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 Spending plans for the year ahead are set to be considered at a meeting of Council tomorrow (Thursday 29 February).
Councillors will review the 2024/25 budget, which is recommended for approval, and will see £174m spent delivering services across the district and £50m on infrastructure and improvement projects.
Ahead of the meeting, Councillor Jeff Brooks, Acting Leader of West Berkshire Council, has been previewing the budget and setting out the approach on spending priorities for the year ahead. It’s available to stream now on our YouTube channel.
The Council meeting starts at 5.30pm and is open to the public to attend at our offices in Market Street, Newbury or to stream live and on-demand.
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Second anniversary of the war in Ukraine |
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 Last Saturday marked two years since the start of the war in Ukraine.
The Homes for Ukraine scheme has helped 700 Ukrainian guests make West Berkshire their home, and they have been supported by many kind and generous hosts. On Wednesday 21 February, we welcomed our Ukrainian guests and hosts to a commemorative ceremony at Shaw House. Watch our video from the event.
The ceremony included speeches from Councillor Jeremy Cottam, Chairman of West Berkshire, Councillor Nigel Foot, Mayor of Newbury and Iryna, one of our Ukrainian guests. Councillor Denise Gaines, Executive Portfolio Holder: Highways, Housing and Sustainable Travel, read a poem by John Learoyd called 'Shattered Love'.
Nobody knows what the future holds, but together, we continue to stand with Ukraine.
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 Our West Berkshire Car Club provider, Enterprise, offers flexible access to fuel efficient and hybrid cars across the district. The car club gives you 24/7 pay-as-you-go access to vehicles parked on streets, car parks and Enterprise branches across the district via the mobile app or online.
Over the next few months, Enterprise will be in the process of improving their rental experience by upgrading their in-vehicle technology and mobile app. This will involve using the Enterprise Car Club app to access the keys, the fuel pin location, and extending your reservation.
We also have a few offers available for new and existing members! Click here for more information, and see how you could benefit from using the West Berkshire Car Club as an environmentally sustainable solution.
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Keep up to date on road closures in your area by using the map of roadworks, including those of utility companies, on our website to plan your journeys. Click the link below for more information.
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 Join us on 16 and 17 March for our fourth free soil conditioner giveaway. It's open between 10am and 4pm at our Padworth Waste Management Facility!
No appointments needed, just show up with proof of West Berkshire residency (ID card or utility bill) and your own bags or boxes. You can then load up the soil conditioner (bagged or boxed only), and enjoy the benefits of this eco-friendly giveaway.
As it's a free event, some queues are likely, but we'll be restocking throughout the day so feel free to arrive between the opening times throughout the weekend. We also ask residents to collect a reasonable amount to ensure everyone gets a chance to take some away for their garden.
Don't miss this opportunity to enhance your garden and contribute to sustainability! We'll also have recycling collection points for vapes, batteries and small electricals.
 The West Berkshire Health and Wellbeing Board will be holding its Annual Conference from 9:30am - 1:30pm on Friday 19 April in the Council Offices at Market Street, Newbury.
The theme for this year’s conference is ‘Primary Care and Community Outreach’ which picks up a number of key issues that have been highlighted as being important to the local community and shows how these are being addressed.
As well as highlighting the work of the Board and its partners, there will be presentations on the new Primary Care Strategy, general practice, dentistry, pharmacy, and the new Community Wellness Outreach Service.
There will also be a marketplace where delegates can network and meet a range of local service providers before and after the event.
The conference will be held as a hybrid event, which people can join remotely via Zoom or attend in person. All delegates will have the opportunity to take part in the Q&A sessions with the speakers.
The conference is open to all and is free to attend. With just 70 places available for those attending in person, early registration is encouraged to avoid disappointment. To book your place, please follow the link below.
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Anyone can watch our Council and Committee meetings in person at our Market Street offices in Newbury and live on our YouTube channel to view the important decisions made by councillors on issues such as planning, waste services and schools.
Upcoming public meetings include:
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 We're once again supporting Keep Britain Tidy’s Great British Spring Clean!
This year’s campaign, which takes place from 15 March to 31 March, calls on families, neighbours, friends and colleagues to join forces and pledge to pick a bag of litter from local areas in order to protect our communities and precious wildlife habitats.
If you're organising a community clean-up event for The Great British Spring Clean, we can provide litter-picking equipment to help you carry out your event. Please give us as much notice as possible when requesting equipment, and wait for confirmation before you advertise your event as our equipment may not be available due to popular demand*. For more information please visit our website.
*Please note equipment is fully booked over the weekend of 23rd and 24th March. Pledge to get involved today and support the campaign on social media with the hashtag #GBSpringClean.
 Applications for the Everyone Active Sporting Champions scheme 2024-25 are now OPEN!
If you're an up-and-coming athlete, you could receive free access to more than 230 Everyone Active centres across the country, alongside mentoring and support from some of the UK’s most influential athletes, including Olympians and Paralympians competing at Paris 2024.
Ambassador for the scheme and Olympic silver medallist, Colin Jackson said: “I'm passionate about nurturing young talent and the Sporting Champions scheme goes above and beyond in this mission.
"With the Olympics and Paralympics taking place in Paris this summer, the programme takes on even greater significance in 2024. Seeing these future champions flourish fuels my excitement for what's to come.”
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Hungerford Poetry Festival |
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Hungerford Poetry Festival kicks off this weekend with a walking and writing poetry workshop with award-winning local writer Nicola Chester. Advance booking is essential for this. For more information and to book, please contact Hungerford Library.
Other Festival events include evenings with visiting poets at The Croft Hall organised by Arts For Hungerford on Saturday 2 and Saturday 16 March; an Open Mic session on Thursday 7 March, 7pm at Hungerford Hub and Library; and an additional opening for the Poetry Exhibition in the library on the afternoon of Saturday 9 March. For further details about any of these events, please contact Hungerford Library.
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And finally...
- Don’t forget! Elections are on the horizon and you’ll need photo ID to vote at a polling station. Find out what you can use and apply for free voter ID if you need to.
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