We are disappointed to report that the metal panels at the top of the canopy trail slide in the play area in Woodford Park have been vandalised.

The cost to repair the damage, which appears to have been caused by bolt cutters, will cost £2500.

Graffiti

There was also extensive graffiti and obscene images written and drawn on various areas of the slide and along the wooden fencing in the toddler area, as well as bottles of baby oil dispensed down the slide tube. 

Local schools

We will also once again contact the local schools to make them aware of the vandalism and continued graffiti and request for schools and parents to discuss with their young people the importance of respecting our parks and facilities and the community of Woodley.

Report any suspicious behaviour

The incident has been reported to the police. If you have any information that might help identify the culprit(s) please do get in touch with us or contact the police.

Please can we also ask residents to report any incidents of anti-social behaviour or vandalism in our parks and at our facilities to us or to the police. Thank you.

Four Woodley Primary Schools took to the kitchen recently for the annual Woodley Schools’ Bake-Off competition, held at The Bulmershe School

Budding bakers from Beechwood, Highwood, St Dominic Savio and Willow Bank Junior schools designed showstopping cakes at home and school, then came together to bake and decorate them from scratch.  The Year 5 children worked in pairs, supported by some fantastic Year 9 student Transition Leaders, and they showed great teamwork and perseverance, adapting to deal with any unforeseen issues. 

The children also undertook an icing task, set by Nicola Jolliffe from the Jolliffe Cake Company, where they created beautiful icing roses.  

Winners

Woodley Town Deputy Mayor, Cllr Juliet Anderson, Cllr Keith Baker and Nicola Jolliffe judged the competition and chose a pair from St Dominic Savio School as the overall winners with their wonderful creation, Pollination Sensation. However, they all agreed it was a very difficult decision as the standard of all the cakes was so high again this year.

School Challenge Days

The Bake-Off is one of four Challenge Days that Woodley’s local schools take part in throughout the year. They are designed to give children the opportunity to work with pupils from other schools on tasks that they do not get the chance to do in school.  

Woodley Town Council recently awarded a grant to the schools to cover the costs of the projects, for example, the ingredients for this recent Bake-Off, which enables the schools to take part.  

The Schools’ Cluster team look forward to being able to use this grant to provide more Challenge Days, so that children in all year groups can benefit.

Woodley Town Council reduces Precept by £3.06 per Band D household for 2024-25

Each year, the Town Council considers its proposed budget for the coming year and assesses the funding that will be required to deliver its services. 

It is estimated that the Council’s total expenditure in 2024/25 will be in the region of £2,294,718. This will be funded from anticipated income of around £964,377 from the Council’s businesses and income generating activities, £165,841 from the Council’s general reserve, and £1,164,500 from the precept levy on Wokingham Borough Council. 

This equates to a charge of £106.69 for a band D property in Woodley, to deliver the Town Council’s services. This is a reduction of £3.06 per band D household from the 2023/24 precept level. Income from Woodford Park Leisure Centre, The Oakwood Centre and the community halls has been strong through the year and we are investing in these facilities to ensure they continue to provide high quality services for residents.

A final roll of 20 blue general rubbish bags will be delivered to most households in Wokingham Borough over the six weeks between Monday 12 February and Friday 22 March.

These are to cover the period from April until mid-August, when the council will be switching most properties to fortnightly rubbish collections from a 180-litre black wheeled bin.

Households which are moving to the new service will get their bin from late May onwards, but should not use it straight away and should continue aiming to put out one blue bag a week until mid-August.

Residents can look up their blue bin bag delivery date on Wokingham Borough Council’s website.

New waste collections

Find out more from Wokingham Borough Council

Roots Community Store opens its doors

Roots will offer low cost food, including fresh fruit and vegetables, to prevent customers from needing to access emergency food provision

Wokingham Borough’s first community pantry opens its doors this week.

Roots Community Store has been set up to run from Norreys Church in Wokingham to help residents who can’t afford a full, healthy diet. 

The membership-based store has been set up and is being jointly run by SHARE Wokingham, Wokingham Foodbank and First Days Children’s Charity.

The seed funding of £32,000 needed to set the store up was provided by Wokingham Borough Council through its Hardship Fund.

Roots will offer low cost food, including fresh fruit and vegetables, to prevent customers from needing to access emergency food provision, support healthy food choices and positive health outcomes.

How it works

It will initially be launched as a pilot during the next few weeks to ensure its processes and procedures work. Fifty households who already use services from the organisations involved will be used for this.

Customers will pay a £5 per week membership fee which allows them about £25 of goods each week. This provides a top up to regular shopping.

The organisations involved have worked together to get it up and running. SHARE provided the location, while Wokingham Foodbank has set up the membership structure.

Both are supporting with ongoing stock and supplies for the pantry.

First Days has managed the project, as well as providing staff to run the pantry now the doors are open.

Emma Cantrell, CEO at First Days Children’s Charity, said: “It’s been a huge team effort to get this set up in recent months with all three organisations pulling together to get this open as quickly as possible once funding was awarded in the autumn.

“Demand for support for this type of service in the borough has grown in recent years with food hardship increasing. The pantry provides a way for people who are struggling to get higher value for a small membership contribution.”

Three month transformation

The community store has seen transformation during the last three months in an area at Norreys Church by SHARE to provide a home for the pantry.

Although Roots is the borough’s first pantry they are available across the country. They provide groceries at a lower cost than supermarkets or shops, as well as helping to reduce food waste.

SHARE redistributes 40 tonnes of food from local supermarkets and food suppliers that would otherwise go to waste each week.

The Community Pantry provides a range of fresh fruit and vegetables, fridge and freezer items as well as, foods with a longer shelf life including pasta, tins and cereal etc.

A range of toiletries and cleaning items will also be on offer. There will be limits for how many items of each type a household can take each week.

‘The next way to support our communities’

Claire Revie, founder of SHARE, said: “Since SHARE has become established we’ve wanted to find the next way we can support our communities.

“The community store gives members the ability to choose what they want to use their money on and what’s most important for them and their household. It also gives us another way to help with our goals for reducing food waste locally.”

The community store provides a step between emergency food provision such as foodbanks, and being back on your feet. The pantry is a sustainable option for residents experiencing food insecurity.

It means services like the foodbank can focus on people in acute crisis rather than providing ongoing help, which has become more common due to the cost of living crisis.

Impacts of the rising cost of living

Annette Medhurst, manager at Wokingham Foodbank, said: “We’ve seen a huge increase in demand to the foodbank for support in recent years due to the rising cost of food and other essentials.

“Households across the country are facing the biggest income squeeze in a generation. Due to this situation some people have understandably become reliant on getting help repeatedly. The pantry will offer these people a way to get higher value for the money for what they put it.

“The foodbank will still be there for those with urgent needs in a crisis but Roots will provide a better route for support for many.”

The project is also being supported by Wokingham Lions, which is helping to manage collection of stock. Citizens Advice Wokingham will be able to refer residents into the project.

Once the project is up and running successfully, its offer will be scaled up to help more people. This includes a mobile store and support in other areas of the borough.

Cllr Rachel Bishop-Firth, executive member for equalities, inclusion and fighting poverty, said: “Our £250,000 Hardship Fund was established for projects exactly like this.

“Thanks to the work of the voluntary and community sector, the seed funding from Wokingham Borough Council has been turned into an asset which can support our community for years to come and deliver benefits worth many times the value of the initial investment.

“All the organisations involved already make a huge difference to residents who are struggling in difficult times. They have come together to offer even more help to those who need it most and we look forward to seeing Roots Community Pantry’s progress and potential expansion to help even more people.”

Help and support for you

Details on the ramping up of the project and opening up of memberships will be published in due course.

These projects are informed by the borough’s Tackling Poverty Strategy.

Roots Community Pantry was seed funded through the council’s £250,000 Hardship Fund.

Projects to help with improving access to low/no cost uniform and a project to make the school day affordable for all have also been funded. Funding for other projects will be announced in the spring.

This strategy and fund aims to support people out of poverty, strengthen community resilience to prevent people falling into poverty and improving life opportunities for those living in poverty. 

All the latest cost of living help and advice for the borough can be found on our Cost of Living page.

Wokingham Borough Council has approved new on-street parking restrictions are coming to almost 60 roads across the borough after requests from residents and councillors

Following on from the call-in period ending, during which councillors had the chance to request that a decision reviewed, the Traffic Regulation Order (TRO) will now come into force with some exceptions as set out below.

Find out where

A full list of the roads and restrictions are available on our webpage, as well as information including objections to schemes and officer response.

You can also search an Interactive Map of all parking restrictions online.

Exceptions

All proposals were approved with the exception of London Road in Woodley, which is to be amended to single yellow lines rather than double yellow lines, and Colemansmoor Road in Woodley, where parking issues will be further investigated before a decision is made.

Woodley Town Council awards Community and Youth Grants

At the recent Strategy & Resources Committee Meeting, on 23 January, the following grants were awarded by Woodley Town Council.

Community Grants

Friends of Woodford Park – £350 – To pay towards the cost of restocking shrubs and plants in the flower beds in Woodford Park. 

You can find out more about our partnership with the Friends of Woodford Park on our page about Woodford Park.

Youth Grants

• Arc Youth Counselling – £5000 – To pay towards the cost of providing ARC’s youth counselling service in schools.

• Promise Inclusion Limited – £2500 – To support the service, providing support for children and adults with learning disabilities and / or autism.

• First Days’ Children’s Charity – £5100 – To pay towards the charity’s costs to provide Woodley Toy Library, a mobile outreach service, one to one coaching, and access to essential items for vulnerable families.

• Home-Start Wokingham District – £5660 – To help fund the charity’s home visiting support service for vulnerable, disadvantaged and isolated families.

• Parenting Special Children – £2500 – To pay towards the charity’s provision of specialist support services to vulnerable families of children and young people with special educational needs, disabilities, and early life trauma. 

Our Grants

During the current financial year, Woodley Town Council has allocated funds to make the following grants:

• Community Grants – Up to £250, for community groups / organisations either based in or supporting residents of Woodley, to fund one-off costs such as specific projects or purchases.
• Individual Grants – Up to £100, for individuals under the age of 21 living in Woodley, excelling in sporting or cultural activities, to fund representation at county, regional, national or international events.
• Youth Grants – Up to £3,000 (although exceptions will be considered), for organisations, to assist and facilitate projects that reach, engage and support young people (those aged 21 and under) in Woodley.
• Annual Grants – No cap, for fully constituted ‘not for profit’ organisations either based in or supporting residents of Woodley, to fund annual running costs or specific projects.

Should you wish to apply for a grant, then full guidelines and application forms can be found on our Grants Page.

Housing plays a huge role in the health, environmental, social and economic well-being of everyone who lives in the borough. It is more than just bricks and mortar; everyone is affected by housing.

Wokingham Borough Council is in the process of updating its Affordable Housing Strategy and its Young People’s Housing Strategy and would like to seek your views as to whether you think the Council is prioritising the right areas and has identified the right actions to work towards tackling these priorities.

Complete the Surveys by 18 February.

Apply for latest round of Community Diversity Grants

The borough’s Equality Forum has re-opened the fund for applications and is offering a total of £2,500

Community groups are being urged to apply for the latest round of Community Diversity Grants being made available.

The borough’s Equality Forum has re-opened the fund for applications and is offering a total of £2,500. Any new or small community voluntary organisation can apply for a maximum grant of £500 to help with things such as developing the organisation, holding events and increasing employment opportunities of protected characteristic communities in the borough.

Applicants will provide innovate and imaginative approaches to promoting inclusion and commit to tackling inequality and discrimination locally. Organisations can apply by downloading the application form from Wokingham Borough Council’s website.

Once completed, this should be returned by email to [email protected]. These groups should support:

• Women and young girls
• LGBT+ community organisations
• Black, Asian and minority ethnic communities
• Religious or faith groups
• Older of younger people
• Disabled people/communities

Panel

A panel from the forum, which has more than 30 members from a diverse range of groups, will decide the successful applications.

Alice Kunjappy-Clifton and Emma Cantrell, joint chairs of the Equality Forum, said: “We are delighted to see another round of funding open, giving even more community groups the chance to enhance the local offer available to minorities in Wokingham Borough.

“A great deal of good has already been done thanks to previous rounds of funding. These small grants make a big difference to smaller, underrepresented communities. We’ve seen from the grants awarded what a lasting impact the money can make.”

Previous grant recipients

The previous round of applications closed in October last year and saw another £2,500 awarded. The successful organisations were:

• Berkshire LGBT+ Parents Network
• Me2 Club
• Parenting Special Children
• Project Salama
• Headway Thames Valley

The first batch of grants were awarded towards the end of 2022. Almost £5,000 was given to nine organisations making a difference locally. Case studies on how the money has been used can be found on the council’s website.

The initiative is funded by the council and is part of its Equality Plan 2021-25, where it has pledged to act on its commitments to equality, diversity and inclusion in the way it plans, delivers and shapes its services.

Cllr Rachel Bishop-Firth, executive member for equalities, inclusion and fighting poverty, said: “The benefits of the money awarded through Community Diversity grants are widespread and I am excited to see another round of funding has opened for applications.

“Providing a meaningful impact to underrepresented communities in the borough is a huge part of the council’s ongoing commitment. These community groups know how to help people and tailor proposals to meet their needs. I look forward to seeing lots of applications.”

Applications must be submitted by 5pm on Thursday 8 February.

Our grants

During the current financial year, Woodley Town Council has allocated funds to make the following grants:

• Community Grants – Up to £250, for community groups / organisations either based in or supporting residents of Woodley, to fund one-off costs such as specific projects or purchases.
• Individual Grants – Up to £100, for individuals under the age of 21 living in Woodley, excelling in sporting or cultural activities, to fund representation at county, regional, national or international events.
• Youth Grants – Up to £3,000 (although exceptions will be considered), for organisations, to assist and facilitate projects that reach, engage and support young people (those aged 21 and under) in Woodley.
• Annual Grants – No cap, for fully constituted ‘not for profit’ organisations either based in or supporting residents of Woodley, to fund annual running costs or specific projects.

Please visit the Grants section on our website for more information, including how to apply and when.

Plans for new woodland and wildflower meadows at Wokingham Borough Council-owned Ashenbury Park are moving forward under a trial scheme that could benefit the whole borough, both environmentally and financially.

Planting and seeding at Ashenbury Park in Woodley is set to start in early spring and continue throughout the year. This is part of a pilot initiative to make the site more welcoming to wildlife by improving and enriching its natural habitats, a concept known as “biodiversity net gain” (BNG).

The pilot was approved by Wokingham Borough Council’s (WBC) decision-making executive in March last year and, if successful, could lead to further enhancements at other green spaces across Wokingham Borough.

Protecting green spaces and raising funds

By improving the biodiversity of its existing properties, like countryside parks, public open spaces and farmland, WBC hopes to become a provider of so-called “BNG units” to developers.

These will soon be created under new Government rules aimed at offsetting the impact of development, and ensuring a positive outcome for the environment, by creating new wildlife habitats, restoring degraded ones and improving existing ones.

The new rules, part of the Environment Act 2021, will require all new developments to provide a BNG of at least 10 per cent. This is measured against Government standards and must be protected for at least 30 years.

Developers must assess their sites after completion and, if they find biodiversity has improved by less than 10 per cent, they must provide additional BNG units off-site to make up for it.

They can buy BNG units from any landowners, including local authorities, who create and maintain new or enhanced biodiversity habitats. The landowners are required to monitor their own sites to ensure their improvements are succeeding.

The first step in a green transformation

Wokingham Borough Council intends to plant more than 1.7 hectares of native British trees, likely including oak, alder, birch, wild cherry, hawthorn and more, to extend the existing woodland at Ashenbury Park and link up the two adjacent local wildlife sites.

They would offer significantly more natural habitats and provide valuable food sources to help countless species thrive, from insects like stag beetles, butterflies and caterpillars to birds and other animals like squirrels, badgers and deer.

Another 4.8 hectares of wildflower meadows are proposed between the new and existing woodlands, where the soil is not deep enough for tree planting. These will be made up of colourful flowers like oxeye daisies, common knapweeds, lady’s bedstraws and bird foot trefoils to provide new nectar sources for insects. The existing paths will be kept as mown paths, so residents can roam freely and enjoy nature without disturbing the wildlife.

Residents, especially frequent park users, and other interested parties can learn more about the proposals and designs and share their thoughts on WBC’s Engage website.

The plans are based on detailed studies of how welcoming the park already is for wildlife, as well as its soil and landscape. The improvements would cover most of the site, though the children’s play area and the events field would stay as they are.

A win-win for everyone

Cllr Ian Shenton, executive member for environment, sport and leisure at WBC, said: “We expect the biodiversity net gain scheme to offer a win-win for everyone – not only developers, but also residents, us as a council and the environment. 

“This innovative scheme would help raise much-needed funds to create and enhance some of our green spaces, which will be maintained for at least 30 years.  Our environment, including wildlife species, would therefore be improved and protected at no cost to us at all.

“We know how important our green spaces are to residents, and this scheme would help balance our need to protect and enhance the natural world around us with the demand for economic development that new development brings.

“The pilot at Ashenbury Park will help us test local demand for the biodiversity net gain scheme and give us hands-on experience in how to deliver it for the benefit of the borough, and more importantly our finances in this challenging time.”

Woodley Town Council Parks & Green Spaces

You can find out which parks and green spaces we manage in Woodley, HERE.

Changes have been made to the electoral ward boundaries in Wokingham borough, with two new constituencies. 

Important changes to the parliamentary constituencies and ward boundaries in Wokingham Borough have been made following independent reviews.

There will be all-out borough elections in May 2024, with all 54 seats up for contention on Wokingham Borough Council.

Ward boundaries

Following a review by the Local Government Boundary Commission for England (LGBCE), changes have been made to the electoral ward boundaries in the borough. The LGBCE began this process in August 2022 and held two rounds of consultation to gauge public opinion on its recommendations. The final proposal was approved by Parliament in November.

The review was conducted to ensure councillors represent roughly the same number of electors and that ward arrangements will help the council work effectively. The number of councillors will remain at 54 but there will now be 18 wards, represented by three members each, which are as follows:

• Barkham & Arborfield
• Bulmershe & Coronation
• Emmbrook
• Evendons
• Finchampstead
• Hawkedon
• Hillside
• Loddon
• Maiden Erlegh & Whitegates
• Norreys
• Shinfield
• South Lake
• Spencers Wood & Swallowfield
• Thames
• Twyford, Ruscombe & Hurst
• Winnersh
• Wescott
• Wokingham Without

Both the new and current boundaries can be viewed online, while full details of the LGBCE review are available on the commission website.

Check your poll card

This means that some residents will be voting in a different ward to the one in which they last cast their vote. It is therefore important to read your poll card carefully when it arrives in April, as it will tell you which polling station you can vote at. Any new polling stations will be confirmed at the end of January.

Parliamentary constituencies

In addition to the ward boundary changes, there are also new parliamentary constituency boundaries to elect Members of Parliament.

There are now two constituencies in Wokingham Borough which are:

• Wokingham
• Earley and Woodley

The Wokingham and the new Earley and Woodley constituency are administered by Wokingham Borough Council.

This change came because of a different review, which was carried out by the Boundary Commission for England.

Andrew Moulton, returning officer at Wokingham Borough Council, said: “Our message to residents is to get ready for this year’s elections as soon as possible. There are significant changes being introduced to elections and the voting process, but by planning ahead you can cast your vote with confidence in May. Remember to read your polling card carefully when it arrives, as this will tell you where to vote and remind you to bring photo ID.”

To administer the election, the council is currently reviewing the polling places used. A four-week consultation was held on proposed changes to polling places and any changes will be confirmed by Council this month.

What you can do now

With all of these changes in mind, it is important to ensure you are prepared and able to cast your vote in May. Make sure you are registered to vote by midnight on Tuesday 16 April and remember to bring suitable photo ID with you to the polling station. A list of accepted forms of ID is available on the Electoral Commission’s website.

If you do not have suitable ID, you can apply for a free Voter Authority Certificate online. Those residents wishing to vote by post or proxy in May can also apply online.

In May 2024, there is also a Police and Crime Commissioner election for Thames Valley, with the possibility of parish council elections if there are any contested seats. Residents should not only be prepared for the elections in May, but also the next general election. Although a date for the next election has not yet been announced, it must be held by 28 January 2025, although it could be called sooner.

Don’t bin it – fix it!

Woodley Repair Café will be launching on Sunday 7 January, at Christ Church on Crockhamwell Road (RG5 3LA). It will be running on the first Sunday of each month, from 2pm to 4pm.

Same as other repair cafés, there will be volunteers standing by to help you fix your broken household items. 

Get involved

If you want to lend a hand with the repairs, or for any other information, please email Carol Jewell, the organiser of Woodley Repair Café, direct. 

You can also stay up-to-date on its Facebook page or website.

Other repair cafés in January

Also this Sunday, the regular repair café at Spencers Wood Village Hall (RG7 1AP) will be on from 10am to 1pm. 

The repair café at Lambs Lane Primary School (RG7 1YG) will continue to be held on the third Sunday of the month, that is, 21 January, from 10am to 1pm.