 Support our campaign to protect local services
The Government will soon make its final decision on the vital issue of how much money your area will receive for the next three years – and we need you to support our calls for protection against significant real-term cuts.
Under the Government's initial proposals we would be one of many areas facing very significant financial challenges, with an effective loss of real-term funding that would hit your services.
Our call is for a minimum basic annual increase of four per cent per year to provide a safety net for all councils.
We are working with other councils and MPs to show the Government a basic minimum increase is needed to protect local communities against the threat of major service cuts.
We will be writing to the Government again in October and need residents to give their support and help us show the strength of local feeling.
How you'll be affected
Imagine the impact of losing £50 million of government funding over the next three years. The council would not have the resources to deliver all current services.
We don’t yet know the full impact, but it would certainly be considerable if we can’t persuade the government to introduce a funding floor, below which no council would fall.
How you can help
If you support our calls for a minimum funding increase to protect services, we'll add you to our list so we can show strength of feeling locally.
Just press the button to show your support. It takes less than 10 seconds and requires no additional data to be provided. We'll keep you update on progress in future newsletters.
We're asking for your support, rather than consulting on specific budget proposals at this time.
This is because we don’t know how much funding we will eventually get and therefore don’t know the extent of the savings we would have to make.
Your backing will give us much-needed weight while we argue for change in the Government's proposals to protect the borough's finances and the services you use every day.
 Pictured - a newly sealed footpath
First steps towards footway improvements
We've started our next round of local footway repairs across Wokingham Borough this week.
Our contractors will be applying a protective slurry seal at 19 locations, which you can see on our website if you scroll to the white section at the bottom.
This uses a thin but tough coating of asphalt that's blended with finely crushed stone to allow a good grip when people walk on it.
It's a cost-effective alternative to laying a new surface which safely seals minor cracks and other faults. Footway diversions will be in place while the teams are working.
The first works start on Monday and will continue into October, with exact dates for some works still to be confirmed. Keep checking the list using the link above for updates.
Slurry sealing is part of an annual maintenance programme which also includes surface dressing and resurfacing roads. We've finished this year's surface dressing (watch our video), with some resurfacing planned next month.
 Roll up for Paulo’s Circus tickets
Following on from a successful first year at Dinton Pastures, we’re excited that Paulo's Circus has returned this week.
Visitors can expect to see a variety of mesmerising acts performing in the big top circus tent most nights until 12 October. Acts include:
- Trapeze acts
- Tightrope walking
- Juggling
- Knife throwing and more
Tickets start from £9 and are available to buy on the Paulo's Circus website.
It’s the final few days to take part in our resident parking permit scheme consultation, which closes on Sunday (28 September). This includes proposed changes to parking permit zones in Twyford and Wokingham.
 Help young people make safe cyber choices
You can register to join a free online programme to help you support your children with safe online behaviour.
The South East Regional Organised Crime Unit (SEROCU) is hosting a free online training session as part of National Parenting Week. It’s aimed at parents, carers and guardians to raise awareness of cyber-dependent crime among young people.
The Cyber Choices programme aims to divert young people from criminal online behaviour and educate them about the law.
The session will cover cybercrime legislation, warnings and how to make a referral if you're worried about a young person. It takes place on Thursday 23 October, from 7.30pm to 8.30pm. Register online for the session now.
What you might have missed
Here’s all our email newsletters from the last week:
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