 Congratulations to GCSE students
Congratulations to all GCSE students who collected their results yesterday (25 August). This comes after an unprecedented two and a half years of education, with remote learning, national lockdowns and Covid-19 changing the way they work with teachers and classmates.
The students have worked incredibly hard despite all of this, showing strength and determination as they continued their education whilst looking after their emotional wellbeing and missing out on time with friends and family.
Although life is cautiously returning to normal, we know the students have worked incredibly hard and have missed out on their older peers acting as role models.
We’re proud of all the GCSE students in the borough and wish them all luck with their next steps in life. You can see pictures from results day on our Facebook, Twitter and Instagram pages.
Help with the next steps
Elevate is our advice and support service for 16 to 18 year olds (or 24 for adults with special educational needs and disabilities) on employment, career planning, training, education, work experience and volunteering.
The team are ready to help people decide their next steps after their exam results and can be contacted on 07710 117 650 or at elevate@wokingham.gov.uk.
 Big mistake for fly-tipper caught on CCTV
A man from Arborfield has been fined £400 after he decided to fly-tip a computer desk and cardboard boxes. The incident took place in the Premier Convenience Store car park in South Lake Parade, Woodley, on 14 May 2022.
Our anti-social behaviour officer investigated and found an address on the cardboard box. They then checked the CCTV security camera at the Premier store which recorded footage of a man fly-tipping these items and his vehicle registration.
The officer worked with Thames Valley Police to trace the vehicle to an address in Arborfield which matched the address on the cardboard box.
Our officer visited and confirmed the vehicle was kept and used by someone based there. A Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 (PACE) interview letter was sent out to the address and was completed by the registered keeper of the vehicle.
The perpetrator was interviewed and presented with the CCTV evidence. The man admitted fly-tipping and said he had visited the recycling centre but it was closed. He was issued with a £400 fixed penalty notice which has since been paid.
 Final demolition ahead of Gorse Ride regeneration
The final demolition works at Gorse Ride in Finchampstead have begun as we prepare to hand over the site to our contractor Wates Group.
This will take place at the start of September ready for the first construction enabling works to start.
The regeneration of Gorse Ride is one of our housing projects and will see 249 new modern homes built on the site, 74 per cent of which will be affordable homes to meet growing local demand.
And there’s good news for the residents who will be living there as the new homes have been designed to be energy efficient with high levels of insulation and low carbon innovations such as air source heat pumps to help reduce emissions and make them more affordable to heat.
 Vital bus services roll on after urgent talks
We’ve saved several bus links whose futures were in doubt until at least next spring, as part of our commitment to supporting active and sustainable travel.
Our decision-making executive has agreed to subsidise alternative routes through villages south of the M4, currently served by Reading Buses' Tiger 7 and Leopard 3, 8 and 9, until 31 March 2023.
Buses have been hit hard by the Covid-19 pandemic, with passenger numbers still lower than in 2019 as operating costs like fuel prices rise and with no clear future support from the Government.
We’re thankful to Reading Buses and Shinfield and Swallowfield parish councils for working with us on this, and are still looking for a long-term solution to keeping the buses running.
Until then, we strongly urge you to travel by bus wherever you can. It’s much better for the environment than driving and if we don’t use these crucial services now, we could lose them later.
Fares increase slightly on 5 September to help the buses survive, but it’s still highly affordable and Reading Buses’ tickets remain among Britain’s cheapest. For a journey planner, visit the My Journey Wokingham website.
 Confirm your voter registration details
From the beginning of September, we will start to contact households in the area as part of the annual canvass.
We will be sending out letters and emails to make sure your details are up to date and this plays a vital role in making sure you are registered to vote. The letter will tell you if you need to respond and not all household will be contacted straight away. We will send out more correspondence and reminders in October.
Forms will be addressed to ‘The Occupier’ but anyone who lives at the address can respond. Emails will be sent from the 'Wokingham.borough.council.electoral.services@notifications.service.gov.uk' email address and contain our official branding.
It is important to confirm the details of your household by 30 November in order to appear on the published register and any new electors must register by 20 November.
During the canvass period, you can respond on the Household Response website, but you will need to use the security codes provided on the form. More information on registering to vote is available online from the Electoral Commission.
Residents with questions about their registration status can contact the council’s electoral services team at electoralservices@wokingham.gov.uk or call (0118) 974 6000.
What you might have missed
Every update we’ve sent in the last week can be found below:
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