Wokingham Borough Council-owned car parks in towns and village centres across the area will offer free parking on 5, 12 and 19 December.

It’s especially important for communities across the borough to support their local high streets this year, with many independent businesses dealing with disruption due to Covid-19.

Where car parking is free

Car parks included in this festive offer are:

• Polehampton Close, Twyford 
• School Lane, Wargrave 
• Shute End, Wokingham 
• Denmark Street, Wokingham 
• Easthampstead Road (East and West), Wokingham 
• Cockpit Path, Wokingham 
• Headley Road, Woodley 
• Crockhamwell Road, Woodley 
• Lytham Road (East and West), Woodley 
• Former M&S car park/Rose Street car park, Wokingham
• Carnival Pool Multi Storey car park, Wokingham

Supporting local businesses

Cllr Pauline Jorgensen, executive member for highways and transport, said: “We’re pleased to be able to offer free Saturday parking again this year in the run up to Christmas, with it being especially important to support local shops and traders this year. 

“We know our residents want to support businesses in the borough in the run up to Christmas and make the most of the fantastic shops we have to offer, providing parking on these days free of charge helps them to do this.”

Further information

Although parking will be free on the three Saturdays before Christmas, maximum stay limits and disabled parking bays will still be enforced and any vehicles breaching these regulations will be subject to the usual Penalty Charge Notices being issued.  

It should also be noted that the free parking offer applies only to council car parks, and does not apply to privately managed car parks.

Many people  across Wokingham Borough  became unpaid carers overnight when lockdown was imposed in March, increasing their responsibilities to look after  older, disabled or seriously ill  loved ones and relatives instantly.   

Some carers found themselves in a particularly challenging position. Healthwatch Wokingham is launching its Caring During Covid-19 campaign to give unpaid carers a voice.  

Healthwatch Wokingham  want to hear what  caring during the pandemic  has been like and how things need to change going forward, particularly with the virus still in circulation.   

Neil Bolton-Heaton, Head of Healthwatch Wokingham, said: “Many unpaid carers have already told us their stories about caring during Covid; these have included issues accessing services, medication and general support but also that their caring responsibilities have increased. Through our project Caring During Covid-19, we want to have a greater understanding of the issues they face and would encourage all those caring for a family member or loved one to come forward and speak with us.”

Carers can take part in the survey in  a number of  ways:   

• Complete the survey online via our website:  www.healthwatchwokingham.co.uk
• Call us:  0118 418 1418  
• Email:  carers@healthwatchwokingham.co.uk 
• Contact via social media channels:  Facebook or  Twitter   . 

Write to:    Healthwatch Wokingham,    Town Hall, Market Place  , Wokingham, RG40 1AS  .

For more information and detailed guidance visit the UK Government’s website HERE.

MEETING FRIENDS AND FAMILY

No mixing of households indoors, apart from support bubbles. Maximum of six outdoors.

BARS, PUBS AND RESTAURANTS

Pubs and bars must close, unless operating as restaurants. Hospitality venues can only serve alcohol with substantial meals. Venues must stop taking orders at 10pm and must close by 11pm.

RETAIL

Open.

WORK AND BUSINESS

Everyone who can work from home should do so.

EDUCATION

Early years settings, schools, colleges and universities open. Childcare, other supervised activities for children, and childcare bubbles permitted.

INDOOR LEISURE

Open.

ACCOMMODATION

Open.

PERSONAL CARE

Open.

OVERNIGHT STAYS

Permitted with household or support bubble.

WEDDINGS AND FUNERALS

15 guests for weddings, civil partnerships, wedding receptions and wakes; 30 for funerals.

ENTERTAINMENT

Open.

PLACES OF WORSHIP

Open, but cannot interact with anyone outside household or support bubble.

TRAVELLING

Reduce the number of journeys you make and walk or cycle if possible. Avoid busy times and routes on public transport. Avoid car sharing with those outside of your household or support bubble. Avoid travelling outside your area, or entering a Tier 3 area, other than where necessary such as for work or education. Further exemptions apply.

EXERCISE

Classes and organised adult sport can take place outdoors, but cannot take place indoors if there is any interaction between people from different households. Organised activities for elite athletes, under18s and disabled people can continue.

RESIDENTIAL CARE

COVID-secure arrangements such as substantial screens, visiting pods, and window visits. Outdoor/airtight visits only (rollout of rapid testing will enable indoor visits including contact).

LARGE EVENTS

Sport, live performances and business meetings limited to 50% capacity or 2000 people outdoors (whichever is lower) and 50% capacity or 1000 people indoors (whichever is lower)

Join in with the Christmas spirit while you #StaySafe and #StayHome! 🎁🎄🎅

Woodley Town Centre Management Initiative is providing the residents of Woodley and their nearest and dearest with a virtual Christmas lights & carols celebration!🎁🎄🎅

Details will be revealed soon but make sure to put 28th November at 18.00 in your diaries! 🎁🎄🎅

Take a sneak peek HERE and HERE (YouTube links)!

You can view the report HERE.

Wokingham Borough Council has launched its Recovery College, a new mental health service which gives local people the chance to access workshops and training sessions, designed to help them on their road to recovery.   

The Recovery College provides a range of online educational courses and resources, enabling residents to gain a greater ability to manage their own lives, form stronger social relationships and enhance the skills they need for living and working. The project is a real shift in the delivery of mental health services, from a focus on reducing symptoms to an empowering ethos of rebuilding lives. 

With cognitive health difficulties on the rise, additional help outside of clinical care is necessary. Unlike traditional services which have processes and restrictions on who can access their support, the Recovery College is open to anyone over 18 living in the borough, wishing to improve their wellbeing. Individuals can register themselves without needing any referrals. 

The provision is fluid and responds to the ever evolving needs of its students. Courses include managing anxiety, managing mood, money matters and healthy sleeping habits and are shaped on user’s feedback. Staff are not clinically trained, but are informed by personal experience and their own research of psycho-education.  

“This year in particular caused many of us to feel unsettled, worried and anxious,” said Cllr Charles Margetts, executive member for health, wellbeing and adult services. “Maintaining good mental health and wellbeing has always been important, and more so amid a pandemic. I’m so proud of our officers at Wokingham Borough Council and Public Health colleagues for their commitment and creativity, coming up with ways to enrich and streamline our service offer, breaking barriers and reaching out to everybody. The Recovery College has been a great success in many areas of the country and I’m thrilled to be able to celebrate its launch in our borough too.”  

The November issue of The Herald is now available to read! Click HERE to read this issue and past issues.

SURVEY CLOSES MONDAY 16th NOVEMBER

Financial problems caused by Covid-19 mean that the Town Council is facing a difficult year in 2021/22.  To continue to deliver our services we need to increase the level of Town Council tax (the precept).  

We work for the people of Woodley and pride ourselves in providing good facilities and services for the town.  We want to be able to continue to do this.  If each household pays a little more next year, we should be able to protect the community of the town and keep its services and facilities for years to come.   

Woodley Town Council income comes from an amount you pay as part of your Wokingham Borough Council tax (the precept) and income from our facilities.

This year, our income from facilities was expected to be £763,000.  Due to COVID-19 it could be less than £200,000.  We will have to use a significant amount of our reserves to cover this shortfall.  We need to increase the precept next year to cover the lost income and make sure we have a safe level of reserves.  

If we do this, we can continue to provide services and facilities in Woodley.  The extra amount will be added to your council tax next year. 

The amount you pay will help to fund many local facilities, services and community activities. 

These include: 

• Local parks (including Woodford Park, Malone and Wheble Parks and Bulmershe Open Space)
• Woodford Park Leisure Centre and The Gym on the Park
• The allotments at Reading Road, the Garden of Remembrance and Centre Stage 
• Halls for hire (Coronation and Chapel Halls, the Oakwood Centre) 
• Maintaining designated bus shelters, the public toilet, street lighting, noticeboards, public seating
• Providing detached youth work in the town
• Contributions to the Town Centre and community activities and events.  

For more information please email taxconsultation@woodley.gov.uk .

The survey will ask you to choose one of the following four options and also provide your postcode.

We would like as many people as possible to respond so please share with your Woodley friends, family and neighbours.

The Survey can be accessed HERE.

Please click HERE to watch the virtual Remembrance Memorial.

Due to the Covid 19 pandemic, to help local businesses and shoppers alike, Wokingham Borough Council is launching a virtual Christmas Market next week, which will run from 13 November to 21 December.

To apply for a market stall, please click HERE. Alternatively, please email: artsandculture@wokingham.gov.uk.

The market is being run via a Facebook Group, which can be accessed HERE.

Wokingham Borough Council has launched a new Covid-19 Dashboard available on the Berkshire Public Health website, which will enable residents to quickly obtain the latest statistics on Covid-19 and access comprehensive guidance on the national restrictions. The dashboard is the first of its kind in the UK, providing real-time data on Covid-19 across Berkshire, and making it easily accessible to the county’s population of nearly one million residents.

Using the dashboard’s interactive map, residents can search for results in their local area and compare them with statistics for the rest of the county, the South East region and England as a whole. The ‘My Local Area’ section of the website is where users can put in their full postcode and receive information on the current rules and regulations to follow under this national lockdown. 

One-stop-shop for relevant statistics

Cllr Charles Margetts, executive member for health, wellbeing and adult services said: “We know that there is a real concern about rising infection rates across the Borough, and we are working hard to communicate the latest updates in the most impactful way through our ‘In It Together’ campaign. The new Covid-19 Dashboard supports these efforts, as it provides a fantastic one-stop-shop for relevant statistics and makes it much easier for local people to search for important data in their area. Alongside this, there is a helpful information centre providing detail on the current rules and regulations, as well as advice for anyone who is self-isolating.” 

The site provides users with specific data on Covid-19 for each of Berkshire’s six local authority areas, including:

•       Daily new case numbers and total cases

•       Weekly cases per 100,000 population and tracked against the South East and England

•       Daily number of cases in graph format since the start of the pandemic in March

•       Daily new cases for England and total cases for England since records began

•       Weekly death rate and location (care home, at home, hospital, etc.) 

•       Data for 111 and 999 calls triaged for people with suspected Covid-19 symptoms plus the number of daily online assessments

Together, we can break the Covid chain

Tessa Lindfield, Strategic Director of Public Health for Berkshire, added: “This innovative website is a go-to resource for all the latest lockdown information. It also allows our communities to see what’s really happening in their area – how many positive cases there are each day or week, how many deaths and where these are sadly happening.

“We urge residents to visit www.berkshirepublichealth.co.uk to read the government guidance on what they can and cannot do. Remember the importance of hands, face, space, observe social distancing and be sure that if you do have to go out, you’re not bringing Covid-19 back into your home. 

“We want to keep our communities safe and well. Together, we can break the Covid chain by following the guidance and by isolating when required. We believe this new website will help us all to stick to the rules.”