Reading Liberal Democrats

Liberal Democrats in and around Reading have warmly welcomed the news that the Government has finally decided to block the controversial proposal by Prudential PIM for a development of 7,500 new houses around the Kennet Meadows and the floodplain. But they have warned that Labour plans to increase the total amount of development in Reading and the surrounding communities will not be sustainable.

They have paid tribute to the leading role played by Liberal Democrat councillor for Burghfield, Cllr Royce Longton, in whose ward the bulk of the development would have been located.

Katesgrove Councillor and PPC for Reading East, Gareth Epps, has welcomed the news to protect the Kennet floodplain but is concerned that the Government appears to be further accelerating Reading’s rate of growth. He says:

“It is of course fantastic news, not least to my constituents on the Kennet, that the floodplain will not be breached by the Kennet Valley Park development which would have been a reckless and irreversible threat to Reading.

“However, without a sensible dialogue on how we match Reading’s growth with its infrastructure, and in particular transport, the Government’s imposition of still faster growth is unsustainable. The affordable housing target lacks ambition and fails to meet need. The town and its neighbours must now have a major debate on how this is achieved.”

Cllr Prue Bray, Liberal Democrat PPC for Wokingham and group leader on Wokingham Borough Council, says:

“I am very pleased that common sense has prevailed and the proposal to put 7,500 houses on Kennet Valley Park has been rejected. This is good news for everyone in the area.

“But whilst the number of houses for West Berks has been reduced, the number for Wokingham Borough remains as it was before. Some of the Borough’s road network is already experiencing capacity problems.

“It is vitally important that the transport infrastructure, including public transport, gets the investment it needs – otherwise there will be huge increases in journey times and traffic pollution in the area over the next few years.”

Editor’s Note. See also Wokingham Lib Dems Story

Cllr Ricky Duveen, the Lib Dem Spokesperson on Transport, today outlined his party’s response to the Briscoe Commission.

Cllr Duveen emphasised that the Lib Dems had engaged wholeheartedly with the work of the Commission since it was set up. They had sent in a comprehensive list of suggestions for dealing with congestion in Reading, many of which had been adopted by the Commission.

‘Unlike the Tories whose central plank seems to be building a new road to bring more traffic in to the town centre, we do need to find new and innovative ways of dealing with road congestion which is the biggest threat to the town’s future development.’

The Briscoe Report does set out the need for one major scheme, the Third Thames Bridge but steers clear of making any recommendations for solving the key bottleneck of Cemetery Junction where there is little consensus as yet. It does support Lib Dem ideas for expanding Park and Ride schemes to cover all major access routes into the town, for better ticketing options for bus users and for improving cycling and pedestrian routes. It also very clearly buries the one-way IDR scheme.

The Briscoe Report sets out two very key issues that need to be set out for the people of Reading as it is they who must decide on any eventual solutions.

Firstly, there is an unwelcome fact to address in that all the major schemes for reducing traffic congestion in Reading rely on the co-operation of neighbouring authorities who have differing priorities. Our council does not have a good track record on joint schemes, although the current work at Junction 11 is progressing well. The Third Thames Bridge has been talked about for 30 years with very little to show for it. There is clearly a need for a Traffic Authority of some sort that will take a regional view of the transport infrastructure in the Thames Valley as a whole and will have the power to push through such schemes if they can be shown to bring major benefits to the region as a whole. Such an authority would, in our view, also require a democratic mandate from the people of the Thames Valley, a government appointed quango will simply not do.

Secondly, the Report states that road charging in some form will be part of the solution to Reading’s traffic congestion. The Lib Dems have for some time now been promoting the idea of charging lorries using our town as a through route and causing a lot of the congestion, not to mention air pollution and wear and tear to our roads. We already have the technology to introduce such a scheme and we need to put the case to local residents and businesses now. If we can convince them that this is key factor in reducing congestion then we can go forward and put together a fully costed proposal for the people of Reading to make the final decision. It may be that taking a large number of lorries off our roads will be enough to ease the worst of our traffic problems and avoid the need to bring in further charging, but we need a full and open debate on road charging now and that is one of the key findings of the Briscoe report. We welcome this opportunity to engage with local people on such a vital issue.

Cllr Duveen re-iterated that politicians of all parties now had the task of engaging with local residents and setting out the case for schemes to combat congestion and to ensure that the town continues to thrive economically. ‘I look forward to a lively debate following the excellent work of the Briscoe Commission. We have always said that any major scheme will need the support of the people of Reading and we need to win their backing before imposing grand ideas such as the one-way IDR.’

Editor’s Note
Follow this link to the Briscoe Report page Independent Commission reports

Liberal Democrat Councillors in Redlands Ward have welcomed the start of work to protect the lawns at Cintra Avenue, which have been subject to a series of incursions from travellers.

Reading Borough Council has said it expects the work will take several weeks to complete, and will include fencing, gating and width restrictions on the access road. The first section of fencing was installed on Wednesday (2nd July).

Cllr Kirsten Bayes met with local residents and officers from the Council’s Park Service on Tuesday, to make sure residents were happy with the proposed work and that the Council understood their concerns.

Kirsten said, “The Council needs to get the balance right between protecting the lawns while making it easy for residents to live their daily lives. Glenn, Daisy and I as Ward Councillors will make sure the Council listens to residents and does a good job.”

Cllr Daisy Benson who has campaigned for this work since April 2007 said, “It is pleasing to see the Council finally start work to protect the lawns at Cintra Avenue. This has been something we have been raising for more than a year. If only the Council had listened earlier, the problems with the repeated traveller incursions could have been avoided.”

Cllr Glenn Goodall added, “It is vital the work proceeds quickly.

Residents have told us how worried they are that the travellers could return. We need to have the fencing installed before another incursion is attempted. The Council must hurry up and get the job done.”