Access the Household Support Fund
“I am sat here in tears. I cannot put into words how much difference these vouchers will make to myself and my family, thank you all.” – Wokingham Borough resident who got help through the Household Support Fund.
If you are worried about money and don’t think you have enough to pay for things like food and bills, help is available.
We’re working with local charities to get one-off cash vouchers out to people who need them.
No judgement - all you need to do is fill in the form on the Citizens Advice Wokingham website or call 0808 278 7958.
Please be aware the teams are very busy so you may need to wait a couple of weeks to receive your voucher.
 Last chance to comment on walking and cycling plans
There's less than one week left to help shape our plans for better walking and cycling facilities across the borough - and we still want to hear how we can improve things for you.
We're seeking your views until Friday on two proposals: our borough-wide Local Cycling and Walking Infrastructure Plan (LCWIP), which suggests all kinds of improvements in different areas, and a new active travel route between Woodley town centre and Palmer Park in Reading.
You can view and share your thoughts on our ideas for your neighbourhood, or comment on our suggested walking and cycling networks more generally, on our LCWIP consultation page.
The Woodley-Reading proposal, which would be supported by the Department for Transport's Active Travel Fund, has been changed to remove a one-way system following a consultation this spring. Find out more and have your say on our Engage Wokingham Borough platform.
We've already had hundreds of comments but want to make sure these plans reflect as many people's views as possible. We can't consider comments you leave on social media - so if you’ve got a strong opinion, please take a few minutes to reply through our consultation pages.
It’s also the last week to respond to our communication and engagement survey, which also closes on Friday (19 August).
 Tackling anti-social behaviour
Our new service for dealing anti-social behaviour (ASB) has been working with partners to tackle issues in the area.
The service, which launched in April, is available seven days a week to deal with things like noisy neighbours, fly-tipping, unauthorised encampments and car meets.
In the first four months, the team has received and dealt with more than 600 cases, there were:
- 85 cases of ASB
- 117 noise nuisance cases
- 109 fly-tipping investigations
- 127 animal warden referrals
The team recently worked with Thames Valley Police and the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency, to stop and check commercial vehicles to ensure they were allowed to carry waste and were fit to use on the highway.
We checked 48 vehicles and four fixed penalty notices were issued – two by ASB officers for waste carrier licence offences and two by the police for vehicle offences.
We will be carrying out these operations on a regular basis. For information on reporting anti-social behaviour visit our webpages.
 Still time to book onto summer activity camps
There is still time to enrol your child into this summer's Power-Up Activity Camps at Loddon Valley Leisure Centre. The camps offer a range of fun and sporting activities to keep borough children active and entertained.
The camps are open to borough children aged five to 12 years old and run until 2 September, excluding the bank holiday on 29 August.
There are plenty of fantastic activities* your child can take part in including:
- Pool fun
- Basketball
- Inflatable fun
- Hockey
- Martial arts
- Football
- Tennis
- Cricket and more
To book your child’s place, visit our website. Residents can also book online for the October half-term activity camps and receive 15 per cent off by using discount code OCTOBER15 at the checkout. Discount valid until 2 September.
*Classes subject to availability. Power-Up Kids Activity Camps is a separate scheme (paid by parents) to the government-funded Holiday, Activities and Food Programme.
What you might have missed
- Train strikes later this week may impact journeys on services at Twyford, Reading, Earley, Winnersh Triangle, Winnersh, Wokingham and Crowthorne stations. Services will be especially limited on Thursday (18 August) and Saturday (20 August) with disruption on other days too. Check the GWR website and South Western Railway website for latest updates on your local services
- The Thames area, which includes Wokingham Borough, was confirmed to be in drought late last week by the Environment Agency. This is due to the impact prolonged dry weather is having on water resources and the environment
- There’s still a few screenings left at the Dinton Open Air Cinema. Book via the Dinton Pastures website for Steven Spielberg’s West Side Story (2021) on 20 August or a Clueless and Legally Blonde double feature on 27 August
- Check our latest vacancies on our jobs board
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