Reading Liberal Democrats

Reading Liberal Democrats have successfully called for Reading Borough Council to put in place a strategy to bring almost a thousand empty homes back into use.

A motion moved by Gareth Epps (Lib Dem, Katesgrove) and seconded by Kirsten Bayes (Lib Dem, Redlands) at last night’s (16 Oct) Council meeting highlighted the waste of having hundreds of homes derelict (estimates vary from 350 to 2,000), and called for the Council to use legal powers to bring properties into use. Liberal Democrat Councillors in Caversham and central Reading have been pressing the Council to take action on a number of properties in their area.

Following a Labour amendment which weakened parts of the motion calling on the Council to use the device to improve energy efficiency in properties, the call for a strategy was passed.

Moving the motion, Cllr Gareth Epps said:

‘These properties are a waste of resources and good homes. Sometimes properties get caught in probate or complex legal issues; but the problem in Reading is that under Labour the Council has no strategy, and the resources to tackle the issue have been nowhere near sufficient. With high-profile properties such as the Silver Street junction left derelict, the Council itself is setting the worst example.’

Redlands Lib Dem Councillor Daisy Benson said:

‘We have been raising this issue for over a year and there is still no action. With huge pressure on housing, there are no excuses left for Labour to duck this issue.’

After the debate, Gareth Epps said:

‘We are delighted to achieve progress at last on empty properties. Lib Dem councillors have been working with a Council that has been short of resources, and short of a strategy to guide officers. The disappointment was Labour’s lack of commitment on reducing carbon emissions, and the Conservatives’ lack of commitment to or understanding of the issue.’

The draft waste strategy proposed by the Private Finance Initiative (PFI) for Reading, Wokingham and Bracknell Forest Borough Councils has only served to show up flaws with the PFI deal and fail to give residents the recycling facilities they want, Liberal Democrats have said as part of their consultation response on the strategy.

The consultation was due to close on Monday (1 October) – the same day as Reading Borough Council holds its review of alternate waste collection. It has highlighted that the PFI partnership detail makes no provision of the recycling of food waste – the largest single component of bins – or for kerbside collection of glass. The document has not been widely advertised and the deadline for consultation has had to be extended.

Commenting on the strategy, Cllr Gareth Epps, Liberal Democrat Environment spokesperson on Reading Borough Council, says:

“The problem with this document is that the key next steps – more and better recycling – are only listed as pipedreams. But in years to come, construction materials and glass will be banned from going to landfill. There is no vision in this document and it is hard to see how the waste PFI will succeed without a radical rethink.”

“The original PFI failed to make provision for food waste collection and for improvements such as kerbside glass collection and recycling of Tetrapaks. This is the first chance people have had to comment. What were the councils thinking when they signed it?”

editor’s note:

The re3 Joint Waste Partnership Strategy consultation is available at: www.re3.org.uk. The Partnership is a 25-year Private Finance Initiative waste disposal project.

For more information on recycling (like where can you recycle “TetraPaks”?) follow this link Learn how recycling works.

Reading East’s Liberal Democrat Parliamentary campaigner Gareth Epps is launching a campaign for Reading University’s halls of residence to be able to vote on campus, as part of an ongoing review of polling stations for which consultation is drawing to a close.

Currently, students in Halls have to trek across campus to polling stations up to almost a mile away in Reading and Earley.

The campus is split between Reading and Wokingham boroughs, and between the Reading East and Wokingham constituencies. Garethhas made a submission calling for students in Halls of Residence on the University campus, and possibly some adjoining residents in Church ward, to vote on the university premises. The Lib Dems say the measure would encourage voter turnout, particularly for younger voters.

Reading University’s Student Union has also called for the change which would follow universities such as Bath and York, both of which have introduced campus polling stations in recent years.

Liberal Democrat councillors for Redlands, Daisy Benson and Kirsten Bayes, have also asked for changes so residents in the Morgan Road/Allcroft Road area can travel less far to vote. Currently most of these residents vote at Hexham Road, up and down a hill and almost a mile away.

Gareth says: “Currently, more than a thousand Reading students are supposed to go to the far end of Northcourt Avenue to vote. This is almost a mile away for some of them living at the far end of Upper Redlands Road.”

He added “This hardly encourages young people to take part in the processes that affect them. The same issue affects students on the other side of the campus split across the administrative boundary – which splits one Halls building in two and is itself ripe for review.

To have a polling station on campus would help not just students but some residents in the University area. It would help increase voter turnout and wouldconnect Reading students with the town of which they are very much a part.”

Lib Dem Parliamentary spokesperson for Wokingham, Prue Bray, added, “There are a lot of students both in halls and in shared houses living around the University and it would make sense to have a polling station on campus. The Lib Dem Council Group at Wokingham is recommending this idea to Wokingham Borough Council.”

Commenting on the proposed changes for residents in the Morgan Road/Allcroft Road area, CllrDaisy Benson says: “The polling station review is a good opportunity to get right some problems and encourage more people to vote. It isn’t right to ask people living in Morgan Road, some of whom are elderly, to walk up a hill and travel so far. There are better solutions.”

Editor’s Note:
The review of polling places has been called for by central Government. All councils are to report by 31 December. The Reading Borough Council consulation ended on 7 September. Wokingham Borough’s consultation is due to conclude on 1 October.

Crow! is a unique outdoor art event to be launched in Clayfield Copse, Emmer Green, Reading on Saturday 8 September.

Root Toot!, Sapling Child, Foxie, and Hollow Man – these are some of the largescale artworks forming a backdrop for Creator Crow to tell the tale of Crow’s world, of creation and destruction. Crow’s world is the world of nature and balance and beauty – come early and help celebrate it with a woodland walk or a picnic. The event is free, and children are very welcome.

The performances will be at 2.00, 3.00 and 4.00pm.

Help is vitally needed on the day, to direct visitors to the artwork and performance, and to move large (but very light) artworks and parasols. If anyone feels they could volunteer for a 3 x hour slot: 10-1pm, 1-4pm, 4-6pm, it will make the difference between a smooth operation and chaos!

If anyone can help with transporting the pieces from Emmer Green to Clayfield Copse on the morning of 8 September, or again in the evening, that too would be much appreciated.

Crow! is funded by the Arts Council and is the work of local artist Jennifer Leach.

For details see the website: www.mynameiscrow.comon

Or contact Jennifer Leach on 07878 697892.

Local rail services could get a boost from new rail investment proposals launched by the Liberal Democrats.

Improvements to the Great Western main line through Reading are among the projects listed as worthy of support from a new “Future Transport Fund” which could deliver an extra £12 billion of investment in the rail network over the next five years. The Fund is part of radical Liberal Democrat proposals to move towards a “carbon free” transport system.

Local Liberal Democrat transport spokesperson Cllr Ricky Duveen said:

“This is great news for local rail services. We have been waiting for significant improvements on the main line to Paddington for a long time.

Across Britain, more people are travelling on the railways than at any time since the 1940s – and the network was much larger in those days. Overcrowding is a big problem in many areas, including Reading to Paddington at peak times. This is despite rail fares continuing to rise in real terms, while the cost of motoring continues to fall.

The government’s rail white paper last month was vague and unambitious. There is still no funding for Crossrail and our trains are still too full and too late, too often. The Conservatives have nothing to offer our rail services – it was their botched privatisation (completed by Labour) that is largely responsible for the current combination of high fares and underinvestment.

By contrast the Liberal Democrat plan announced on Friday would double rail investment across Britain, not just improving existing services, but providing new ones, including potential new north-south and east-west lines to the high-speed standard enjoyed on the continent. And as we expand the network we would reduce the cost of fares to passengers, getting even more people onto rail and off the roads, reducing carbon emissions produced from transport dramatically.”

Welcoming the proposals, Liberal Democrat Reading East PPC and fellow commuter Cllr Gareth Epps said;

“The Future Transport Fund we propose will provide ring-fenced funding for the improvements that future generations need if we are to cut our carbon emissions and tackle climate change.

We would fund it by introducing a toll on road freight – charged to foreign and UK hauliers alike – and a charge on internal air flights. Road and air transport are much more damaging to the environment than trains, and the Liberal Democrats believe this should be reflected in their relative costs.”

Towards Carbon Free Transport is a Liberal Democrat spokespersons’ paper which forms part of wider climate change proposals which will be debated at the party’s conference in Brighton in September.

Historical Note:
Dateline 30th March 1840. The railway line from Reading to London was at last completed, and people were able to travel to London from Reading Station for the first time. 17 trains left Reading that day, the fastest getting to London in just over an hour, three times faster than a coach

Lib Dem Transport Spokesperson in Reading and veteran commuter, Cllr Ricky Duveen, welcomed the government’s decision to approve funding for the rebuilding of Reading Station.

Ricky commented on the decision – “For decades under the Tories our railway system was neglected, and it was privatised with decidedly patchy results. Only now after 10 years in power has this government woken up to the fact that huge public investment is vital to update our aging infrastructure but it is imperative if we are not to choke our roads or suffer from the pollution of more and more aircraft flights.

This massive £515m represents a huge investment in a vital transport interchange that sits at the heart of the country’s railway network. However, we should also remember that we already have the most expensive railways in Europe and it will be hugely disappointing if passengers end up footing the bills for these works through even higher fares.

For those thousands who commute through Reading station as I do every day, this is a long overdue scheme that will significantly increase the capacity to run trains through Reading. We look forward to the increased services to London and a lessening of the overcrowding.

For car users coming from Tilehurst and the west of Reading there is a real bonus to this station rebuilding scheme – it includes a solution for the Cow Lane bridges bottleneck, a new road that bypasses Oxford Road and leads up to Norcot roundabout.

One disappointing note is that the Government seems determined to terminate Crossrail at Maidenhead rather than Reading.

The new station development, alongside the all the planned buildings around it, will change the face of Reading for those arriving by train. With good planning we have the opportunity to rebuild a relatively rundown part of town and turn it in to a modern transport hub that sits within a bright new development of flats, shops and offices, and that welcomes commuters and travellers to our vibrant town.”

Local Liberal Democrat campaigner Cllr Gareth Epps has already put Reading’s controversial new waste collection under the microscope at the first Council environment meeting of the new year. This contrasts with Reading’s Tories who have broken their election promise to ‘review’ the scheme and then said nothing.

Now a new report issued by the all-party House of Commons Local Government Select Committee has issued a report critical of the scheme. The report can be read online by following this link: Online Report

You can sign the Lib Dem petition for more recycling in Reading which can be found here: Glass Recycling Petition

Commenting on the all-party Local Government Select Committee’s report which criticises alternate weekly waste collection, Cllr Gareth Epps said,

“This report shows Reading residents were right when they said that fortnightly collections were less appropriate for the more built-up parts of town.

We want the Council to invest in recycling, pick up food and glass waste from the kerbside, and sort out collections in the most crowded areas.

Recycling is our top priority. We want to see further investment in recycling, not the Labour approach of just expanding kerbside collection to residents who should have had it in the first place.

Lib Dem-led Oxford City Council has shown how it should be done. The report from MPs shows that Reading Borough Council must do better. I will be keeping this issue high on the Council agenda until it is sorted.”

Cllr Gareth Epps is the Liberal Democrat Environment spokesperson on Reading Borough Council and Parliamentary campaigner for Reading East.

Outraged, steamrollered, wrong decision, devastating effect, insult, stage-managed, a sham, a disgrace, and a waste of taxpayers’ money for political reasons – just a few of the (printable) reactions to Wokingham Tories decision to close Ryeish Green School!

Wokingham Liberal Democrats are outraged at the way the Tories have steamrollered through plans to close Ryeish Green School. At Wokingham Borough Council last night, the Tory Executive confirmed their decision to close the school.

Councillor Prue Bray (Leader of the Liberal Democrat Councillor Group and Councillor for Winnersh ward) said, “This is the wrong decision, made in the wrong way, by a Tory Executive who don’t seem to care about the devastating effect they are having on people’s lives.

“The Tories delayed the decision until after the election to avoid losing a Council seat, and then voted for the closure without even having a proper discussion about it. A few of the Tory Executive members read out pre-prepared questions and the Leader of the Council responded by reading out from a crib sheet. It was an insult to all the people who have campaigned so hard for Ryeish Green School, many of whom were there and had to sit through this stage-managed performance.

“I am very angry that the Tories have made this decision while discussions on rescuing the school are underway between Ryeish Green School and CfBT, an international education trust. It’s as if the Tories are determined to squash any chance the school has of surviving.”

Gareth Epps, Liberal Democrat prospective Parliamentary candidate for Reading East commented

“Wokingham Executive’s vote on 31 May to close Ryeish Green School is a decision that is a slap in the face for my constituents and for education in our part of Berkshire. It deliberately removes choice for parents and pupils – and goes against population trends and educational good sense.”

“What breathtaking cynicism for Frank Browne and Wokingham’s Tories to delay the decision until after the May election! The so-called second consultation was a sham, a disgrace and a waste of taxpayers’ money for political reasons. This is straight out of the Shirley Porter School of Politics.”

“Noticeably absent was the voice of Reading’s Labour council in representing its constituents.”

Editor’s note

The Tory timetable to close Ryeish Green School includes a six-week objection period, ending on 26th July, and the final rubber-stamping will take place at a Tory Executive meeting on 17th August, in the middle of the summer holidays.

Liberal Democrat councillors in the University area have slammed the Labour Council after a list of new bottle banks for the town was produced – with none for Redlands ward which currently has no facilities for glass recycling.

The new banks are going to be limited to a handful of wards in Reading.

Commenting on the news, Cllr Daisy Benson, Lib Dem Councillor Redlands ward said.

“Speaking to residents on the doorstep they all wonder why the Council does not provide a kerbside glass recycling service, and they are fed up with excuses and no action. The Council promised residents the first ever bottle banks in Redlands last year when Alternate Weekly Collections were introduced. None have been delivered. This isn’t good enough.”

Cllr Benson and Greater Reading Lib Dems have launched a petition to extend the materials that can be recycling in Reading.

“The Council needs to involve the community in deciding where bottle banks should go. We want to hear why none of the sites we mentioned have come forward. The Council should reconsider its position on kerbside collection of glass as a priority.”

Cllr Kirsten Bayes, newly-elected Lib Dem Councillor for Redlands added:

“The Council needs to involve the community in deciding where bottle banks should go. We want to hear why none of the sites we mentioned have come forward. The Council should reconsider its position on kerbside collection of glass as a priority.”

Cllr Gareth Epps, environment spokesman and prospective parliamentary candidate for Reading East added:

“The local elections showed that people in Reading are fed up with Labour’s record on waste and recycling. The Council needs to make it easier for people to reuse and recycle.

Glass and food waste recycling must be brought in. There is now more evidence pointing to the importance of food waste recycling, and proven evidence that glass recycling not only is good for the environment but saves taxpayers’ money.”

We believe that Reading Borough Council needs to offer convenient bottle banks and kerbside glass recycling to all residents of Reading.

The experience of nearby councils shows that glass recycling is not only good for the environment but saves taxpayers’ money.

If you agree , please sign the petition below! -
Click here to sign the petition to improve Glass Recycling in Reading

Reading East Liberal Democrat campaigner Gareth Epps has hit out at the government’s disgraceful tax credit record after the government published records showing they overpaid £3.4 million of tax credits in three years to 3,700 residents of Reading borough and wrongly paid out over £9 billion across the country.

At the same time they failed to pay over 1900 families in Reading borough the tax credit awards they were entitled to. This amounted to a massive underpayment of £1.3 million.

Commenting on the figures, Gareth Epps said,

“The government’s record on tax credits here in Reading is a disgrace. Gordon Brown has presided over a tax credits fiasco of entirely his own making.

“Not only have taxpayers in Reading and Woodley lost out, but the government is now trying to claw back money from people on very low incomes – even when it was government mistakes which led to the errors. It all adds up to a disgrace which, yet again, is a Labour policy hitting families on low incomes the hardest.

“The government has overpaid residents of Reading £3.4 million, and underpaid others £1.3 million.

“The government’s shambolic tax credit system leads to uncertainty for many families in Reading as they have no way of knowing what they will receive. I am campaigning for a simple system of fixed term awards of six months so that families know what they are getting and get what they are entitled to.”

Overpayments and Underpayments by local authority and constituency can be found here.

Nationally the government has overpaid £5.7billion in tax credits, but Liberal Democrat research also shows that the Government has incorrectly paid out around £3.6bn in fraud and error since 2003 – most of which will never be recovered. This means over £9bn has been paid in error, of which up to £5bn will be lost.