NAG public meeting 15 October: what are residents priorities?

The Oxford Road Neighbourhood Action Group (NAG) has a public meeting tomorrow:

7.30-8.30

Tuesday 15 October

Salvation Army Oxford Road

The NAG priorities residents voted for will be annouced and the public will get the chance to ask questions to the panel consiting of the NAG chair, Police, Council and Councillor (me in fact).  I hope to see as many of you there as possible.

NAG Public Meeting: Prostitution Update

The date of the next public meeting of the Oxford Road Neighbourhood Action Group (NAG) will be:


Thursday 7th March

7.30 - 8.30pm at Argyle Church, Argyle Road.

This will give local residents a chance to receive an update on prostitution since our last public meeting in October.

I regularly attend the Oxford Road NAG as it's a really effective way of sharing intelligence, picking up issues that I can help with and sharing information with the Police, residents and community groups.

 

Medical Centre and 106 Funding Update!

 

If you have been reading my blog for some time you would have seen that we found out the Medical Centre was scrapped in my blog piece in December 2011: Battle Site Medical Centre A Victim Of NHS Cutbacks

The fact is has taken until now for Alok Sharma MP to voice his concerns is no surprise to me.  We rarely see him in Battle Ward - I think I have seen him once in nearly three years.  It was a meeting and he turned up as it was ending.

Battle contains areas of great deprivation, areas that should be supported by their MP.  They aren't.  Instead his Government are pushing hardworking families harder and harder with their attack on working benefits.

It has it's problems with prostitution and our MP has done nothing.  Battle cllrs, along with the Oxford Road NAG, have been pushing the Police for action, and recent press has shown this is happening.

Off out now to do a leaflet delivery, working everyday for the residents of Battle, unlike our MP!

'The PCT have confirmed they can no longer provide a medical facility for the Oxford Road community on the former Battle Hospital site (Tesco, West Village) as promised. 

The PCT say that, Conservative led Government cuts means that they cannot afford to take forward the plans for the Battle site and that the health centre is no longer a viable option. Instead they have decided to invest in the Walk in Centre in the Broad Street Mall.  As well as being available to all Reading residents it is our understanding the Centre is expected to take pressure off A&E at the Royal Berks. It has also been suggested the centre is designed to take pressure off our local doctors. However, the Centre is hardly local to Battle ward so it is hard to see how that is supposed to work.

We are deeply disappointed to break this news to you, especially as so many of you helped us campaign successfully, we thought, for a local medical facility.

The profile of the ward has changed since 2005 when we first consulted local people on what benefits they would like to see come from the West Village development. Many resident in Battle Ward today will not have taken part in the 2005 consultation. Residents priorities may have changed since then and as such we believe we need to start again and find out what you would like the money spent on. The figure we are talking about is in the region of £1million plus, this could be used to do an awful lot of good in Battle ward.

In 2005 we campaigned for a medical Centre, that will not happen thanks to our Tory MP Sharma and his Government. In 2013 we have secured £1million pounds plus for our community, the final figure has yet to be agreed with the developer.

We have insisted Reading Borough Council carry out a public consultation before a single penny is spent, they have agreed to do that. Look out for our consultation in the next few weeks.'

Updates from our Neighbourhood Police Team

I get sent an update from the Neighbourhood Police team on a monthly basis.  This information isn't just for councillors but available to everyone.  You can access this information on their website:

Oxford Road North

Oxford Road South

I also have the links in the 'Links I Like' section on the right.

These updates let you know what has been going on in our area, as you can't always see what the Neighbourhood Police team are doing, and gives useful information and contact details.  I have copied the update below:

Oxford Road North and South Monthly Update – September

Here is the latest update from the Oxford Road North and South Neighbourhood Police Teams from Police Community Support Officer (PCSO) Paul Franklin:

Neighbourhood Priorities

The neighbourhood priorities set by the Oxford Road Neighbourhood Action Group (NAG) are as follows:-

•Burglaries (Oxford Road North only)

•Litter (Oxford Road North and South)

•Drug Dealing (Oxford Road North and South)

•Prostitution (Oxford Road South only)

Burglaries

Between June and August there was a small increase in burglaries around the Oxford Road South area when compared to the same period in 2010-2011. The Oxford Road North area had slightly less. Since the start of August there have been a few burglaries on Elm Park Road which have been occurring in the afternoon/ evening time. There have not been any patterns of burglary for the Oxford Road North area.

If you would like us to carry out a free crime prevention survey of your home, contact the team on the new non-emergency number 101, or via our email addresses below.

Litter

The Oxford Road NAG has been contacted by West Village Residents Association about fly tipping in the Valentia Road/Valentia Close area.

 If any residents see fly tipping happening, they should report the date, time and any details of the vehicle or persons doing the fly tipping to Reading Borough Council via the Contact Form on the homepage, http://www.reading.gov.uk/ or by calling free phone number, 0800 834 035. REMEMBER, YOUR COUNCIL TAX IS PAYING FOR THE PEOPLE THAT ARE FLYTIPPING.

 For residents, landlords or businesses within the Borough who want to find out about the bulk waste collection service you can look on Reading Borough Council webpage, http://www.reading.gov.uk/ and then from the homepage select residents, rubbish and recycling information and then bulky waste collections or you can call free phone number, 0800 834 035.

You can also report litter and fly tipping problems by texting the Council GROT number 81722.

Fly tipping containing hazardous materials or incidents involving pollution of drains or watercourses should be reported to the Environment Agency - www.environment-agency.gov.uk (opens new window). Their Incident Hotline is 0800 807060

Drug dealing

Between June and August 2012 the amount of drug related incidents recorded has decreased slightly for both the Oxford Road South and North areas when compared to the same period last year. Since the start of August there have been a couple of incidents in the area of Liebenrood Road for the Oxford Road South and Beresford Road for the North.

Reading User Forum (RUF) is running a Community Syringe Patrol pilot which covers the Oxford Road area and town centre.  If there is a problem with drug paraphernalia litter residents can contact them on 07708 757 416 or email ruf@sent.com and they will come and have look.

RUF are also happy to give talks about drugs and related issues. RUF is open to all drug users.  The group was formed in 2004 and is made up of ex substance users and current users at every level of treatment in Reading.

 

If you suspect any drug activity near you, please report it by calling Thames Valley Police on 101 or Crime Stoppers on 0800 555 111. 

Prostitution

The Oxford Road team have been carrying out operations to tackle prostitution which has led to one male being considered for the change course and a number of women given cautions.

The Oxford Road Neighbourhood Action Group (NAG) are pleased with the response from local residents about the increase number of reports to them and the police about prostitution.  But we still need residents to report prostitutes and kerb crawlers. 

The Oxford Road NAG will be holding a further meeting for residents to discuss progress on Wednesday 17 October 2012 at Oxford Road Primary School from 7.30 - 8.30pm. At this meeting Jo Daley, Reading Borough Council’s (RBCs) anti-social behaviour (ASB) manager, will be providing an update on the feedback on diary sheets. The police will also be able to answer concerns raised by residents.

 Any residents who would like diary sheets sent to them can either contact Jo Anderson at RBC on 0118 937 4258 or they can use the contact us option on the Oxford Road NAG webpage, http://www.uknags.org.uk/