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Thursday 28 July 2016

Summer Re-surfacing Works' Schedule

Reading Borough Council’s annual summer road resurfacing is due to begin on Monday 8 August.

The only road in Caversham Heights on the list scheduled for resurfacing and traffic management is the Upper Woodcote Road in 2 sections: Richmond Road to Woodcote Way and Blagrave Lane to house no 188.  The road is due to be closed 3 days 9.30 am to 3.30 pm 9th August to 11th August.  The whole project is expected to last four weeks, weather permitting.

Advance notices will be in place in the days before work on a road begins. Notification letters will also be delivered to nearby residents and businesses affected, detailing the length of the works. Signed diversions will be in operation when road closures are required.
In some instances, temporary parking restrictions on roads other than those mentioned in the list below will be necessary for the work to be carried out as quickly and safely as possible.

The full list of roads scheduled for resurfacing and traffic management required is as follows:
  1. Beresford Road (Rail Bridge to Barnwood Close and Portman Road between Beresford Road and Ashmere Terrace). Roads closed for 2 days 8.00 am to 8.00 pm 8th August to 9th August
  2. Upper Woodcote Road (2 sections Richmond Road to Woodcote Way and Blagrave Lane to house no 188). Road closed 3 days 9.30 am to 3.30 pm 9th August to 11th August
  3. Kings Road (Duke Street to Watlington Street). Road closed 3 days 8.00 am to 8.00 pm 11th August to 12th August and 15th August.
  4. Basingstoke Road (Craddock Road to Winchester Road). Lane closures 1 day 8.00 am to 8.00 pm 16th August
  5. Caversham Road (Abattoirs Road to Northfield Road). Road closed 3 nights 7.00 pm to 1.00 am 17th August to 19th August
  6. The Forbury Road (Valpy Street to Abbots Walk). Road closed 2 nights 7.00 pm to 1.00 am 22nd August to 23 August
  7. Kings Road (Gas Works Road to no 179 Kings Road). Lane closures 5 nights 5.00 pm to 1.00 am 29th August to 2nd September and 5th September
  8. Caversham Road (Thames Avenue to Brigham Road). Road closed westbound 1 night 7.00 pm to 1.00 am 6th September
  9. Northumberland Avenue (Canterbury Road to Cressingham Road). Road closed 2 days 8.00 am to 8.00pm 7th September to 9th September
NB: All programmed dates are subject to change depending on weather conditions

Wednesday 13 July 2016

The Heights Sub-Committee Decides to Investigate Further the EFA’s Proposal

View across Mapledurham Playing Fields
from the Pavilion
At last night's "The Heights Free School Sub-Committee" meeting a decision was taken to investigate further the EFA’s proposal to purchase a leasehold interest of a small portion of Mapledurham Playing Fields (MPF) on which to build a permanent home for The Heights primary school.

The whole meeting was recorded on RBC’s webcast and can be viewed here.

Over 30 questions from the public had been tabled but there was only time for 11 of these to be put to the committee within the allotted half hour time slot.  Residents used their democratic right to grill the new chair, Cllr Debs Edwards, on many aspects of the proposal and how her committee was going to conduct itself.  Cllr Edwards answered the questions, sometimes deferring to the legal advice provided by Chris Brooks, RBC’s Head of Legal, sat next to her.

Immediately after the public questions, Mr Brooks was invited to provide the committee with his legal advice on the report.  He stated that this was the start of a statutory process and that at each stage a report would be brought back to the Sub-Committee and the common thread that will run through the decisions is that the Sub-Committee must act in the best interests of the charity.  Mr Brooks clarified the reason why the Sub-Committee could contemplate a proposal, which on the face of it to "perplexed" objectors challenged the Trust, by explaining: 
“there is a possibility that the outcome of this proposal may well be in the best interests of the beneficiaries of the charity [see * below].  By that I mean that the facilities that are to be provided, the money which would allow improvement for example of the recreation ground, those are matters that the councillors have to consider and do so with an open mind.  And the advice that I have received and I’ve given myself is:- to arbitrarily reject the proposal without considering it fully would actually be not acting in the best interests: But that might actually seem perverse to some people, but nevertheless that is the position that myself and my expert legal advisers have advised the Sub Committee.”
This was followed [at about 32 minutes in] with five minutes “in favour” of the EFA’s proposal split between Dan Pagella (a Trustee of The Heights) and Kerry Parr (a parent of The Heights); five minutes “against” from Martin Brommell (chair of the MPF Action Group) and finally a speech  from me on behalf of Mapledurham Ward residents and Users of MPF. 
Copy of my speech to the Sub-Committee

A synopsis of which is: I declared that the majority of my community is supportive of The Heights going on a small part of MPF; that the MPF Action Group campaigned unsuccessfully against my re-election because I refused to join their fight against the school going on MPF; that MPF Action Group represents only a small minority of the community (otherwise I would not have been re-elected because of remaining open-minded about the EFA’s proposal’s potential benefits to the MPF Trust).  On behalf of Mapledurham Ward residents and MPF users I asked the Sub-Committee to acknowledge the need to bring back the Pavilion’s facilities as soon as is possible; and to please support the popular view as well as the legal advice of Chris Brooks, that the best interests of the Charity would be met by considering the EFA’s proposal in more detail.

The Committee then asked questions of Mr Brooks and put their views to Cllr Edwards [at about 37 minutes in].  This enabled Mr Brooks to inform the committee of the answer to one of the unasked questions (tabled by Robin Bentham, WADRA’s chairman) which essentially asked whether the listing as an Asset of Community Value of the Pavilion together with its entrance and car park could prevent the EFA from buying a landlocked part of MPF.  Mr Brooks informed the committee that this would not impact on the future use of the land as a Free School. 

The meeting finished with a recorded vote, with all members deciding to support the EFA’s proposal being further investigated.

*  Since posting the above account I was contacted by Mr Brooks. Having considered his statement (quoted above) he has informed me that he should have been more specific and not added the reference to the beneficiaries. I am happy to clarify the legal point at his request that the Trustees act in the best interests of the Charity.

Friday 1 July 2016

Action Against Idling Engines in Taxi Ranks

At Tuesday's full council meeting on behalf of a Mapledurham Ward resident I raised concerns about the pollution caused by idling diesel engines in taxi ranks.

I am pleased to say that Cllr Tony Page acknowledged the problem, agreed to look into the matter and bring back a report to the appropriate committee later this year.

GetReading coverage can be read here.