The government has announced that we will have to wait between 12 and 14 years for a new Royal Berkshire Hospital to start to be built in Reading, breaking election promises made by all three of Reading’s new Labour MPs. Meanwhile the health system is broken. Child mortality is going up. Life expectancy is going down. Avoidable deaths – those tragedies science can already prevent – are going up.

People are afraid for their parents, their kids and their grandkids.

If you’re keen on being part of the making Reading fairer and greener I urge you to get involved.

POLITICAL FINGER-POINTING WON’T FIX THE NHS

Recently at council the Conservatives tabled a hypocritical motion accusing Labour of broken promises and more delays. Labour countered with an arrogant amendment full of platitudes but short on specifics. I watched with despair as this devolved into childish bickering between Labour and Conservative councillors over who is the bigger failure.

While their governments come and go the broken election promises remain and the public gets the same raw deal.

THE DRIVEL THAT PASSES FOR DEBATE IN THE COUNCIL CHAMBER

I do wonder what the public must think when they read about this sort of stuff in the paper. No solutions, just finger-pointing while people wait in A&E and die in corridors, sometimes alone. Ultimately, we could not support Reading Labour’s tone-deaf amendment as it was dismissive of the heartbreaking reality. We are not interested in excuses, just get on with providing a modern, fit for purpose new Royal Berkshire Hospital.

GREENS NOW THE SECOND LARGEST PARTY IN READING

The Greens now have more councillors than the Conservatives and Lib Dems combined. We will keep working hard all year round to get the best for Reading residents. If you’re keen on being part of the change in Reading I urge you to get involved.

By Cllr Dave McElroy (Green Party, Redlands Ward, 2024 MP candidate for Reading Central)

The post Greens want a new Royal Berkshire Hospital now appeared first on Reading & Wokingham Green Party.

Labour-run Reading Council to cut budget for tackling inequality at council budget setting meeting. The proposed cuts will directly and severely impact local residents by reducing support for essential community projects that promote sports, education, skills development, and cultural activities.

Labour councillors are proposing cutting the inequality budget in South Reading – Church Ward and Whitley Ward. The plan would reduce the £340,000 budget by £230,000, leaving only £110,000 available. While staff funding remains intact, money for running project to tackle inequality is being slashed. The detail of these cuts are hidden in budget papers only available to councillors. Previously, these funds supported community activities covering sports, education, skills development, culture, career advice, and the community ambassadors’ network.

Councillor Rob White stated, “In recent years, poverty in Reading has unfortunately been on the increase. Reading has both severely deprived areas and very wealthy areas. The difference between life expectancy in the richest part of town and the poorest part of town is 7 years. Inequality is bad because it marginalizes vulnerable residents and weakens community cohesion. Cutting this money means the council has less capacity to address urgent social challenges. Greens believe tackling inequality should be a top priority. Despite a new government, we have shifted from Conservative austerity straight into Labour austerity, leaving our residents at risk.”

The post Reading Council to Slash £230,000 from Inequality Budget Impacting Community Projects appeared first on Reading & Wokingham Green Party.

Despite a Labour-run Reading Council house building programme, the total number of council homes in Reading has decreased by five between 2021 and 2023, impacting residents in need of affordable housing.

Data from the council reveals a net loss of five council homes, with the number dropping from 6,987 in 2021/22 to 6,982 in 2023/24. This reduction is attributed to the loss of homes through ‘right to buy’ sales, leaving fewer affordable homes available for local families. ‘Right to buy’ has been called one of the biggest acts of privatisation ever undertaken, transferring over £40 billion worth of value away from local authorities in the last 45 years, leaving millions of people in ‘grotty privately rented accomodation’.

In 2023, it was reported that Reading had the largest council house waitlist in the county with 3,187 households waiting for a council property. Rough sleeping in Reading is also at an all-time high.

Councillor Dave McElroy (Green Party, Redlands Ward, 2024 MP candidate) commented:

“It is crazy that during a housing crisis, Reading has lost council homes overall – down by five, despite council house building. This loss directly impacts families and individuals who are struggling to find affordable housing. While we acknowledge the efforts to build new homes, the overall loss shows the need for a more effective strategy locally and nationally.

“Greens in Reading want more investment in building council houses which are the homes we really need. We don’t need any more unaffordable luxury flats going up in the town centre for example! We also need to see changes at Westminster that protect the public housing stocks we already have. Green MPs are working for this at a national level.”

The more people who get involved, the more of a difference we can make on issues like this. If you have time to help deliver leaflets or knock on doors, then get in contact (https://reading.greenparty.org.uk/get-involved/). Or why not join the Green Party (https://join.greenparty.org.uk/)?

The post Reading Loses Council Homes Despite House building Efforts appeared first on Reading & Wokingham Green Party.

Labour-run Reading Council has admitted that 6,136 parking fines were issued in error due to a faulty legal process. The council estimates that about £360,000 will need to be refunded to residents.

Mike Harling, Battle Ward campaigner says: “This blunder means that the town’s already stretched public services will be worse off by up to £360,000. That’s money that could have been spent on emptying bins on time, tackling homelessness or cutting carbon emissions.

Residents can learn more here: www.bit.ly/rdgukrefund

Mike continued: “The more people who get involved, the more of a difference we can make on issues like this. If you have time to help deliver leaflets or knock on doors, then get in contact (https://reading.greenparty.org.uk/get-involved/). Or why not join the Green Party (https://join.greenparty.org.uk/)?”

The post Fines blunder may cost Labour-run Reading council £360,000 appeared first on Reading & Wokingham Green Party.

Greens were disappointed that Labour raised the bus fare cap from £2 to £3. Reading Buses say that ‘not all fares will rise to this level’, implying many will go up. Councillor Dave McElroy has raised this at a council meeting.

Cllr McElroy says, “Greens are campaigning for investment in affordable, joined up and reliable public transport.

“The more people who get involved, the more of a difference we can make on issues like this. If you have time to help deliver leaflets or knock on doors, then get in contact (https://reading.greenparty.org.uk/get-involved/). Or why not join the Green Party (https://join.greenparty.org.uk/)?”

UPDATE: more information is available from Reading Buses https://www.reading-buses.co.uk/new-single-fares-1-january

The post Greens lobbying against bus fare increase appeared first on Reading & Wokingham Green Party.

Fly-tipping is up, but the anti-fly tipping team is issuing significantly fewer fines for dumping waste this year. Greens are calling for more people in the anti-fly-tipping team.

Councillor Rob White (Green Party, Park Ward) said: “It is a shame that Labour councillors haven’t resourced the anti-fly-tipping team properly. Fewer fines are being issued and fly-tipping remains a problem.

“Greens would like to see more resource for tackling fly-tipping, but unfortunately the council is going in the opposite direction, cutting the free bulky waste collection service which was designed to help tackle fly-tipping.

“Nationally Greens are campaigning for the Labour government to fund councils properly, to force manufacturers to produce less packaging, and to promote reuse and repair. This would cut down on the rubbish on our roads and mean councils were better resourced to tackle what remains.”

The more people who get involved, the more of a difference we can make on issues like this. If you have time to help deliver leaflets or knock on doors, then get in contact (https://reading.greenparty.org.uk/get-involved/). Or why not join the Green Party (https://join.greenparty.org.uk/)?

The post Fly-tipping up but fines down by 37% in Reading appeared first on Reading & Wokingham Green Party.

A rewilding area in Bugs Bottom, Caversham, has been accidently mown over by Reading Borough Council. The area had been subject to considerable tree planting by The Conservation Volunteers Woodland Improvement Team, using funding provided by Network Rail in 2020, with an estimated 300 young saplings planted in the area.

The matter was investigated by Cllr Dave McElroy (Green MP candidate for Reading Central at the 2024 general election) following complaints by residents. The council has since visited the site, estimating that 30-60 of those originally planted have been affected.

“This is frustrating as it’s not the first time it has happened. Back in 2019 the council did the same thing to about 800 saplings in Palmer Park, with the council representative at the time saying that the important thing here is that lessons are learned. What lessons?

“Greens have been working with the council to understand how this has happened again and have called for the trees to be replanted. They’ve told us they don’t believe that this exact spot has the right soil conditions for more trees but are looking at other options and species to plant in Bugs Bottom. We’ll be keeping up the pressure to make sure this happens and isn’t just quietly forgotten.

“Anyone interested in helping out with the replanting effort should get in touch with me at dave@readinggreenparty.org.uk.”

The post Up to 60 young trees accidently threshed by council appeared first on Reading & Wokingham Green Party.

Greens call for councils to be exempt from huge tax rises

As a local councillor, I was excited to see extra funding for local government announced for next year, but it appears that that could be lost immediately through the increases to employer national insurance contributions. With well over 1000 employees, Reading Borough Council could be easily looking at a tax rise of more than £1million a year. Reading Greens are calling on Rachel Reeves to end this silliness and exempt local authorities immediately.

New government as trustworthy as the old one

During the election campaign Labour told us that they wouldn’t raise taxes or extend austerity. The trick was to guess which bit wasn’t true given the obvious state of the country’s finances. As it turns out, neither was true. We got record taxes and more austerity.

Tax wealth not jobs

Hopes that Labour would at least provide a competent government seem to be fading fast. Reading Greens have for years argued for local government to be financed properly, and after more than a decade of Reading Labour blaming the Tories for RBC’s inability to even collect the bins on time, we expect they would agree. The difference is where the money for public services should come from. While Labour now seem okay with taxing jobs, freezing pensioners, and impoverishing children, we would tax wealth and crack down on tax avoidance by the super-rich.

Invest for the future

I was disappointed, but not surprised, to see the Chancellor putting up bus fares. Greens want investment in cheaper public transport that we can afford to get on. In Reading, we’ve had years of cycle lanes to nowhere, bus lanes that buses can’t reach, and talk of improvements that never happen. And there was nothing in the budget that suggested Labour are remotely serious about climate action.

Invest for now

Ultimately, I’m surprised by how the huge tax increases seem to have got local government so little. I’m left in fear for the council’s finances and outraged that Starmer’s ‘tough choices’ have continued the great Tory tradition of punching down on workers and the vulnerable rather than taking on the Labour donors and the super-rich.

As Lord Farquaard said, “Some of you may die, but it’s a sacrifice I am willing to make.”

Greens are the second largest party in Reading

As the main opposition party on Labour-run Reading Council Green councillors will continue to work constructively to get the best for Reading residents. There are now eight Green Party councillors and we have more councillors than the Conservatives and Lib Dems combined. We will keep working hard all year round on the issues that matter to residents.

If you’re keen on being part of the change in Reading, get involved and help us make Reading fairer, greener and cleaner get involved.

The post Budget response from Cllr Dave McElroy appeared first on Reading & Wokingham Green Party.

Commenting on Reading Council incorrectly issuing 6,000 parking charge notices (PCNs), Councillor Dave McElroy (Green Party, Redlands Ward) said: “I was shocked and disappointed to learn that the Labour-run council had issued a massive 6,000 parking tickets without the correct legal documentation in place. The council is now going to have to find hundreds of thousands of pounds to repay these fines at a time when councils are already on the brink of bankruptcy. This money is on top of the extra legal costs and other work to put this right that the council will have incurred. I wouldn’t be surprised if the total costs were well over £0.5 million.

“Some people will have had the stress of bailiffs turning up on the doorstep because they haven’t paid one of these incorrectly issued parking tickets.

“That this has gone on for so long brings into question the culture at the council under the Labour administration.

“Green councillors will keep up the pressure to make sure this is put right, to change the culture at the council so people aren’t afraid to speak out and to lobby for proper levels of funding for councils so they can provide decent services.

“The more people who get involved with the Green Party the more of a difference we can make on issues like this.”

The areas impacted are:

TRO 1 – Red Route East including Kings Road from its junction with Watlington Street to Cemetery Junction, Wokingham Road and partially into adjoining streets such as Queens Road and London Road. Between 11 – 15 January 2018 and after 11 July 2018 – 6 March 2024. Pay and display and permit parking restrictions later introduced for Wokingham Road are not affected.

TRO 2 – Swainstone Road/Waldeck Street – Waldeck Street Resident Permit Parking and Swainstone Road Resident Permit Parking scheme. PCNs issued in respect of Waldeck Street between 1 March 2016 and 29 September 2021and PCNs issued in respect of Swainstone Road from 1 March 2016 and 4 June 2024.

TRO 3 – Red Route West – Tilehurst and West Reading – Red Route (Experimental). 13 PCNs issued between 18 May 2018 – 24 May 2018 over a seven-day period.

TRO 5 – Southcote Verge and Footway – ‘Southcote’ Verge and Footway Parking ban area, including the whole lengths of Southcote Lane, Ashampstead Road, Brunel Road, Circuit Lane, Frilsham Road, Gainsborough Road and Virginia Way. PCNs issued on or after 9 August 2015 until 7 June 2024.

TRO 6 – Tilehurst and Kentwood – Tilehurst and Kentwood’ Verge and Footway Parking ban area, including Church End Lane, Lower Elmstone Drive, Mayfair, Norcot Road, Oak Tree Road, Overdown Road, Park Lane, Recreation Road, School Road, The Meadway and Westwood Road. PCNs issued on or after 8 November 2013 until 7 June 2024.

A total of 6,136 PCNs were incorrectly issued and paid primarily between July 2018 and 2024, however, some date back to 2013. The council is asking motorists who believe they received and paid a penalty to visit the website to claim their reimbursement.

Get involved with Reading Green Party

The post Labour-run Reading Council has to pay back hundreds of thousands of pounds of parking ticket fines appeared first on Reading & Wokingham Green Party.

Labour-run Reading Borough Council has pushed a commitment to tackle utility companies digging up roads across the town back by a year.

The council could apply for the power to have more control over roadworks, as other councils have done. Successfully applying to operate a street works permitting scheme would give Reading Borough Council some power over which roadworks happen when. Unfortunately, it appears that may not happen until 2026.

Green councillors are keen for Reading Borough Council to apply to establish a street works permitting scheme as soon as possible. They hope that this will help to reduce the disruption and the associated pollution and inconvenience caused by continual uncoordinated roadworks across town.

Councillor Kathryn McCann (Green, Redlands) said: “Every day in Reading it seems someone is digging up the road or pavement, whether it’s for internet, gas, water or electrical works. Sometimes it’s one company straight after another on the same stretch.

“Last year we lobbied the council to apply to become a ‘permitting authority’ and were pleased to be told it would happen before May 2025. We now hear this will be delayed until the following year. That’s no comfort to residents dealing with the frustration of roadworks constantly popping up all over the place.

“Now we’re the official opposition in Reading, we feel it’s important to use that position to encourage the council to do better for residents. We’ll keep up the pressure.”

“The more people who get involved with the Green Party the more of a difference we can make on issues like this.”

Get involved

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