August

CLOSURES continued as the gas main works saw Winnersh Crossroads turned into a one way system while over in Waterloo Road in Wokingham, a burst water main had caused so much damage that the collapsed road was still closed three weeks later.

After much debate on social media, in the press and in the council chamber, WBC’s ruling executive group decided to demonstrate that they weren’t listening to residents after all and voted to axe the school crossing patrollers.

Another town centre road closure saw the executive member for Regeneration gamely trying to explain the challenges of the various town centre works, following which the council promised to meet the August 18 end date. (It didn’t).

Despite the hot weather, local retailers finally lost patience with WBC’s approach on providing any support for their businesses which had seen revenues collapse following the huge drop in town-centre footfall (WBC felt it had done what it could to offer assistance during the works).

Meanwhile, as the

Market Place block-layers continued working – for up to 16 hours a day, seven days a week – thanks to WBC giving itself planning permission for extended working, a new hazard was become evident as people started tripping over the parts that had been ‘finished’.