Katesgrove Lib Dems

Elfin Safety

While out this morning on a walkabout I had the chance to look at some scaffolding erected by Council contractors in order to give a block a timely lick of paint.

Over the weekend the police had raised concerns that the scaffolding had not been made safe, and indeed childproof.  So it was heartwarming to approach the site and see the Heras fencing (the commonly-used metal grid fencing used a lot in construction) on the corner:

Unfortunately, as you can see, it had only been installed on this one corner.

Imagine how my heart sunk when the real source of the problem was revealed to be on the other, (unprotected) corner:-

 

The entrance to what to a child must be a very exciting if dangerous climbing frame is no more than four feet high (accessible even to a small child and visible from a play area), and as you can see, completely unprotected.  I am told that at least the ground level ladders have now been removed!

Now I've done my Health & Safety training, and know that it is the responsibility of anyone working on this site.  I think it's fair to say that this contractor has just registered a big Fail.  This afternoon I understand that words were had, so I look forward to adding the 'before and after' picture soon....

On Walkabout

I've had a busy day.

I had just got back from an EVA - an Environmental Visual Assessment - or, in plain English, a walkabout with Katesgrove PCSOs and Council officials (and a resident) identifying and tackling 'grot spots'.  I was pleased to note that the 16 separate items I found to report in a recent walkabout in one area had all been tackled.

Then I spoke to a lady, an Affinity tenant (part of the North Whitley PFI area covers Katesgrove).  She had had no hot water in her flat for - would you believe it - nine weeks.  As you can imagine, she was stressed, tense and frustrated beyond belief.  I called Affinity straight away and made it clear that they needed to give a defined date by which her new boiler would have the part that apparently was missing and that would make it work - and that they had to stick to that date.  The date, as it happens, is tomorrow (and it had better happen) - but that doesn't excuse the failure to sort the problem over the last 9 weeks.  I have asked for an inquiry - and for compensation for the tenant.  No excuses.  Would she have got her hot water fixed if she had contacted her Councillors earlier?  Well, in that situation you would not be sure how you would act, but I suspect intervention will at reduce the chances of someone else being put in that position.

This afternoon saw a whirlwind visit to the new VIth Form Centre at Kendrick School (though I missed the Minister who was late.  Oh well....) before a regular catch-up meeting with the local police.  The main conversation topic was the merger of the police's Neighbourhood Action Groups with the Council's Safer Reading Forums.  The overall idea is sensible, as there is considerable duplication (and it got really boring repeatedly hearing Labour Councillors defending this waste, so I'm glad that they have now acknowledged it).  However, the detail of the implementation is vital.  Some swapping of information on a raft of local issues and then back to deal with 30-plus Council emails which had appeared in that period.

All in all, a productive day out of the office.

University Area PCSO Cuts

A less positive report.  As many people will now know, Reading University is withdrawing its match funding for PCSOs in the Redlands/University police area, which includes part of Katesgrove as far as Highgrove Street and Upper Crown Street.

This is a loss of a front line service and will affect all residents, not only students.

While the University is under pressure as a result of Government higher education cuts, that should not mean that front line services are lost.  This is not the first time the University has cut back this year and I have written to Deputy Vice Chancellor Tony Downes in strong terms for call for this cut to be reversed.

I am actively campaigning against both the Government cuts and this reduction in local policing which we can ill afford.

Central Club Update

I went along last night to hear an update from the African Carribean Community Group (ACCG) on progress to reopen the Central Club.  I was the only councillor present.

It was a very positive meeting, a far cry from some of the difficult meetings as recently as 18 months ago when community leaders expressed anger at what they saw as Council inaction.

Spokesperson for the group Mark Bartley gave a very upbeat and dynamic presentation which showed how far the group has come.  They have secured funding for a community development worker (the post is being advertised right now).  They have also been working with the Council on a detailed, costed specification for a potential centre layout.  This is being prepared by professionals and is coming on really well.

As the Club is in Katesgrove, and given the need to ensure that something was done, I've taken a keen interest in the project for some time.  Mark - 'on behalf of the team', he says - has been nominated for a Pride of Reading award for his tremendous work, and deservedly so!

http://accgcentre.co.uk/

St Giles Revisited: good news!

On Friday I blogged about the condition of St Giles Churchyard.  I'm happy to report that I was able to get some swift action taken.

On Monday the Council team came and cleared the area of rubbish.  It was due to be inspected yesterday by a senior member of staff.

I have also made sure that clearing and maintenance will be regularly done in the future.

Katesgrove Residents' Association AGM

Katesgrove Residents' Association has for over 30 years represented Katesgrove residents, independently of political affiliation.  Its Annual General Meeting is coming up and all Katesgrove residents are welcome to attend.

Date: 14 October

Time: 7.30pm

Place: Waterloo Meadows Childrens Centre, off Elgar Road.

The special guest speaker is Steven Sefton (Reading Credit Union), talking about the menace of loan sharks and what can be done to tackle them.

The advantages of working together

This lunchtime I was mostly walking around a churchyard.  St Giles', to be precise, where I joined two of the churchwardens.

St Giles was the first area I lived in when I first moved to Reading.  It is a good neighbourhood, very close to the town centre and all its facilities.  The church is a beautiful building and the greenery of the churchyard a welcome antidote to concrete and cladding.

But there are other, less welcome, things to be found in the churchyard.

Like these:

And this:

And plenty more besides.

For various reasons the churchyard is used by rough sleepers, drug addicts and drinkers.  In a sense, there may be worse places for some of these people to go.  However, this has a real effect on the churchyard's neighbours.  I have written before about the garage under some pensioners' bungalows, which it took 2 years' solid pressure and headlines in the local press to force a recalcitrant landowner to make secure and let the elderly residents have a decent night's sleep. 

The responsibility for maintaining the churchyard does not sit with the Church, but with Reading Borough Council.  The photos here give only a flavour of the problems, with hypodermic needles by the dozen, alcohol containers (I hear, no surprise, that Tesco is doing a roaring trade in super strength cider), and sleeping garments alongside evidence of attempted arson and more besides.  The state it was in today is a stain on the reputation of the Council and must be put right immediately.

It also doesn't help that the churchyard is on the edge of 3 police neighbourhoods (it is actually, bizarrely, just within Newtown area).  Again after constant police pressure, the excellent Newtown neighbourhood police team have surveyed the local community and held police surgeries recently in St Giles' Close.  But there are other problems elsewhere in Newtown, and it has taken far too much of me shouting for the voice of the St Giles' community to be heard.

Building on the information the police have accumulated, the interest in setting up a Neighbourhood Watch stimulated by the work of the Neighbourhood Police Team, and my pressure for the authorities to work together to deal with not just the problems on the surface but the underlying issues, I have arranged a meeting at which all the key players - four different Council departments, police, other agencies as well as the Church and local residents - come together round the table.  I sincerely hope they will agree a programme of action - to do what they should be doing anyway and agreeing to work together.  The community faces common problems.  It will require some straight talk and hard work to get to grips with the solutions.

Some solutions will take a long time.  I would love to see the railings around the Church - removed for the war effort in 1940 - replaced.  I would love to see effective drug rehabilitation for those wishing to come off drugs.  Talk to addicts or those involved in helping those with addiction and they will tell you that current programmes are far too short and do not break the cycle of addiction.  If the Labour Party really cared about tackling crime, they would be serious about getting people off hard drugs.  They are not - and it is Home Office ignorance that ruins people's lives as a result.

But - who knows? - in time even the Home Office may learn to listen and work together.