Howard Woollaston: Parish Matters – Apr/May 2023
Howard Woollaston
West Berkshire Council Conservative member for Lambourn Ward
The emails have died to a trickle and my diary is very empty of meetings. It all seems very strange, but it does give me an opportunity to reflect on the last four years. Things that have popped up in April are varied but continue to reflect concerns. Others such as Membury have at least temporarily gone off the radar.
Canvassing
It was exhausting but also so rewarding getting to talk to people and to hear their issues during the election campaign. There are 3,087 electors in Lambourn Ward and I did my level best to get round the vast majority of them with the exception of the more outlying houses which have had leaflets – there were just not enough hours in the day! Issues which seem to be the most important to people were:
- Speeding
- Potholes
- Affordable housing
- Drugs
- Youth provision
- Sewage
- Improving Lambourn High Street
Sewage and flood risks
I thought it was bad a month ago, but in late April Thames Water excelled itself. As I am sure that many of you know they managed to damage an existing sewer in East Garston whilst putting in the new £5 million one in, which resulted in sewage going over all of one family’s garden.
The only way to repair it was to pump out all of the effluent from Bockhampton Road which entailed a steady stream of 25 tankers taking it to the East Shefford plant along the Valley Road. The repair work has now finished and TW has promised to fully clean up including repairing damaged verges. Meanwhile work on the new sewer continues apace. Cannot be soon enough as far as I am concerned!
The good news is that none of the leaked effluent has ended up in the river.
With my Chairman of the Lambourn Valley Flood Forum hat on, a meeting has been arranged by West Berkshire Council for senior members of Thames Water and the Environment Agency and our MP, Laura Farris , along with key members of the Flood Forum to discuss sewage disposal into our River. I sincerely hope that something productive will come out of this.
Potholes
As I said last month this is a UK wide issue largely caused by the very hot summer, a very cold patch and since then heavy rain during the wettest March in 40 years.
West Berkshire Council repaired over 1,000 potholes between January and April 2023 and the programme will continue. This is four times the number for the similar period in 2022. The Council has received a Government Grant of just under £1m and has budgeted for an additional £7 million to keep on top of the problem.
I am sure that you will be surprised that West Berkshire is in the top 3% of councils for pothole repairs but then you only need to travel to any of the councils that surround us, and you can see the difference.
I do urge everyone to go to the Report a Problem section on the Council’s website. It is very easy, and not only will it be fixed quickly but you will receive an update.
Sovereign’s service charges
I have raised this over the last couple of months and progress is being made since then, although not as fast as I would like.
The Council has looked at ways to support individual residents through the Household Support Fund and we will be communicating that to effected residents along with information about the Sovereign £2.5m support package. The main message is that support is there for those in need you just need to tell us through the Council’s Cost of Living Hub.
4 Legs Radio
I joined Chris Capel with a number of others to celebrate five years of broadcasting to the Upper Lambourn Valley with coffee and cake and the opportunity to take part in the broadcast that morning. It is a massive effort and Chris must be congratulated for what he has achieved.
He kindly asked me back the next week for a broadcast of over 30 minutes when he asked some challenging questions which I would like to think that I addressed sensibly…
The election
I can honestly say that it has been an honour and a privilege to represent you in the last four years. It has often been hugely frustrating particularly at the time it takes to get things done but equally rewarding where I have been able to make a real difference to people’s lives.
I very much hope to be re-elected as your District Councillor but if not thank you for all of your support and kind words.
(Since writing this I am delighted to have been re-elected with a significant majority . Sadly my party was not successful in retaining control of West Berkshire Council , so we will be in opposition and I will be on the Shadow Executive . You can see the full ward result by clicking here.)
Get in Touch
As ever if I can help, please get in contact with me on 07836 718100 or howard.woollaston1@westberks.gov.uk.
