Pupils from Parsons Down & Whitelands schools have recently been asked to vote on their favourite designs for a proposed new-look play area at the Henwick-Worthy sports field. The play area will be revamped and will add new facilities for local children to play, keep fit and have fun. This was made possible by the hard work of local Liberal Democrat Councillors.
A Thatcham youth club that closed in August 2011 has now re-opened as a community run project thanks to support from the Liberal Democrats.
The re-opening was made possible thanks to funds from Lib Dem controlled Thatcham Town Council and support from Berkshire Youth. This enabled the club to re-open quickly following its unfortunate closure.
During thelast election the Conservatives promised to do many things to get your vote. One of those promises was to do something about the frustratingdelays people in Thatcham experience waiting at the railway level crossing. After years of inaction now they plan to waste your money.
Now the Conservatives have been in charge of West Berkshire Council for some years and hadn't bothered about this before. It became clear after the election that they did not know how to go about doing this. Now it appears they are going to spend over £14,000 on 'looking at this' problem. This isenough money to keep open two of the youth clubs they have recently closed! In these difficult times this amount of expenditure can only be justified if they can make a significant improvement on the traffic delays at the crossing - more than just a couple of extra signs!
•Lower income tax - Nearly 900,000 of the lowest earners were lifted out of paying tax altogether and a further 23 million people received a £200 tax cut. This will happen again next April, and again the April after that, until no one pays any tax on the first £10,000 they earn.
•Pupil premium - This year also saw the Pupil Premium take effect, giving schools extra money for the most disadvantaged children. The Pupil Premium will double to £1.25bn next year and rise every year until by 2015 when it will be worth £2.5bn.
•More apprenticeships - More than 440,000 new apprenticeships started in 2010/11, a 50% increase on the previous year.
•Better pensions - Thanks to the 'triple lock' Liberal Democrats have restored the link between pensions and earnings and the Basic State Pension was raised by £4.50 and will rise again by £5.30 next year.
•Reforming the banks - The £2.5bn bank levy was introduced and the Coalition has accepted in full proposals championed by the Lib Dems to separate high street and casino banking.
•A new youth contract - Nick Clegg announced a £1bn scheme to help get young people into work or training, including 410,000 new work places for 18-24 year-olds over three years.
•Clamping down on tax evasion - Everyone should pay their fair share of taxes and we're clamping down on tax dodgers, bringing in an extra £7bn every year.
•Ending child detention - Liberal Democrats will end the disgraceful practice of locking up children for extended periods for immigration purposes this year.
•Building a greener economy - Announced the most ambitious home insulation programme the UK has ever seen. The Green Deal will help people save money on energy bills, reduce carbon emissions and create thousands of green jobs.
•Investing in the early years - Liberal Democrats extended free early years education to the 140,000 poorest two-year-olds and announced the doubling of provision for nursery places.
A budgeting error worth £400,000 has led West Berkshire Council to propose much-hated cuts in services which are £400,000 greater than needed.
In proposals agreed by the Executive last night, the Conservative led Council admitted they had discovered that they would be receiving an extra £400,000 from the Government next year. However instead of reducing the proposed cuts in services, the Executive will recommend to the Full Council next month that the extra money should be stashed away in the bank.
West Berkshire Council and the Henwick Worthy Joint Management Committee are working in partnership to refurbish the existing play area at the Henwick Worthy sports field.
The current play area dates back to 1996 when the site was first opened and now the management committee is looking to refurbish it with a range of more challenging and modern, play equipment. The £70k project is a direct response to requests from local parents and children and is being funded by West Berkshire Council with developers contributions and capital funds.
Three designs from specialist playground designers Wicksteed,Kompan and Lappset have now been shortlisted and Thatcham Town Council are currently consulting with pupils of Parsons Down Junior and Infants schools and Whitelands Primary school.
The designs will also be displayed at the Henwick Worthy Sports pavilion in March when local residents will be given the opportunity to comment further.
Hilary Cole said:"I am delighted that this project is underway. The new play facilities will provide long term benefit for many local children."
Keith Woodhams,Chair of the Henwick Worthy Joint Management Committee said:"This is a very exciting project. We are canvassing opinion from local school children to ensure that the play area is exactly as they would like it. This is a real community facility and we would encourage as many people as possible to view the plans and let us know what they think."
It is hoped that the new play area will be ready by the summer.
Local Liberal Democrat Cllrs have agreed to increase the Citizens Advice Bureau funding following extra demand as families struggle. In the 2010-2011 period over 4,000 contacts were made with the CAB from Newbury Constituents. For those who use the service, it is a vital lifeline. The Chief Executive, Jan Rothwell, gave the following arguments to protect the funding:
Liberal Democrats have made clear their opposition to the building of 2000 new houses on the green
belt land of the proposed Sandleford Development. Despite a resident-led campaign, a petition with
over 5,000 signatures and pressure from the Lib Dem opposition on WestBerks council the Tories aren't
listening to the community. Our three concerns are:
No need to wait until Easter to join what Nick Clegg called the 'John Lewis economy' where customers and workers own the business they buy or work in. Send the rotten "Casino economy" a message today by switching your account to the Co-op.
Did you know that the Britannia Building Society with a branch in Bridge St, Newbury was part of the Co-op Bank? Liberal Democrats have always supported 'mutualism' -worker/customer owned business- and now all the parties are backing it.
