This week in Earley and Woodley

Back into the council work:

🌧️ Flooding – Raised residents' concerns about local flooding, 
pushing for better drainage and quicker responses.

📋 Planning – Chased up several planning issues in my ward, making sure residents’ views are heard.

📜 Constitution – Reviewed the new constitution and challenged proposals to remove safeguards on councillors questioning officers at full council. Transparency and accuracy matter – this is our only tool to ensure executive answers in meetings are correct, and I suspect that may be why the ruling group would like to remove it.

🚲 Road Safety – Queried the design of the High Tree Drive exit onto Church Road after an accident involving a cyclist and a car.

🚗 Parking – Continued to chase incidents of dangerous parking in Marefield – safety must come first.

🔒 Parks & Open Spaces – Escalated issues with contractors failing to lock gates after grass cutting – basic security.

🏫 Education – Escalated the sudden announcement of almost immediate closure of Maiden Erlegh Playschool. I’ve now been told by officers that it will remain open until the end of the summer term.

🌳 Green Spaces – Backed local efforts to protect green spaces – no to overdevelopment, yes to sustainable growth.

🧾 Casework – Continued helping residents with housing, planning, and local issues.

I’m here to be your voice and stand up for common sense, value for money, and a better deal for our community.

📅 What’s coming up?

Sitting on the panel to interview candidates for the next Director of Public Health – always interesting to meet a range of candidates and think about how we’ll work with the selected person.

Attending committee meetings to scrutinise council spending.
Meeting with Matt Barber, Police and Crime Commissioner, to raise local concerns and priorities.

Regular meeting with WBC Chief Executive to raise strategic and local issues directly.

Extraordinary meeting to review the new contract for waste collection and street cleaning.

Following up on unresolved casework and flooding hotspots.
Continuing to challenge any attempts to limit councillor accountability powers.

Continuing to oppose development plans for Hall Farm in Shinfield – especially the impact on traffic and our countryside.
Drop me a message if you need help with anything or want to raise a local concern.