Following Kirsten's recent update we had good news today from officers who confirmed that fencing is on track to be installed in the next few weeks on Cintra Avenue. We have been pressing RBC for months to do more to protect the green area and at last there seems to be progress.
Just to say a big thank you to everyone who attended the launch of the Friends of Eldon Square Gardens last Thursday. It was a great evening - we were lucky enough to have fantastic weather and very interesting speakers (including Lord Reading, descendant of Rufus Isaacs, 1st Marquess of Reading, who's statue adornes the Gardens).
As you can see from this photo, Rufus is looking so clean he's practically glowing! The best he's looked in years, I reckon.
After a very successful, long-running Lib Dem campaign to get the Council to restore these Gardens, I was really chuffed by the high turnout at the event, particularly of people who live nearby. It just shows how important local green spaces are to people - just needs a bit of time spent on talking to them and involving them in decision-making (radical idea!).
There were plenty of ideas from the floor about what a Friends group might consist of, including suggestions of a Fete next year and even Wi Fi in the Gardens! Legitimate concerns were raised about crime and anti-social behaviour: we are keen to ensure that these issues don't spoil things.
The most important thing is the Friends group is led by people who use the Gardens, for local people - it shouldn't be a Council-led thing.
We will be meeting again next month to plan future events and works in the Gardens - more details to follow here.
The restoration of the King George V Memoral Gardens (better known as Eldon Square), off Eldon Road continues apace. Today Parks officers informed us that the hard landscaping work should be completed by 12 May, which is a little later than planned. The reason for the delay is the fact that tree roots have been exposed as part of the works which required a slight tweak to the design to ensure that the wheelchair access to the Gardens could be maintained.
The Parks team have told us that they anticipate the Gardens will be re-opened to the public around Friday 16 May, all being well. I will obviously post here if this is likely to change.
Next week the soft landscaping i.e. plants of shrubs and plants begins and things will really start to take shape.
I will be be working with officers to set up the inaugural meeting of the Friends of Eldon Square Gardens, which we hope will take place in June.
Please contact me direct if you have any queries about this exciting project to transform this historic piece of open space.
Many residents have noticed the large number of tree stumps which are s cattered around Redlands ward, and in particular Eastern avenue, Addingon and Erleigh roads. They are quite ugly and replacing them with new tree's would be the marked improvement.
I have asked RBC Environment and Planning Dept. if they had a strategy to replace them and they answered:
"So far we only have a draft tree strategy which was [drafed] by Planning Support. There are many problems with replacing street trees & a proper policy is necessary. I would like to replace the trees, & have left the stumps so that the site is not tarmaced over or lost to other services in the meantime."
We will be pushing for a strategy to be implemented soon so as our streets can bloom once more.
I had an update today from the Council's Parks team about the project to regenerate Eldon Square Gardens. This project is very close to my heart. I have been campaigning for the RBC to restore these Gardens since 2005 and I'm delighted to see the hard work now going in to do just that.
Since I last posted, a number of large and overgrown shrubs have been removed and trees pruned back. This has made the Gardens a lot more open and in keeping with the traditional design. As part of the new layout, 7 new trees have also been planted.
One of the best things to happen recently has been the installation of new lighting around the Gardens. This is something I have been asking the Council to do for a long time. I hope the lighting will make people feel safer and in turn attract more visitors to the Park.
There is a lot more work to be done on the Gardens before the restoration is complete including hard and soft landscaping. Care needs to be taken with the timetabling of further works as the bird nesting season will soon be upon us. We are very lucky to have someone managing the project at RBC who is incredibly concientious and sensitive to these types of things, so I'm sure everything will go well.
Anyway, very soon I will have details of the first meeting of the Friends of Eldon Square Gardens, which will be open to everyone who is interested in preserving this unique space for future generations to enjoy. I think it it's really important that local people who use open spaces can input into the way they are managed, which is why I campaigned for the group to be set up.
Contact me if you want more details of the regeneration of Eldon Square Gardens or if you want to get involved in the Friends group.
What on earth are they? and why do they matter? (you must be wondering).
Well, this picture should hopefully help. It shows me and Glenn by a grass verge on Newcastle Road which has got badly churned up due to cars parking on it.
As I've said before, parking or lack of it, is increasingly becoming a problem on Hexham Road estate. Damaged verges are merely a symptom of the problem.
What is needed in the medium to long-term is a review of parking provision on the estate,
As part of a short term solution we have succeeded in getting the Council to install bollards on the grass verges to prevent further damage. The fact the Council calls them rustic is quite funny given Reading isn't exactly countryfied!
Anyhow, the grass verge in this picture should be getting its own rustic bollards shortly.
I wanted to highlight two important consultations recently launched by RBC (click on the links to take part):
Redlands ward includes at least one designated Air Quality Management Area: Cemetery Junction. The monitoring station at the Junction has found air quality in this area to be very poor. In fact, a report last year found it to be one of the worst places for carbon emissions in the UK . As someone who lives sandwiched between Kings Road and London Road I know what it's like to feel like you're living in the centre of a traffic jam, with the air quality to match.
The Lib Dems are keen to see the Council do more to lead to a reduction in emissions in busy parts of Reading such as this. One of the many flaws of Labour's ill-fated One Way IDR plan was that research by the Council's own consultants found that it would not have a significant impact on reducing CO2 emissions. Kirsten is keeping a close eye on this agenda as a member of the Council's Green City Forum.
We wait to see what firm measures come out of the Council's laudable Climate Challenge Partnership Group.
As most cyclists in Reading would no doubt agree, Reading desperately needs better facilities for cyclists which means more cycle lanes and more safe places to leave bikes. This is something the Lib Dems have included in our submission to the Council's 'Congestion Commission'. It's in everyone's interests to make cycling more attractive - especially those pedestrians who get cross about cyclists using the pavements! Cycle routes in Reading are fragmented and do not link up.
I would like to see Reading Council be much more innovative about cycling. This article in last Saturday's Guardian explains an idea that Aylesbury is trialling to get more people into the saddle. I was pleased to see Ken following the Parisian example by installing free bikes for hire in parts of London. This is the sort of thing we need in Reading.
I'm glad cycle security is included in the consultation. The most recent crime stats released by the Police showed that cycle theft in Reading is on the rise compared to other offences in Reading.
Several of my friends who cycle have reported at least one bike theft in the past 12 months, some even up to four! The Post reported last year that one bike is stolen every day from Reading Station - hardly an incentive to people getting out of the car and taking up cycling.
Replacing bikes every five minutes is an expensive business that also has a disproportionate effect on young people and students in Reading, as well as those on lower incomes. I've raised this issue with the Police and the Council at Safer Reading Campaign meetings and I wait to see if things improve.
Do take the time to have your say and these two important issues.
The run up to Christmas is supposed to be a time of reflection, as everyone winds down for the year.
Well, that's not quite how it works in Redlands!
Much of Saturday was spent in Whitley, at a meeting with victims of the floods in July. So many people are still homeless, or living in a few rooms in flood-damaged properties: their stories were ever so moving. There are a number of residents on the Hexham estate who were affected and remain very worried. I spoke at the meeting and called on the Council and Thames Water to do everything they could to help residents back into their homes, to do what they can now to repair as many drains as they could, and then to make the strategic investments needed to deal with the likely effects of climate change.
Last Thursday and Friday evenings were spent with the Neighbourhood Action Group, where we were joined by Chief Constable Thornton of Thames Valley Police. Her presence reflected both the success of the NAG, as well as the importance the Police are giving to neighbourhood policing. It really is delivering improvements in crime and antisocial behaviour in our area, though there is still a lot to do and Daisy and I remain worried that our best officers get poached by the Met.
On Wednesday, at Planning Applications Committee, the Council revealed its planning enforcement performance has dropped sharply, in terms of time taken to investigate cases, and the number of enforcement notices served. This was an issue I highlighted back in September, and I am sorry to say that the numbers were worse than expected. I will be meeting with Reading's head of planning to see what can be done to address this issue, especially for those areas with a high demand for enforcement activity (such as the streets off Erleigh Rd).
The second part of Chris Huhne's visit to Reading took us to Reading University Students' Union to look at Reading's first reverse recycling machine as part of RUSU's 'Go Green' week. The machine accepts used drinks cans and bottles in exchange for tokens that are redeemable in Union shops on Campus. What a great idea.
Chris was rightly impressed by the students' commitment to encouraging sustainable living. If only Reading Borough Council would follow their lead and introduce these machines in public places like schools and colleges - or even in the Oracle. Recycling may begin at home but I see no reason why it shouldn't be extended into streets and places where people congregate. This happens in London - why not in Reading?
Anyway, green to his fingertips and after fielding lots of interesting questions from Reading University students ranging from Labour's plans to extend the period of detention without charge to 56 days for terror suspects, to cash for peerages, to Chomsky, Chris and his team sped off to Eastleigh...in his Prius, naturally ;-)
I noticed a lot of leaf fall on streets around the ward this week and swiftly reported this to the Council's streetcare team. I am pleased to report that Redlands Road, Morgan Road, Kendrick Road and Christchurch Road have received special attention as known 'hot spot' areas and will continue to do so throughout the autumn. Please let us know of any streets near you that need clearing.
...Lib Dem controlled Islington recycle leaves that are collected from the Borough's streets. I wonder whether RBC could adopt this policy too?
