Howard Woollaston: Parish Matters – November/December 2023
Howard Woollaston
West Berkshire Councillor: Lambourn Ward
Where has this year gone to? As I write this, Christmas is less than 3 weeks away, but I have at least bought all of my presents for Children and Grandchildren – so feeling very smug!
20mph at last?
Christian Noll, Editor of the Lambourn website, did a great job getting a survey of people’s views on this topic. 289 people responded and the overwhelming majority were in favour in one form or another. Virtually all supported the lower limit in Eastbury, but there was a split between those that wanted a blanket limit throughout Lambourn and those that only wanted parts. You can see the full details on Lambourn.org.
I maintain my view that the High Street is the most in need but can see the sense from Crowle Road up to The Broadway. My concern with the blanket approach is that it will be completely ignored whereas I feel that drivers are more likely to observe the limit if in small areas. There is also the issue of costs at a time of major budget pressures on the Council.
I passed the survey on to the Senior Highways Officer at the Council. He acknowledges that I had already raised our case at the Council debate but confirmed that it had been agreed that Theale would be the trial experiment and it is unlikely that we will see much progress until late 2024.
Casework
It never stops! Just today brought an elderly lady trying to have a stairlift put in by Sovereign which I am taking up on her behalf. Two abandoned cars have been reported to the Council by me. Some successes though, notably an enforcement notice served on the travellers at Ermin Street Stables and Sovereign agreeing to reduce their service charge demands in Harris Close.
Sewage and flood risks
Groundwater levels continue to rise. The ATAC machine has been turned on at the Lambourn Fire Station and a number of residents in Back Lane Eastbury are getting increasingly concerned at potential flood risk. The River Wardens, some Lambourn Parish Councillors and I are attending a meeting organised by East Garston Parish Council for Thames Water to explain their progress to date and what their future plans are. More to follow. Penny Post have a particularly good summary of the meeting for those that want further information.
Member’s bids
I am delighted to report that my bid for half of the cost of replacing the flagpole on the church in Lambourn has been successful and that Bruce Laurie can crack on with replacing this dangerous structure.
Lambourn’s Neighbourhood Development Plan
Various consultations continue and we now have the very first preliminary draft, still with lots to do to get it into the final version but major progress. A possible significant complication was the District Council’s administration proposal to withdraw the Local Plan currently lodged with the Inspector. An Extraordinary Council Meeting was called for Tuesday December 19th. Thankfully the Minister at DLUCH effectively put a stop order on this, in my view reckless approach, so whilst we debated it vigorously, The Liberal Democrat Administration withdrew the motion. Some will say that this goes against local democracy but the risk of not having a local plan under consideration is that developers can submit planning applications when there is no policy in place, accept that they will get a refusal but win on appeal with costs against WBC – not a risk that I want to see for Council Taxpayers.
Events
I was privileged to be invited to join the 103rd birthday party in the Memorial Hall of Sylvia Chilvers who is an absolutely delightful lady who is full of fun.
I also was asked to join the formal renaming of the Berkshire Records Office in Reading to the Royal Berkshire Archives. HRH The Duke of Gloucester performed the duties. Most will not know that when Berkshire Council was split up, each of the six Unitary Authorities took on those responsibilities which covered the whole County. Amongst others West Berkshire became lead authority for the Records Office so when I was Policy Holder for Culture, I was instrumental in applying for the Royal Warrant as well as securing planning consent for the £2Million extension which will hopefully be completed in early 2025. It is a wonderful facility with really enthusiastic staff and a wealth of information which is available to the public on prior notice.
Spending Cuts
West Berkshire Council, like many local authorities, is finding itself in a potential revenue crisis. Local authorities have a legal duty to “balance the books” each year, but this time have been hit by unexpectedly high inflation (a number of the contracts have been historically index linked) as well as higher than anticipated demand for Adult Social Care and Childrens Care which combined make up about 60% of the total annual budget. At one stage the gap was £14Million but cost savings and deferred expenditure have closed the gap to around £3Million. The Council is consulting on a raft of further cost savings involving service cuts and I would urge you to look at these and make any comments that you wish before January 11th, 2024. The Parish Council is also making recommendations and it is worth looking at Lambourn.org to see the results of a local poll. For those who prefer paper copies of the proposal, they can be obtained by contacting the Council on 01635 551111.
Train Restrictions
I have been passed this information by GWR and thought it best to cut and paste it for anyone thinking of travelling over the festive period.
“We’re getting in touch to remind you of upcoming closures of the railway to London Paddington, as part of HS2’s ongoing construction of a new station at Old Oak Common, just to the west of London Paddington.
As a result, there will be no train services into or out of London Paddington on Sunday 24 and Wednesday 27 December.
On these days, long-distance and most local GWR services will start/terminate at Reading instead of London Paddington. Limited GWR services and Elizabeth line services will run between Reading and Ealing Broadway. Customers can transfer at Ealing Broadway between national rail and London Underground services (Central and District lines) to/from central London.
Also, as usual, there will be no services across the GWR network on Christmas Day and Boxing Day.
Our advice to customers is to travel on alternative days to ensure a smoother journey. For those that need to travel, we recommend allowing plenty of time to reach their destination, especially if they’re making onward connections.
Journey planners have been updated with details on all closures. We will be making customers aware through traditional and social media, on board and station announcements, as well as station posters.
More information is available at www.GWR.com/HS2 and www.HS2.org.uk. Any help you can give in sharing this with your networks will be very helpful.”
Get in touch.
Whatever is concerning you please do get in touch on 07836 718 100 or howard.woollaston1@westberks.gov.uk. I usually skip the December/January Parish Matters so I will continue that approach unless there are any burning issues.
It only remains for me to wish you all a very Happy Christmas and a healthy and prosperous New Year.
My thanks as ever to Brian Quinn of Penny Post for bringing his journalistic expertise to my ramblings.
