Students living in Redlands will shortly be moving out of our area and heading off for their summer holidays or graduating.
We really enjoy the opportunity we get as councillors to meet young people living in our area and to witness the enjoyment they clearly derive from living in Redlands - an area which is very popular with students due to its close proximity to the University and plentiful housing.
As around 50% of our electorate in Redlands are students we work hard all year round to represent them on the Council, from campaigning to improve the quality of student housing, to campaigns for cheaper bus fares and better bus routes and student safety (notably better street-lighting).
However, along with with lack of available on-street parking, one of the downsides for all residents living in a densely-populated area such as Redlands is what to do about excess waste.
Many properties are converted into Houses of Multiple Occupation (HMOs) for students and others and often one black bin (for non-recyclable waste) and one red bin(for recycling) is not enough for a household of maybe 5 or more adults.
RBC Streetcare officers have done an excellent job of providing additional bins where they are needed to large households but sometimes even extra bins don't tackle the problem.
In previous years the end of the University term has seen a build up of waste at student properties around Erleigh Road as students struggle to dispose of waste.
We campaigned long and hard to get the Council to carry out waste extra collections at this time of year to deal with the build up of waste and we are pleased this is now happening every year.
In addition, we successfully campaigned for bottle banks to be introduced into the ward for the first time. It's hard to believe that before 2008 there were no glass recycling facilities in Redlands whatsoever.
Labour-run Reading Borough Council is one of the few councils which does not provide door step glass recycling: a policy the Lib Dems in Reading are actively campaigning to see changed.
The Erleigh Road bottle banks have been very popular, so much so we have had on several occasions had to ask the Council to increase the frequency of collections from this site.
We believe that the University of Reading should do more to share the Council's burden in its efforts to keep our streets clean and green. I have gone so far as to say the University should part-fund an additional environmental liaison officer for the University area to help the Council's resources go further.
Constituents collar me regularly to complain about waste issues in their area (most recently the complaint was about rats!). And they are right to do so, in my view.
The way local streets look and feel have a big impact on people's perception of their neighbourhood, as well as their quality of life. This matters to us as ward councillors.
This issue was also raised many times during our recent private rented housing scrutiny review and as a result we agreed a number of recommendations which call on the University to do more. I will be meeting University officers with RBC soon to seek progress.
I am pleased that the University is continuing to issue students with guidance in the form of leaflets about to dispose of waste when they move out, as well as additonal black bin bags, in response to our campaign. There is still more the University could do, I feel, to fulfill it's responsibilities as a good neighbour.
However, my concern continues to be that students need more help disposing of bulky items such as sofas and mattresses. Every summer these household items litter local streets and front gardens around Redlands. Students may get the blame for it but often this problem is caused by landlords leaving items outside properties they let.
Earlier this year we successfully campaigned to get the Labour-controlled Council to reform it's failed waste policy which imposed charges on all households (except pensioner) for collection enabling many residents to qualify for free collections. Find out if you are eligible for free collections here.
We hope this policy change will help to reduce dumping and fly-tipping of rubbish in streets around the University.
However, for those landlords and others who fail to dispose of their rubbish as they should we are campaigning to get the Council to take enforcement action for the benefit of all other residents who do their bit to keep our neighbourhoods clean and tidy.
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