Redlands Liberal Democrats

Proposed street drinking restriction - Redlands area

You may have seen in the press that an extension to the existing 'Drinking Control Area' is currently being proposed by the police and RBC officers under Section 13 of the Criminal Justice Act 2001. This restriction will cover a vast area including all of Redlands ward (see the map below, the blue section is the extension).

The Police have requested that the council, under discretionary powers, impose this to help combat drunken ASB. The act provides new police powers to deal with anti-social drinking within the specific area. What this means is that the police have the power to confiscate intoxicating liquor (in any container) from an individual who the police believe intends to drink it on the street. Failure to comply with a Police officer's requirements without reasonable excuse is an arrestable offence. A person guilty of such an offence will be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding £500.

We hope that this scheme will, indeed, result in reduced instances of ASB in our ward, and we will be monitoring its progress with great interest.

Please continue to report any instances of ASB to the  Reading Thames Valley Police number on 0845 8 505 505, and the RBC ASB line on 08456 605 2222.

Should you have any objections to the proposals, they should be sent in writing to the Civic centre (C/O John Wright) quoting reference TC2850/721 by no later than Friday 21 November 2008.

Meeting with the Royal Berks Hospital to discuss local issues

 

Glenn and I went to meet senior staff at the Royal Berks Hospital today to discuss primarily parking issues around the Hospital (following the demise of the RBH park & ride bus). It was good to hear that the Hospital is actively promoting car-sharing and 'green travel', alongside reviewing existing parking provision on site. We hope this will go some way to reducing overspill parking in local roads. 

It was very interesting to get their perspective and hear about the negative impact traffic and congestion around the Hospital is having on staff and visitors, as well as local residents. A recent survey found that traffic and parking was one of the main sources of frustration for staff at the Hospital. Access problems are also making it difficult for patients and visitors to get to and from the Hospital, which obviously needs addressing. Glenn discussed bus provision and is hoping to set up a meeting between Reading Buses and the Hospital management to explore what if anything can be done to make life easier for staff and patients getting to and from the Hospital.

Other issues we discussed included the lack of affordable housing for Hospital staff (which is having an effect on recruitment and retention) and the problems faced by some staff living in private rented accomodation. I will be contacting Reading Borough Council to see if more can be done to address the housing needs of staff working at the Hospital.

Glenn discussed the possibility of promoting recycling and cutting down cigarette litter at the Hospital which seemed to go down well. He's going to take this up with RBC (including the possibility of introducing bottle banks or similar).

I raised the possibility of linking the work of the Friends of Eldon Square Gardens with the League of Friends of Reading Hospitals, a charitable organisation based at the RBH.We would like to do this to help promote the Gardens to staff and visitors and to look at ways of potentially finding volunteers to help maintain them. Glenn also discussed the idea of working with the Hospital to plant a small number of trees around the edge of the Hospital, which I think is a great idea.

We all agreed that regular meetings between the Hospital and ourselves would be a good thing, with plenty of issues and ideas we could share for the benefit of patients, staff and the local area. All in all a very worthwhile meeting and hopefully the start of a fruitful dialogue.

A lesson of averages

There was a lot of coverage last week about the A-level and GCSE results including a few comments from me.

I didn't really agree with the triumphant tone of the Council's press department, which highlighted average performances in the town and compared them with those of other boroughs.

For one thing, Reading has two large Grammar schools whose figures count to the overall total - Reading School for boys, and Kendrick for girls. The problem is that these schools draw bright pupils from across Berkshire (in fact as far away as London), and comparatively few from Reading. The results from these schools push up the averages but do they really benefit Reading's children?

Reading also has a large Academy school, John Madejski, whose figures (somewhat lower than the average for the rest of the town) aren't counted, as it is funded and run by central government. It is an improving school but excluding the results from the average will push the average up.

Reading also does not have a comprehensive secondary school in the central area, which means a number of students from this area go outside the Borough to go to school in Wokingham. So their results aren't counted either.

And frustratingly, there are some very good schools at secondary level who help their pupils make more progress than many others in the country, but who draw from deprived areas. These schools need more resources and help from parents to help their students reach the 5 GCSEs plus maths and English at A*-C that will mean they can confidently enter the workplace or further study.

Yet because the average across the borough is good, these schools tend to be starved by the Government of the resources needed.

In short, be careful what you read when you see averages!

Newtown NAG needs you!

The Newtown NAG group met on Tuesday at St. John & St. Stephens church. You should be hearing more about this NAG soon since there are some 3400 newsletters to go out (of which I have volunteered to deliver some).

Unfortunately, there was a very low turn-out and I was the only councillor present. This could well have been because of the poor weather - But I urge anyone in the catchment area to attend the next meeting. It has three priories (Drugs, ASB and environmental issues) and is a good place to bring ASB issues to the attention of the Police and attempt to find solutions.

The Police want to hear from residents about what the major crime issues are locally so it is important local residents have their say.

The proposed 'Drinking Control Area' was discussed, Kevin Sinfield said he'd asked for this to prevent ASB. This will cover a vast area across reading, and enables the police to remove alcoholic drinks from individuals they believe may commit ASB. It also give the police the power of arrest and can impose a £500 fine on those who refuse to comply.

Crime rates are up in the area by 9.7 %, and of the 75 Drug offences all were cannabis related. Interestingly, the police have successfully closed the 'hash supermarket' which was operating out of Mandela Court. However, the problem has now moved on to an other road. Burglary's were down, but this has led to an increase in car theft and theft from cars. Residents are reminded not to leave laptops or bags on display in their cars.

The next meeting will be held on Wednesday 26 November 2008 at St John & St. Stephen's Church (121-147 Orts Rd, Reading, RG1 3JN - see map below) from 7 to 9pm, I believe there will be tea/coffee available.

View Larger Map

Motorbike nuisance, vandalism and sticking plaster approaches

A little while ago I blogged an article about ongoing anti-social behaviour in and around Bede Walk. Things went from bad to worse at the weekend as vandals targetted the newly installed anti-motorbike barriers. Thankfully, the Council and Police have been quick to respond in relation to the criminal damage offences and repairing the damage.

However, my concern, and the concern of residents I've spoken to is the wider issue of how to deal effectively with anti-social behaviour in this part of the ward. What plans does the Council and Police have in place to tackle the wider issue of a campaign of anti-social behaviour targetted on this particular area? It is this ongoing low-level anti-social behaviour which is going untreated that is leaving residents feeling very demoralised.

This discussion is very much linked in with the speech I made to Council attacking Labour's flawed anti-social behaviour strategy a couple of weeks ago, proposing a more enlightened, Lib Dem approach.

I have written to the Council and the Police today requesting an urgent meeting with local residents to discuss what can be done in the future to more effectively reduce crime on the Walk. One way might be to increase patrols of PCSOs and Neighbourhood Wardens in the area. This is something residents were promised as part of the roll-out of Neighbourhood Policing.

Either way, officers need to speak to local residents and listen to their day to day experience of anti-social behaviour to try and understand what's really going on: this can't be worked out by sitting behind a desk at the Civic Centre or the Police Station.

The destruction of the barriers earlier in the week sends a clear message that simply sticking them in the ground and walking away will not stop the motorbikes or the anti-social behaviour of certain individuals. The whole community needs to be engaged by the Council and Police in thinking about how this type of behaviour can be reduced, community intelligence gathered and an action plan agreed.

The approach of both bodies at the moment sadly amounts to a sticking plaster which may patch things up temporarily but fails fundamentally to address the underlying crime issues or offer reassurance to local residents going forward.

A short film about skips

My friend and colleague Cllr Warren Swaine has produced this video  to illustrate the scourge of the overfull skip in many of the terraced streets in Redlands.

Improving Hexham Road Estate for the residents that live there

Our campaign to make Hexham Road a better place to live in took another step forward this week with the launch of the launch of the Council's estate improvement plan consultation. The consultation being carried out by the Council includes a range of questions about what issues residents think need to be tackled on the estate from improving the environment, to quality of housing and anti-social behaviour. 

In accordance with Labour government policy, the Council in Reading has spent millions of pounds on improving the condition of the housing stock in Reading, including Hexham Road, to bring it up to Decent Homes standard. However, there is more to our neighbourhoods than bricks and mortar - the local environment of our estates must also be improved and crime reduced so people feel safe walking around. As I've said before, we need decent homes and decent communities!

This consultation which focusses on quality of life is at last recognition of this fact.

This afternoon, we went knocking on doors to encourage people to take part in the consultation and to listen to local people's views. 

Loads of issues came up including concerns about road safety, lack of parking for residents, lack of facilities for young people and fear of crime. We have been pressing the Council to do something about parking issues on the estate for ages. It will be very useful if this issue comes up as part of the consultation process as it will help get the Council to acknowledge there is a problem.  

A few days ago a young girl was knocked down and injured by a car travelling at speed down Hexham Road. The Post recently ran an article about this tragedy. We will be taking up this issue strongly with the Council and pressing for action to reduce speeding and improve road safety.

One of the most telling comments that came up as we went round was (from a resident living on Hadrians Walk West): "My family has lived in this house since 1967 and this is the first time the Council has ever asked me my view about the estate and what I would like to see improved". We believe strongly in community empowerment: working with people to improve our communities, doing things with people instead of to people.

This is just the beginning of the first real attempt by the Council to engage local people to find out what the issues on the estate are that need to be tackled. Whatever changes go forward as a result of this survey must have the support and consent of the community. In short they need to be in response to issues that local people have raised with the Council.

We will post regular updates about this process as it progresses.

And not forgetting our road resurfacing campaign...

Just so readers of this blog don't think we forget about campaigns begun earlier in the year, I thought I'd remind the Labour-run Council that we are still campaigning for a number of roads in Redlands to be resurfaced as a matter of urgency. There's also still time to sign our petition on the subject.

Road Resurfacing in Redlands Ward

"When in the Council's programme of works are the following roads in Redlands ward likely to be resurfaced: Blenheim Road, Carnarvon Road, De Beauvoir Road, Donnington Gardens, Hatherley Road, Hexham Road and Malvern Court?"

REPLY by Councillor Page (Lead Councillor for Planning and Transport):

"Each road in Reading will receive a condition inspection, depending upon its classification, but as a minimum annually. If during this inspection the Highways Inspector considers that the road condition is poor then he/she will add this road to the list for detailed engineering investigation and assessment. An annual resurfacing programme is then produced based on the relative conditions of the roads. As you might expect with limited funds available, it is not possible to resurface all roads assessed and in this instance the Highways Department will prioritise those roads in the worst condition. I would expect the Highways Department to inspect these roads as part of their routine inspection regime however I will ensure that this list is passed to them so that they are aware of your concerns."

Well, we can but try and while I still have the energy we will keep on nagging until something gets done about this :)

Cintra Avenue travellers: were lessons learned by RBC?

Earlier this year we joined residents in pressing for action by Reading Borough Council to prevent traveller incursions on the green at Cintra Avenue.

Going forward, I wanted to know if Council officers had learned from the delays and problems in relation to this issue so that future problems could be reduced if not avoided altogether.

See below the public question I put to the Lead Member for Environment, Cllr Paul Gittings, last Tuesday evening and the answer he gave:

Traveller Incursions on Public Open Spaces

"What lessons have been learned by the Council in relation to handling traveller incursions on public open spaces in Reading following recent problems on Cintra Avenue and does the Council have any plans to revise its policies to improve their effectiveness?"

REPLY by Councillor Hoskin (Lead Councillor for Culture and Sport):

"When travellers visit an open space, dealing with the problems this causes and moving the travellers from the site is given the highest priority by the Council’s Parks Team.

At Cintra Park there was a significant change in the pattern of traveller visits. In the past, 6 months could be expected to elapse between incursions. However, in April this year the first traveller encampment for many years arrived; this was followed 2 weeks after they left by a second incursion. A third visit followed about another 2 weeks after eviction of the second group, but they were quickly moved by the police as it included travellers from a previous incursion, contravening a court order obtained by the council. In June a new group of travellers moved into Reading and on to land at Cintra in the week during which work to secure the site was due to commence.
The increased likelihood of subsequent encampments quickly following an initial visit is now acknowledged, and steps to secure a site where possible and appropriate can be implemented more quickly. We are now able to source materials and labour more quickly to install barriers to make traveller access to sites more difficult, while minimising the visual impact on the landscape.
Given past experience with locks’ and steel work’s being cut, installing barriers will reduce the likelihood of further incursions, but cannot be 100% effective. This must considered alongside cost. An assessment is made on; the likelihood of subsequent visits, the impact travellers have on neighbouring properties, the ease and effectiveness of installing barriers and cost, to determine what action will be taken. In addition the likely impact of such action will also be considered, simply displacing the encampments a few hundred metres up the road may be counter productive and as well expensive. Installation of barriers is not always the most appropriate action.
In recent years the Council has been improving the way in which it deals with travellers. A traveller liaison officer has now been employed for over a year to co-ordinate the Council’s response to these incursions. This has resulted in better communication with the Police and enforcement bodies as well as ensuring that the Council undertakes its statutory welfare duties, particularly where travellers’ children are involved.

As part of this ongoing process of reviewing and improving how the Council deals with travellers, senior officers of both the Police and the Council are working to undertake joint enforcement to tackle both unauthorised encampments and associated unacceptable behaviour.
The Council is working to minimise the negative impact travellers make, but has to work within a statutory framework, limiting the action the Council and other enforcement bodies can take."

Hopefully the fencing that we successfully campaigned to get the Council to install on Cintra Avenue will do the trick, but only time will tell to see whether RBC has learned any lessons about how to handle these incursions better when they occur elsewhere in Reading in future.

Lib Dem approach to tackling anti-social behaviour in the news

Yesterday the Evening Post covered my call for a more joined-up approach to tackling anti-social behaviour. You can read the article here.

It includes this direct quote from my speech:

“Residents in Reading said in the council’s own residents’ survey last year that tackling crime and anti-social behaviour should be the council’s second highest priority after sorting out traffic congestion.

“The deeply disappointing message this decision sends out is that neither Labour nor the Tories consider tackling anti-social behaviour seriously enough for it to be a priority.”