Katesgrove Lib Dems

New Whitley Street Public Toilets

As many people passing by will have noticed, the new public conveniences at Whitley Street have been nearly, but not quite open for some weeks now.

The contractors' Christmas holidays, combined with the weather either side of it, have caused a delay.  However, having pressed for a completion date, I've been told that 5 February is the target.

I hope people can wait that long!

As the Council's Access Forum heard in the autumn, the new facilities will improve the experience for those needing to use public conveniences - particularly those with young children or problems getting about.  Compared to other councils like Wokingham - who've closed all their public loos - this looks like good news.

Dog Days

Do you use the road, pavement or someone else's garden as a toilet?

I imagine the answer is 'no'.

So why are there people who treat the areas around them as one?

I refer to the irresponsible dog owners who seem to have taken in particular to using the areas around New Christ Church School and the Aveley Walk childrens' play area as open toilets.  The fact that it is dog mess being left does not make it any better.

Over the weekend I walked the area with other Liberal Democrat campaigners and was shocked at the way just about every street and walkway had been smeared.  I've just come back from an Environmental Visual Audit with the police and Council's Streetcare team, and we noticed just the same thing.

One patch of land in particular was bad enough that I couldn't attach the photo of it - it was obscene.

PCSOs and Council officers have powers to issue an on-the-spot fixed penalty for anyone caught in the act - of £75.  Put an extra 0 on the end of that and you would begin to get near the sort of penalty I'd like to see these people given.

Maybe these dog owners want to give children toxocariasis, tapeworms, crysptosporidiosis, campylobacter or one of the other diseases contained in dog faeces?

Not all dog owners behave in this way, but there are plenty of less harmful activities where public outcry leads to real action much tougher than a £75 fine.

Meanwhile I'm demanding the Council takes action to put dog mess bins up in areas where it's clear they are needed, and does use its powers to fine the disgusting individuals who let their dogs foul our streets and pavements. 

Action on empty homes - it's a win-win, and a Lib Dem issue

Yesterday, by a remarkable coincidence, the launch of the Liberal Democrats' manifesto pledge to bring Britain's empty homes back into use came at the same time as a press release from Reading Borough Council, trumpeting the success of the action it has been taking.

Empty homes (which this one had been too) can cause real problems for residents as well as being a stain on the local environment.  We've never really understood why Governments are happy to tolerate properties lying empty when people are desperate for a roof over their head.

Here, I've been campaigning to tackle empty homes in Katesgrove and Reading since before my election.  I moved a motion in October 2007 which succeeded in bringing forward an Empty Homes Strategy, backed by resources to make it happen, after several frustrating encounters because officers had no such document to follow.  Since then and the recruitment of some excellent staff, progress has been made.  Some Katesgrove properties have been easier than others - 41 South Street, which was a real eyesore, has been fitted out and painted and should be occupied very soon.  A pair of semis on Winchester Road - which were used for dumping - have also been brought back into use.  Some others, unfortunately, may take longer for various reasons.  The continuing saga of the four tumbledown houses at 67-73 Southampton Street - the possible location for a Community Garden - is a case in point.  I have this week pressed the Council again to move this on.

The Council has succeeded in bringing three long-term empty properties into use.  But there are over 500 (by their estimation) in Reading, and if you count the figures used by councils for the Council Tax Base calculations - official Government figures - the real total in Reading rises to over 2,500.

I'm personally delighted that Nick Clegg and Vince Cable have put this at the heart of our manifesto.  It is a real win-win.  It creates jobs; makes much better use of resources (and is sustainable in the true sense of the word) and embodies fairness.  Much more could be done to remove red tape - which slows down the processes of bringing empty properties back into use.  The Liberal Democrat action plan would take the good start made in Reading following a Liberal Democrat lead.  It would take it nationally, providing thousands of families with a roof over their head; reducing the need for inappropriate development; and creating 65,000 jobs in the process.  That's the sort of good news we like.  Now over to the other parties from whom on empty homes the silence is deafening.

Snow update

It's very pretty outside (and there are some really fine works of art taking shape), though travelling conditions are very difficult.  Much of the Town Centre was already closed when I walked through it earlier, though snow clearing was taking place in earnest.

The Council's plans this time seem to have worked - major and secondary routes have responded to gritting well, even with the volume of snow.  Freezing temperatures are forecast this evening - so those walking or cycling should take extra care.

Vulnerable people or their carers can phone the Council's response team on 0118 955 3600 if they have any urgent needs.

Happy Christmas!

After a traumatic week for anyone experiencing the roads or pavements, a quick note to wish our reader a Happy Christmas, whether you celebrate or not.

One thought; if you have neighbours who are vulnerable and/or live alone, do pop round and check to see they're doing OK.  Christmas can be a tough time for them, and they will welcome the company.

Now off to face the ice rinks for one last time in 2009...

True Grit

Each year winter sneaks up and catches up catches everyone unawares. I mean who ever would have thought that during the coldest season of the year that it might geta bit chilly and snow.

February's response was pretty poor but we would be forgiven for thinking that that was as bad as it could ever get. How wrong we were!

Icy pavements kept eldery people trapped in their houses, roads became treacherous - I helped push a car up Mount Pleasant, buses were off the roads and it took two hours to get to Caversham Bridge.

This is not the lot of a town that likes to behaves as though it was a city.

We will be calling for a review of winter weather planning as it would appear to the unitiated that RBC has been taking advantage of a run of exceptonally mild winters to run down provision to a dangerously low level. If the Royal Berks Hospital could cross charge for treatment of broken limbs maybe that would concentrate a few minds?

My colleague Daisy Benson has blogged on the subject and it is well worth a read,

Beating the Burglars

From time to time Katesgrove gets unwanted problems with burglary.  Reading has always seemed to attract more crime than many other places, and Katesgrove is no exception (though problems are no worse here than in other parts of town, despite the occasional press article).

So here's some seasonal good news.  The Safer Reading Partnership has just attracted £30,000 of funding for basic measures such as door chains, spy holes and window/door locks.  You may be eligible for help if:

- You or someone in your road has been a victim of burglary over the last 18 months
- You are over 60
- You are a student
- You live in a house of multiple-occupation

Contact John McNicholas, at Thames Valley Police on 0118 953 6171 if you would like further information and to see if you qualify for this free scheme. The scheme runs until the end of March 2010 so don't hesitate in applying.

Reading University's London Road Campus

Big news this week that the University of Reading is to invest £30 million into refurbishing its London Road campus, much of which falls within the ward.

This is long-overdue; much of the campus has been near-derelict or in a state of some neglect for a long time, with a chequered modern history.

However, the announcement of the refurbishment/redevelopment will go down less well in some quarters.  Local residents are still seething about the plans for the massive redevelopment of a 700-bed new private Halls of Residence at Mansfield Hall (in and very much affecting Katesgrove) by the company Unite - overwhelmingly rejected by Borough Councillors on firm grounds for officers by, staggeringly, an unelected official in Bristol who didn't appear to know what he was doing - with very little that can be done about it.  (Unite are clearly onto a good thing - for them at least; the Halls have no social facilities and can cost upwards of £150 per week!).  University staff and students might also question the spending given the recent cuts to PCSO funding on and around campus, and to staff numbers among other things.

I have written to the University on a number of these points and have pointed out that they will need to repair their relationship with local residents with as much care as they need to take on the numerous listed buildings on-site. 

Saturday 5 December - A Big Day for the Planet!

This Saturday is a big, big day for the future of the planet.

As world leaders gather in Copenhagen, many of us will be converging on central London for 'The Wave', to show that the damage caused by man-made climate change must be stopped by a tough agreement at that summit this month.

But Katesgrove residents who don't fancy the journey to London can play their part too.

Longbarn Lane Rec - long-neglected by Reading Borough Council - has been the subject of a lot of work by the Parks team, and is undergoing a real facelift.  Earlier in the year, an avenue of trees were planted across the Rec.  After pressure from me, the hedge is being repaired and new barriers installed to end the menace of mini-motos and quad bikes on the Rec.  This has followed years of pressure by Liberal Democrats in Katesgrove and an extensive survey conducted in the area - it's a real success - and there is plenty more to come, including much-needed facilities for young people (far too few of those in South Reading).

From 11am to 12 noon on Saturday Longbarn Lane Rec will be the scene of a world record attempt as part of the BBC's 'Breathing Places' initiative.  The Council has donated 1,000 trees for the Rec alone, and local schools are encouraged to take part.  I'll be there and hope lots of local people will be too - to do our bit for the local environment and for the planet (before I get the train to The Wave!).

A Day Out With Digger

This morning was lively in Katesgrove.  Not only because of what I was involved with, but because at least 2 other police teams (that I saw) were active. 

We were out on one of Katesgrove Neighbourhood Action Group's EVAs (walkabouts to report environmental issues) this morning, with a good bunch of children from Katesgrove Primary School (and classroom assistants). 

The children were well aware of what to do.  We had barely got beyond the end of the school grounds when they noticed some trade waste bins left in the road when they shouldn't be.  "These shouldn't be here!" - they said.  Quite rightly.

We toured the terraced streets around Pell Street, noting places with too much rubbish along the way.  Last year when we did the same thing, the Council got a hard time (deservedly so) for the amount of rubbish on the streets.  When you're at primary school, you notice the litter - and after we went walkabout last time, at least 7 new bins went in around Katesgrove School, which have made a big difference.  The area is much cleaner (though I would still like more bins for the ignorant dog owners who think the pavement is a toilet for their dogs).

So we found other things.  While I found exotic potholes that (the brick dust helps) could almost resemble works of art, were they not dangerous....

 
... others found more exciting things.  The children gathered round a car port on Sherman Road.  "Where's it gone?", they said.  "What.....?"  And then, under a car and like the rabbit in Monty Python & The Holy Grail, leered out a ferret (of all things) that looked as though it wanted to take all of us on, Neighbourhood Police team and all.

The children were really good at spotting things that adults would not necessarily have noticed - loose paving stones on some of the older pavements, for example.  They kept us busy with issues to report, and the adults - the classroom assistants and police - talked plenty too.  Some good use of the Council's newly-developed (with a little pressure...) enforcement powers to come I suspect.

Then came the highlight for everyone - including, I think, the police team.  "Digger" - the mascot of London Irish RFC - joined us just as the walkabout ended - and was greeted throughout the school.

Photos will appear on Katesgrove NAG's website and, I suspect, in the press - but the pic of a playground, that had been mobbing Digger, listening attentively to ace PCSO Rod Holmes, will appear here if nowhere else.

There is (really!) no connection, but at the same time Digger departed, Headteacher and ardent All Blacks fan Mr Telling appeared.  We were able to report to James not just that the children - and staff - did a fantastic job, but that the problems identified last year had pretty much been sorted.