Bank holiday bin collections
Rubbish and recycling collections will take place today (Good Friday, 7 April) and Easter Monday (10 April).
Our crews will start earlier at 5.30am on both bank holidays, an hour earlier than usual. Please be sure to put out your waste the night before to avoid being missed.
Check your collection day on our website, if needed.
Opening hours of our facilities
Emergencies
You can still get help out of hours if it’s an emergency. Here are the contact numbers:
- General emergency out of hours – (0800) 212 111
- Social care emergencies or mental health crisis team out of hours - 01344 351999
- For emergency council home repairs read our tenant repairs page
Anger at delay to solar farm connections
Our proposals for new solar farms have been put at risk following an announcement by Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks (SSEN) that connections to the National Grid could be delayed until 2037.
This represents an 11-year delay on the agreement we signed with SSEN last year, which gave a network connection date of 2026 at the latest for their first solar farm on land between Barkham and Finchampstead.
The new solar farms form a core part of our Climate Emergency Action Plan (CEAP), producing enough clean renewable energy to power thousands of homes, as well as a significant annual saving in carbon emissions.
The proposals were also expected to generate millions of pounds in income, which would have been used to fund essential services for residents.
Last chance to apply - Coronation party road closure
Are you planning a street party to mark His Majesty The King’s Coronation in early May?
We are waiving road closure charges during the bank holiday weekend of 6, 7 and 8 May but you need to apply first.
All applications must be made by 16 April 2023. We will add the approved road closures to our Engage website once approved.
Don’t forget, once your road closure has been approved, why not share your Coronation street party plans on our interactive map on Engage? You can also view other Coronation events taking place in the borough.
Spring Covid-19 boosters for most vulnerable
The NHS is offering an additional booster dose of the Covid-19 vaccine to those who are most at risk, to reduce the chance of them becoming severely unwell from Covid-19 this spring and summer.
People who are eligible for the spring booster 2023 include:
- Those aged 75 and over (by 30 June 2023)
- Residents aged 5 and over with a weakened immune system
- Residents of care homes for older adults.
Care home vaccinations have already started. Other eligible people can book their spring booster vaccine from this week, with appointments starting on Monday 17 April and finishing on Friday 30 June.
The NHS will write to all those who are eligible for the spring booster 2023 to remind them they can get it. It will be offered to eligible people around six months after their previous dose of the Covid-19 vaccine.
Bookings can be made by using the NHS App, on the NHS website or by calling 119 for free.
GP practices, pharmacies and local hospitals across the region will be delivering the spring booster vaccination campaign. Walk-in centres will also be setup and these will be promoted once ready, as well as any other local options for getting your jab.
Volunteers hop to it for village’s breeding toads
We're pleased to see that the toad population at Priest Hill, in Swallowfield, is still healthy many years after we installed crossing signs that go up during the annual migration and come down afterwards.
Numbers are still checked annually by the volunteer Toad Patrol, part of the Berkshire Reptile and Amphibian Group, who count the amphibians while helping them safely cross the main road to breed in a nearby pond.
This year they moved 1,118 toads as well as three frogs between 18 February and 26 March, patrolling on most nights when temperatures allowed, and this is considered a healthy number by wildlife experts.
It shows that our signs and, more importantly, the volunteers' efforts are paying off because in other parts of the country, numbers have been seen to drop when toad crossings aren't supported.
In total, the volunteers have now helped 13,176 toads to cross the road since 2009 and we'd like to thank them for their continued efforts over more than a decade.
Photo credit: Charlotte Allchin
Junior doctors' strikes next week
Junior doctors are taking further industrial action from 7am on Tuesday 11 April to 7am on Saturday 15 April.
This follows a long bank holiday weekend when some services are limited and the NHS is offering advice on how to be prepared.
You should continue to access primary care as normal and call 999 if it is a life-threatening emergency.
Remember to:
- Visit NHS 111 Online to get the right service for your needs
- Make sure prescriptions are up to date before the bank holiday weekend
- Stay safe and look out for vulnerable family and friends
- Keep appointments unless you are contacted by the NHS with alternative arrangements
What you might have missed
We’re sending fewer updates than normal in the run up to local elections in May but we’ve there's still lots of useful information going out.
Here’s everything from the last week:
Sign up for any of these newsletters, and many more, on our website.
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