Time to change tack on cleaner and greener

I have received election communications from both the Conservative and Liberal Democrat candidates in my ward in Earley.

Both have ‘cleaner and greener’ as the second headline on the front page.

The Liberal Democrat calls for ‘the affordable housing we need and for more money for roads and schools’.

The Conservative for ‘building major new roads and cycleways’ and ‘building 1,000 affordable homes’.

The Liberal Democrats outbid the Conservatives 300,000 trees to 250,000 trees (no timescales given), but the Conservatives do say their leader had said ‘enough is enough’ to government house building demands.

Where is the commitment to work to stop population and housing growth, and reduce traffic, so that we and future generations have a better chance to enjoy ‘cleaner and greener’ lives in a sustainable Wokingham?

John Booth, Earley

Think of a number

I am completely baffled by the Liberal Democrat ‘pledge’ to plant 300,000 trees if they win control of Wokingham Borough Council, mentioned by a Lib Dem candidate in your paper last week.

The number seems to have completely plucked out of thin air – so that it can be 50,000 more than the 250,000 trees the Conservatives are saying they’ll plant.

At least the Tories have explained in their manifesto that the money has come from the Woodland Trust.

Considering the Lib Dems keep claiming that the council is in debt, where are they going to get the money for another 50,000 trees? Or is this just a pie in the sky promise to get us to vote for them?

Judith Pritchard, via email

Used cars?

Bag your cardboard if you can reads an article in last week’s Wokingham.Today.

The alternative headline might have been ‘Would you buy a used car from Wokingham’s Conservatives’?

Wokingham Borough Council having introduced new blow-away green recycling bags without any input from us the users or the disabled in our community have now come up with a plan B or is it Z? The plan is as follows:

Keep using your black boxes for plastics and if cardboard won’t fit but keep it dry (it never rains in Wokingham) and just leave it out anyway.

To stop the green bags blowing away that put the black boxes or food waste caddy on them to weigh them down.

If by chance none of this works for you them the Council will let you have lids for your black boxes to keep paper and cardboard dry.

What a novel idea to provide lids for our excellent black boxes which is a system used by many other councils.

I wonder what the saving might have been if the worst funded council in England just gave us lids for our black boxes? Yet Wokingham Borough Council has just raised our council tax by as much as they possibly could get away with. It certainly does not bode well for the future.

Think carefully before you cast your vote next month.

Even more spendthrift incompetence if one sticks with the same old lot who have been ruling the roost for more than 20 years now and to whom residents are just an inconvenience who pay council tax.

Cllr Gary Cowan, Independent Borough Councillor for Arborfield at Wokingham Borough Council

Where has it all gone?

Prior to Christmas, television news showed us the mountains of undelivered mail stockpiled at Royal Mail sorting centres.

I managed to catch up on a weekly and monthly publication that failed to arrive, it now transpires that a quarterly publication despatched during the same period has also vanished. They are the ones I know about.

I wonder what else is still awaiting delivery? I can only presume that it has all been dumped somewhere, though the cynic in me hopes they remembered to recycle.

Waiting in hope, Finchampstead

Stay awake for Crisis

This past year has shown us more clearly than ever before just how important it is to have somewhere safe and secure to call home.

Having a stable base and somewhere to put down roots is good for our mental and physical health and that includes being able to get a full nights’ sleep.

Yet, on any given night, tens of thousands of families and individuals are facing the worst forms of homelessness across Great Britain. This includes people forced to sleep on our streets, having to drift from sofa to sofa, or stuck for months in unsuitable temporary accommodation. In England alone, over 200,000 households are experiencing this right now.

Homelessness is not inevitable. Crisis works with thousands of people every year to help them rebuild their lives and leave homelessness behind for good. We won’t rest until homelessness is ended. That’s why we need your help.

Without the safety or comfort of a home, it’s a struggle to get a good night’s sleep.

This Early May Bank Holiday (April 30– May 3), we’re asking you to give up your usual eight hours a night and Stay Awake for Crisis. The challenge is to Stay Awake for 24-hours, all to raise money for people experiencing homelessness, helping to put them on a path to a secure home.

We know that staying awake morning, noon and night won’t be easy.

Whether you chose to go it alone, do it as a relay with colleagues, or team up with family and friends, we’ve got loads of ideas and support to help you plan out how you’ll spend your hours and keep up your fundraising. From a 24-hour gaming marathon or midnight bake off, a yoga’thon or even some sponsored dog walks – you choose how you’ll keep yourself awake and make your 24-hour mission a success.

Join us as we Stay Awake and fundraise for those who do it night after night. To sign up, visit: www.crisis.org.uk/ stayawake

Jon Sparkes, Chief Executive, Crisis