A message fromthe Town Mayor
It is an honour and great privilege to represent the people of Woodley as this year’s Woodley Town Mayor. Firstly, I would like to thank the outgoing Mayor, Cllr Janet Sartorel, for her dedication as Woodley Town Mayor for an unprecedented term of three years. I was delighted to mark my new Mayorship by attending the Council’s D-Day 80th Anniversary commemorative picnic in June. It was an important day for us all to remember those who fought for our freedom with our community, who didn’t disappoint by turning out in their hundreds.
The Council will be hosting its annual Armistice Day event on 11 November at 11am at the War Memorial. Everyone is welcome to attend. I am looking forward to Woodley’s first Climate Action Week (18-23 November), which the Council is hosting in collaboration with Wokingham Borough Council. Coinciding with COP 29, there will be lots of free activities on offer, which can all be found listed on the enclosed leaflet. There are also upcoming Halloween and Christmas events in the town centre. I am particularly looking forward to a very spooky spectacle in the town centre garden and the carol concert gathered around our spectacular tree of light. Please join me for these fabulous community events that bring citizens and multi-generations of families together in the heart of our wonderful Woodley community.
D-Day 80th Anniversary June
Thank you to everyone who came to commemorate 80 years of the D-Day landings.
Thank you to Woodley Photographic Club members for the photos (more available on our website): Nigel Hoult, Arthur Chiles, Bob Collis, Gerry Fitzgerald, John Szabanowicz*, Ravi Bharj * photo of Cllr Juliet Anderson (above) by John Szabanowicz
Contact Us
Town Clerk: Kevin Murray townclerk@woodley.gov.uk
General enquiries: admin@woodley.gov.uk 0118 9690356
www.woodley.gov.uk
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@WoodleyCouncil
Cllr Juliet Anderson
Green Flag Award
We are absolutely delighted that Woodford Park has been awarded Green Flag status again in 2024 – the 7th year of attaining the prestigious award. Green Flag is a benchmark for excellence in management and maintenance of parks and open spaces in the UK and around the world, with a focus on access for all and meeting the needs of the community. The Council’s Amenities team have been working hard this year to deliver improvements including hanging baskets and the living wall at the Oakwood Centre, and the new reinforced grass path across the Memorial Ground. The Friends of Woodford Park have continued to maintain the beautiful shrub beds on the Memorial Ground and the Council has hosted some very well attended events including the D-Day celebration and beacon lighting in June.
This year, the judges were particularly impressed with the ongoing high level of community use of the park and the improvements in public engagement through the Council’s new website and communication channels.
The award is all about continuous improvement and over the coming year we will be focusing on the creation of a new orchard garden and looking at opportunities to further reduce our carbon impact and increase biodiversity and wildlife. Usage of the park has increased, and this brings with it many challenges, particularly with littering. This year we will also be installing larger litter bins which provide for segregated recycling, and we would like to thank park users for helping us to look after our amazing park as we look forward to another year.
Council News
Highlights so far this year
The start of the new municipal year marked the 50th anniversary of the Town Council. At Full Council in May, we said goodbye to our outgoing Town Mayor, Cllr Janet Sartorel, following her unprecedented three-year term, and welcomed Cllr Juliet Anderson as the incoming Town Mayor and Cllr David Bragg as the Deputy Town Mayor for 2024-25.
In June, Full Council authorised the financial statements for the 2023-24 financial year. We are pleased to report that, over the last financial year, the Council ended £46,937 better off than originally budgeted, reflecting strong income across our venues.
Several projects, approved by the Strategy & Resources Committee, have been completed so far, this year, including the improvement of roadways at the Reading Road allotments, reinforcement of the desire line path across the Memorial Ground, line marking in our car parks the installation of a water refill point at Woodford Park Leisure Centre, and new toilets at the Oakwood Centre (find out more on page 6).
The Leisure Services Committee has been busy progressing a project to consider the future redevelopment of Woodford Park Leisure Centre. A working group was set up to review the current building and facilities and identify how these might be improved to make them ‘fit for the future’. A residents’ survey was also undertaken, with over 1,300 responses. The next steps will be to engage an architect to help pull together proposals.
Climate
Emergency also continues to be a key topic for the Strategy & Resources Committee. Alongside the Council’s Climate Action Week – 18-23 November (more details on page 7). Funding has also been approved to undertake an accurate assessment of the Council’s existing carbon footprint, with the hope of targeting further areas of reduction to assist the Council become ‘Carbon Neutral’ by 2030.
TheCycling & Walking task and finish working group have commenced a project to work with Wokingham’s MyJourney team to design a new map of active travel routes across Woodley.
The Strategy & Resources Committee has also been busy awarding Community Grants to local organisations and individuals, with £1,560 awarded so far this year. With £1,440 left in the budget, we’d encourage anyone who might be eligible to apply – grants will next be considered in November, and the application closing date is 31 October. More details can be found on the ‘Grants’ page of the Council’s website.
Discussions
have continued regarding the state of the play equipment in Wheble Park, which has been identified as desperately in need of improvement. While it is located in Woodley, the park is owned by Reading Borough Council and leased by the Town Council. We are making representations to Reading about the possible transfer of ownership to help protect future investment in the equipment made by the Town Council.
The Council’s future Youth Service provision has also continued to be a pressing matter for the Leisure Services Committee. Over the summer months, a Youth Engagement Project has been run on the Council’s behalf by Berkshire Youth – this included a survey of young people, circulated in local schools, as well as several, well attended youth outreach sessions, all aiming to gain the views of local young people. A final report is due back in the Autumn, with Leisure Services then aiming to determine the way forward.
InFollowing the recent repair of the camera, the Council’s Community Speedwatch group is now ready to re-launch this Autumn. Speedwatch coordinators and volunteers will be working together to undertake speed checks on local roads where speeding is an issue, helping to reduce speeds and make our roads safer. If you’re interested in getting involved or want to highlight a location which might have a speeding problem, please visit the ‘Community Speedwatch’ page on our website.
May, Wokingham Borough Council’s Anti-Social Behaviour (ASB) team provided the Planning & Community Committee with a report highlighting their recent achievements and detailing problem areas in Woodley. Among their successes were the removal of problem cars from Headley Road East following a successful conviction, the removal of offensive graffiti on Drovers Way, and resolving several fly-tipping incidents, including at Perimeter Road, Headley Road Library Parade, and Badgers Rise. If you’d like to review the report in full it can be found on the agenda for the May Planning & Community Committee meeting on our website.
Meanwhile,
64 planning applications have been considered to date by the Planning & Community Committee this year. One recurring issue has been the process of ‘listing’ – usually, applications are determined by Wokingham Borough Council Planning Officers; however, Borough Councillors can ‘list’ an application where, for example, the determination may be contrary to comments made by consultees, meaning it is then escalated to the Borough’s Planning Committee for a final decision. Where you are aware of an application in your local area and you have objections, we strongly recommend contacting your local Borough Councillor, who may be able to support you by requesting an application is ‘listed’. You can find your local Borough Councillor’s details on Wokingham Borough Council’s website.
Committee Meeting Dates
Strategy & Resources: 2024: 26 Nov; 2025: 21 Jan, 22 Apr
Leisure Services: 2024: 19 Nov; 2025: 14 Jan, 25 Mar
Planning & Community: 2024: 12 Nov, 10 Dec; 2025: 7 Jan, 4 Feb, 4 Mar, 1 Apr, 29 Apr
Full Council: 2024: 3 Dec; 2025: 11 Feb, 6 May (Annual Meeting)
Committee Meetings are held at the Oakwood Centre and all residents are welcome to attend. Meetings are live recorded and available to watch on our YouTube Channel. Please check our website for timings. Contact Matthew Filmore, Deputy Town Clerk for more information, including any access issues: Matthew.Filmore@woodley.gov.uk
Oakwood Centre
The refurbishment of the toilets at the Oakwood Centre is now complete. Part of the refurbishment included the installation of sensor-controlled taps, flushing and lights, making the area more energy efficient, in line with our climate commitment. Thank you for your patience while the work was carried out.
Aftermany years, Brown Bag decided to leave the Oakwood Centre. Having worked with them for so long, it was sad to see them go, however, we are delighted to welcome, in their place, local cafe specialists Crumbs.
The cafe opened on Saturday 7 September, with a promotional half price hot drink offer, which kept the crowds coming in.
Woodley Town Mayor, Cllr Juliet Anderson, popped down to meet the new team and sample the delicious array of sumptuous cakes, freshly made-toorder food, a range of hot and cold drinks, including cocktails and mocktails, as well as milkshakes and delectable items that cater for all food allergies. Crumbs at the Oakwood Centre will be open daily: M-F: 8.30am-5pm; Sat: 8am-5pm; Sun: 9.30am-4pm.
Ladies toilets Men’s toilets
Climate Action Week
Free events for all across Woodley
According to the United Nations, Climate Change is the defining issue of our time. From shifting weather patterns that threaten food production, to rising sea levels that increase the risk of catastrophic flooding, the impacts of climate change are global in scope and unprecedented in scale.
While the Council, as an organisation, has committed to reaching net-zero carbon emissions by 2030, our whole society has a part to play in reducing the impact on our climate, and we want to support our residents to do this.
From Monday 18 to Saturday 23 November, the Town Council, in collaboration with Wokingham Borough Council, will be running its first ever Climate Action Week with a series of events planned to help raise awareness of Climate Emergency and ways in which we can reduce our greenhouse gas emissions and protect our environment.
Events will be free to attend and, other than school specific events, will be open to all residents. You will find a calendar of the events already planned for the Climate Action Week on the leaflet enclosed with this edition of the Herald. For more information, including full details of each event and how you can sign up to attend, please scan the QR code above or visit the Climate Action Week page on our website.
It is important that we all play our part in addressing the climate change emergency and take accountability for our individual carbon footprints as, collectively, we can make a real difference. Working with the Borough Council to provide Woodley’s first Climate Action Week provides a great opportunity for us all to access information and take part in interactive sessions to learn more about personal actions accessible to us all.
Woodley Town Mayor, Cllr Juliet Anderson
Waste supplies
