The evening performance starts at 7:30pm and all tickets for this concert are £9.

Trinity Concert Band

Wokingham People living in sheltered housing schemes across Wokingham Borough are being taken to a special Christmas shopping evening in Reading town centre next week.

Wokingham Borough Council’s community wardens have arranged for residents of Dickens Court, Palmer Court and Meacham Court to be taken for free to the festive shopping evening, which is being held to make shopping easier and more fun for older people and those with a disability. The evening has a medieval theme and will feature entertainment such as wandering minstrels, a knight on horseback and a juggling jester. There will also be discounts and refreshments on offer.

Transport will be organised by the Wokingham community wardens and a minibus will be provided for those in wheelchairs. The community wardens will also be able to help people in wheelchairs and those who are less mobile to get around the shops.

The special shopping evening is on from 6pm to 8pm on Monday November 30 and is being organised by Reading Borough Council and Thames Valley Chamber of Commerce.

Wokingham Borough Council

Wokingham Residents who use vans or large trailers to bring household waste to either Smallmead or Longshot Lane are being warned they must pre-book from December 1 onwards.

In common with other local recycling sites, Wokingham re3's new Household Waste Recycling Centres in Reading and Bracknell do not accept trade waste.

Wokingham Businesses that want to use the sites to dispose of waste can continue to do so via the existing trade facilities.

From December 1 this year, Wokingham height barriers will be installed at both Smallmead and Longshot Lane sites to prevent traders passing themselves off as residents and using the facilities to dump trade waste for free.

Very often, Wokingham traders keen to avoid paying - some of whom travel from outside the area - use the site to dump rubbish. Ultimately, it is the local council tax payer who foots the bill for the disposal of this waste.

In order to protect the sites for public use, the height barriers will come into operation in December - preventing vans from entering without phoning ahead.
Any resident who wants to use a van to dispose of waste at either Smallmead or Longshot Lane Household Waste Recycling Centres should call re3 for free on 0800 988 3023. The pre-booking system will also apply to residents using large trailers (over 6ft in length). Vans and large trailers that have not booked in will not be able to access the sites.

Businesses and traders who want to use the waste transfer station facilities at both Smallmead and Longshot Lane to dispose of trade waste can call 0845 0707079 to find out about prices.

re3 is also introducing a waste acceptance policy, which sets limits on the amount of certain types of waste that can be brought to both sites. These limits are set at levels which are consistent with the amount of waste that householders often deliver, again preventing businesses from being able to dispose of larger quantities of waste in the Household Waste Recycling Centres.

The policy doesn't cover all types of waste, but includes soil/rubble, asbestos, paint, household chemicals.

Oliver Burt, re3 Project Manager, said: "The re3 sites are the last in the local area to implement this type of policy and without such measures it's possible that businesses or traders would come from all over the local area to deposit waste at our sites. Obviously this wouldn't be acceptable, either to re3 or to our residents.

"The majority of residents use a car to visit the centres and are unlikely to be affected by these changes. We appreciate this change may inconvenience a small number of residents who routinely use vans or trailers, but we're asking them to be patient and ring ahead before making their journey."

re3 is the partnership between Bracknell Forest, Reading and Wokingham Borough Councils and Waste Recycling Group (WRG) set up to increase the amount of waste that is reused, recycled and composted across the three boroughs and minimise the amount of waste sent to landfill.

Wokingham Borough Council

The Wokingham re3 business waste strategy, which helps companies across central Berkshire bin their bad rubbish and recycling habits, has this month picked up a national Green Apple Award – just weeks after the partnership scooped an accolade for best civic amenity site of the year.

Peter Baveystock, waste and recycling manager from Wokingham Borough Council, collected a Green Apple Award in the Environmental Best Practice category for the work the re3 partnership between Bracknell Forest, Reading and Wokingham Borough Councils and the Waste Recycling Group (WRG) has been doing around reducing business waste in central Berkshire. The prestigious awards are are judged and presented by the Chartered Institute of Waste Management (CIWM).

This Wokingham award comes just weeks after re3 scooped the Civic Amenity Site of the Year gong for Smallmead household waste and recycling centre in the letsrecycle.com awards. It also follows on from residents giving the new re3 recycling centres in Reading and Bracknell top marks in their latest independent user satisfaction surveys - with 98 per cent of people rating the sites as ‘very good’ or good overall.

The Wokingham partnership picked up the Green Apple Award for its business waste strategy, which was approved earlier this year after businesses across central Berkshire were quizzed on their waste and recycling habits in autumn 2008 and asked how the partnership and local authorities could make recycling easier for them.

Wokingham Borough Council’s Peter Baveystock and Steve Pearce, senior environmental consultant at Scott Wilson, the company that carried out research for the project, collected the award at a ceremony in the House of Commons on Tuesday November 17.

The Wokingham waste strategy, which was successful in achieving the Green Apple Award, outlines nine different objectives for the three partnership councils, including:

• To support the reduction of business waste by raising awareness of what business are legally expected to do and providing additional support
• To encourage more local re-use and reprocessing schemes
• To provide, or put in place, suitable recycling collections for all businesses
• To provide more easily available information for businesses on how, what and where to recycle.

Wokingham Borough Council’s Peter Baveystock, said: “I’m pleased that I was able to pick up this award on behalf of the re3 partnership – it demonstrates that yet again re3 is delivering some of the best quality waste and recycling services for the residents, businesses and taxpayers of the three local authorities in central Berkshire and is leading the way nationally in different areas of waste management.

“It was a real privilege to pick it up on the partnership’s behalf and I’d like to thank everyone who has been involved in making the business waste strategy such a success. I hope that other local authorities and waste groups are now able to use some of the ideas we’ve come up in our strategy with to shape their business waste plans in the future.”

Wokingham Borough Council

Back in the summer, Wokingham Borough Council urged local residents to register on the electoral roll this autumn to safeguard their right to vote.

The Wokingham plea came during the annual canvass, which takes place between September and November, when the borough council delivered electoral registration forms to 61,700 households in the Wokingham Borough. And this year’s annual canvass was a massive success with almost 96 per cent (95.7 per cent) of households returning their forms.

The Wokingham register will be published on December 1, and it lists everyone who is eligible to vote at elections. Anyone who is not registered cannot vote. The register is also used by all the main credit companies as a check when anyone wants a mortgage, a loan or even a mobile phone. If they are not listed, residents may find it difficult to get approval for these kinds of services.

This year, Wokingham residents had the opportunity to register by telephone, by returning the completed form through the post or via the internet. And in line with legislation about registering for elections, the borough council also sent canvassers to properties who had not responded to the first two forms. Some 61 canvassers, who had all received special training, visited approximately 10,000 households in the borough at the start of November making it the most successful canvass ever.

Alison Wood, Wokingham electoral services manager, said: “This year the council has seen a record number of households returning their electoral registration forms. If residents aren’t on the electoral roll, they will miss out on the chance to have their say on how the country is run and how services in the Wokingham Borough are provided, which is why we sent a clear message to them to register their vote.

“I would like to thank everyone who took the time to complete the form, and in particular to the canvassers who earlier this month ensured that as many local residents as possible took part in this canvass.”

The Wokingham electoral registration forms are used to compile the 2010 electoral register, and only people listed on the register will be entitled to vote in local and general elections and referendums between December 1, 2009 and November 30, 2010. The register is also revised monthly between December and September, so if people move house or find they are not on the register, they should contact electoral services by telephoning (0118) 974 6522 or 974 6523 in order for their details to be added.

Wokingham Borough Council

Festive music, cakes and crafts will be on offer at the Wokingham Borough’s libraries this winter.

Those who like to get in the Wokingham Christmas spirit early should get to Wokingham Library, in Denmark Street, this Saturday (November 28) for Festive Icing Fun for Families, where children aged two to 11, will have a chance to learn to ice cakes and biscuits. The session at Wokingham Library will be on from 10am to 11am and places must be booked in advance from the library on (0118) 978 2150. Festive Icing Fun will also be on at Lower Earley Library, Chalfont Close, on Saturday December 5 from 10am to 11am and places must be booked in advance from the library on (0118) 931 2150. The cost of both sessions is £1 per child.

Woodley Library in Headley Road, will be taking part in the Woodley Winter Extravaganza on Sunday December 6 when a string quartet from the Reading Symphony Orchestra will be playing seasonal music. There will also be festive crafts and a Festive Icing Fun for Families with children aged two to 12. The fun will run from 1.30pm to 3.30pm and will cost £1 per child.

The Twyford Singers will perform carols and other seasonal tunes at Twyford Library, in Polehampton Close, from 3pm to 4pm on Monday December 7, when mince pies and other refreshments will also be available.

The libraries festive season will come to an end at Wokingham Library with the All Saints Handbell Ringers from 10am to midday on Saturday December 19.

Wokingham Borough Council

Wokingham Borough Council is warning residents not to be taken in by a bogus organisation that has been trying to get bank account details from people in by telling them they have overpaid their Council Tax and are owed a refund.

The Wokingham con artists have been cold calling people (by telephoning or in person) and informing them that they have a Council Tax refund due them and then asking for bank account details and also asking for a payment in advance of the refund.

Wokingham Borough Council will not telephone or call on residents asking for their bank account details if they are due a refund. Residents will be informed in writing.

The Wokingham council would also like to make it clear that residents do not need to pay any money in advance or provide bank account details to receive a Council Tax overpayment refund.

Any resident who receives a bogus Council Tax refund call should contact Thames Valley Police on the non-emergency number 0845 8 505 505 or Wokingham Borough Council’s revenue team on (0118) 974 6029.

Wokingham Borough Council