 Vision for district centre with shops taking shape
Residents have been given their first detailed look at plans for a district centre with shops and other amenities in the borough's major new community at Arborfield.
Developer Crest Nicholson displayed provisional designs and sought people's views on them at a public exhibition in April, and says it will consider the feedback before it submits a planning application to us by the end of autumn.
The development, which would be located off Nine Mile Ride Extension near Bohunt secondary school and Arborfield Green Leisure Centre, is set to include a larger supermarket with a row of smaller shops and a "village square" for socialising.
There will be a community centre incorporating a nursery with an outdoor play area to accommodate 80 children plus a café, library, spaces for health treatments, worship and performances, and meeting rooms and offices for hire.
The proposal includes a pub with a garden overlooking the green space to the north, community allotments, new paths offering better cycling and walking routes to the surrounding area and a new access road to the leisure centre.
 New Youth MP elected
Holly Mackinnon, a year ten student from The Holt School, has been elected Youth MP for Wokingham Borough, representing the voice of local children and young people in the UK Youth Parliament.
The UK Youth Parliament, run by the British Youth Council, empowers young people to campaign on the issues that affect them and gives them a platform and opportunity to do so.
In Holly’s manifesto, she outlined plans to lobby for the school curriculum to re-imagine “Britishness” from an ethnically diverse and anti-racist perspective and take steps towards implementing anti-hate measures.
She also set out to take action against climate change and ensure representation of students across the borough through regular forums. She will be supported by deputy Youth MP, Alassane Wone, a year ten student from The Forest School.
 Successful start for new anti-social behaviour team
The borough’s new anti-social behaviour (ASB) team has already experienced huge success since launching at the beginning of April.
The team offers a visible presence seven days a week to address concerns that affect people’s lives, such as fly tipping, noisy neighbours and nuisance vehicles. In the first two months, the service dealt with a total of 239 cases, plus a number of general enquiries where advice was given.
Officers focus on areas, such as parks and open spaces, where issues are more common and will attend when loud music or other noise is causing a nuisance in a neighbourhood, such as building noise.
The service includes animal wardens to handle stray dogs, tackle animal neglect and promote responsible ownership. It works closely with the licensing team, which oversees alcohol sales, betting shops, amusement arcades and taxis.
The majority of cases (92) dealt with in the first two months were for environmental issues, but there were also 47 cases of ASB and 51 relating to noise nuisance.
 Summer reading challenge open for youngsters
Science and innovation are at the centre of this year’s summer reading challenge, which encourages children to read six books during the summer holidays.
Our libraries team are encouraging children aged four to 11 to take part in the annual scheme and meet the Gadgeteers.
This year’s Summer Reading Challenge runs from Saturday 9 July to Saturday 27 August and is designed to be flexible and fun for all abilities.
By visiting your local library, you can sign up to the challenge and collect prizes, including a certificate and medal. When you start, you set a personal goal for the summer, with six books recommended.
You can choose from a selection of books, eBooks and audiobooks and you will receive a Gadgeteer core pack poster once you have read and returned your first book. You can then collect special incentives from the library each time you finish a book.
 What you might have missed
- Wokingham Borough’s first Tackling Poverty Strategy was approved by our decision-making Executive last week. It’s backed by the Hardship Alliance (photo above), a partnership between us and local charities to ensure the right support is in place to help those in need in our area
- There’s a few days left to apply to join us as Ukraine case support officer, where you’ll work on the front line to provide help to new residents and the families’ welcoming them
- Did you know you can download the free re3cyclopedia app and find out what, how and where to recycle different items
- If you live in the borough and your child is on benefits-related free school meals, you can now apply for a £90 food voucher to cover the summer holidays. Apply through the First Days Children’s Charity online form or the Citizens Advice Wokingham One Front Door online form
- We’re running a waste action day at The Acorn Community Centre in Woosehill on 12 July from 10am to 1pm, bringing the community together to reduce all kinds of waste. We’ll be there with MyJourney Wokingham, SHARE, Hawthorns Primary School, Maya’s Refillables and Wokingham Active Travel Community Hub (WATCH)
|
