News Archive

Earley Town News Archive

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Town Council moves closer to securing new Pavilion

Earley Town Council has moved one step closer to securing the funding required for the rebuilding of the Sports Pavilion at Sol Joel Park. More.......

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Town Council's sound financial management confirmed

At the Town Council meeting on 29th June, Councillors received and adopted the Statement of Accounts and supporting financial statements for the year to 31st March 2011. More .........

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New Town Mayor for Earley

At the Annual Meeting of the Town Council held on 18th May 2011, the Councillors elected a new Town Mayor to replace the retiring Mayor. More .............

__Councillor Tim Chambers receives the Mayor's chain for 2011/12 from outgoing Mayor, Councillor Peter Willis

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Working Parties appointed for Amenities and Leisure

At a meeting of the Amenities and Leisure Committee of Earley Town council, held on 1st June, Councillors agreed to appoint the following Sub-committees with membership as follows. More ...........

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Service to Earley Award

At the Town Forum, prior to the meeting of the Town Council on the 29th June, the presentation of a Service to Earley Award was made to Mr Mian Saleem. More..........

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Service to Earley Award

At the Annual Meeting of Earley Town Council on 18th May, a presentation for the Service to Earley Award for 2011 was made to Joyce Anderson. More.........

__Mrs Joyce Anderson receives her Service to Earley Award from the Town Mayor, Councillor Peter Willis.

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Easi goes from Strength to Strength

EASI (Earley Adopt a Street Initiative) is going from strength to strength. More ...........

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7th May sees official opening of "Awesome" BMX Track

At last, now that all the planning conditions have been complied with, Earley Town Council is proud to announce the official opening of the BMX Track at the end of Paddick Drive, Lower Earley. More.........

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Arson Attack on Children's Play equipment

On Monday night, the 4th April, vandals attacked the Volcano Tower at Sol Joel Park, completely destroying it. More............

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Councillors reject Winnersh Link Road

At a recent Planning Committee Meeting, Councillors considered an outline planning application for 433 houses on the former Hatch Farm Dairies site in Winnersh and a link road between King Street Lane and Lower Earley Way. More .......

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0% Council Tax Increase for Earley Town Residents

At a meeting of Earley Town Council on Wednesday, 16th February, Councillors voted to adopt a budget for 2011/2012 that would ensure that the Council Tax payers within the Town would pay no more than in the current year. More..........

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Town Council Considers School Admission Arrangements

Earley Town Council's Policies and Resources Committee considered the proposals from Wokingham Borough Council for school admission arrangements for the school year 2012/2013. More.........

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Grass Verge Becomes Environmental Site

A humble grass verge in Earley is about to become an Environmental Site following the transfer of this small piece of land from Wokingham Borough Council to Earley Town Council. More........

BEING "UNQUALIFIED" IS A GOOD THING

Earley Town Councillors, agreed at a meeting of the Policy & Resources Committee held on 17th November that being "unqualified" was a good thing. More.......... (22.11.10)

TOWN COUNCIL'S FISHING LINE FOR 2011

At its recent meeting of the Amenities and Leisure Committee, Earley Town Council agreed on a recommendation to go to the Full Council Meeting concerning fishing permit fees for 2011 at Maiden Erlegh Lake. More........ (05.11.10)

A FISHY BUSINESS

At a recent meeting of Earley Town Council, councillors discussed a report from it Amenities & Leisure Committee which considered the reported changes in fishing rights relating to a section of the River Loddon which flows through Riverside Park in Earley. More............. (05.10.10)

EARLEY SCHOOL PLANS WELCOMED

Earley Town Council considered the report produced by Wokingham Borough Council reviewing the catchment areas for admission to Secondary Schools in the Borough. More......... (05.10.2010)

TOWN COUNCIL FLOOD PLAN IN PLACE

Earley Town Council at a meeting of tis Amenities and Leisure Committee on 1st September has approved the Emergency Flood Plan for Maiden Erlegh Lake. More.......... (20.09.2010)

AUDITORS ACCOLADE

At the meeting of Earley Town Council, held on 30th June, the Annual Accounts for the year were considered, together with the report from the Internal Auditor. More .......... (30.06.10)

RESIDENTS DOING IT THE EASI WAY

EASI (Earley Adopt-a-Street Initiative) has taken off in a big way - more......... (22.06.2010)

SERVICE TO EARLEY AWARD

At the Annual Meeting of Earley Town Council on 5th May, the presentations for the Service to Earley Awards for 2009 were made to the two nominated recipients. More ........

Mr Jeff Gardner in the first photo receiving his Award, and Mr Philip Hooper receiving his award

May 2010

NEW TOWN MAYOR FOR EARLEY

At the Annual Meeting of the Town Council held on 5th May 2010, the Councillors elected a new Town Mayor to replace the retiring Mayor. More ............

Peter Willis signing the declaration as he becomes Mayor for 2010

WIND FARM PROJECT CAUSING TURBULENCE

20.04.2010

At a recent Council Meeting, Councillors discussed the current investigations being undertaken into the possibility of a Windfarm at Rushey Mead. More ...........

WANT TO HELP - IT'S EASI!

Earley Environmental Group and Maiden Erlegh Residents' Association have formed EASI (Earley Adopt a Street Initiative). More ...............

EARLEY RESIDENTS ASSIST IN THE BBC TREE O'CLOCK TREE PLANTING WORLD RECORD ATTEMPT (09th December 2009)

In a joint effort organised by the Earley Town Council and the Earley Environment Group about 60 supporters turned out on Saturday 5th Dec 2009 in connection with the BBC Breathing Places project. More...........

EARLEY WANTS WOKINGHAM'S PARKS (03rd August 2009)

Earley Town Council Members have expressed the view, at a recent meeting of the Town Council, that the parks and open spaces that are currently owned by Wokingham Borough Council in the Town of Earley should be transferred to be administered by the Town Council. More...............

TOWN COUNCIL ROLLS FORWARD ON CYCLE TRACK

Councillors at Earley Town Council considered the proposal from its Amenities & Leisure Committee that the Council proceed with a proposed BMX/Cycle Track at a site located close to Paddick Drive. More...

CYCLE FACILITY IS ON TRACK (17th October)

The proposal for a cycle track suitable for BMX was again discussed at the meeting of the Amenities & Leisure Committee of the Town Council on 15th October. As previously, the meeting was attended by a number of concerned residents from the area where the cycle track is proposed to be sited. However, the results of the Town Council’s survey of residents which were announced at the meeting indicated a considerable majority in favour of the facility.

In the resident’s consultation, which was widely circulated to households in Earley and Lower Earley, questions were asked about provision of facilities for young people and whether the Town Council should be identifying and providing more facilities. A specific question on the proposal for a cycle/BMX track in principle and a further question about the proposed site at the junction of Lower Earley Way and Paddick Drive had positive responses. Overall the numbers in favour from the returned questionnaires indicated support in excess of 60%. Councillors at the Committee meeting were therefore persuaded that on balance the proposal should move to the next stage. The project received unanimous and cross-party support to proceed to a recommendation to the next meeting of the full Town Council to submit a Planning Application to Wokingham Borough Council for the construction of a BMX cycle facility on the site at the corner of Lower Earley Way and Paddick Drive.

This recommendation will be considered at the Earley Town Council meeting of 26th November and, if approved, a Planning Application will be submitted. If the Application is then approved, it is hoped that work will commence on the construction of the facility as soon as weather permits in the New Year.

BMX STILL ON TRACK

At a meeting of the Amenities & Leisure Committee on 2nd July, attended by a number of interested residents, Councillors agreed to proceed to a further consultation on proposals for a BMX cycle facility in Lower Earley.

The first choice site is an area within the open space at the corner of Paddick Drive and Lower Earley Way. Many of the residents who were in the public gallery were from that area and were concerned about the impact of a facility like this, should it be installed on the field. A representative of the residents voiced the concerns on behalf of the members of the public present. The Leader of the Council, Councillor Chris Edmunds and the Deputy Leader, Councillor Matthew Deegan, both then went through the points that had been raised both in the meeting and by correspondence.

The Town Council had considered a number of sites and, using a points scoring system, concluded that the site at the bottom of Paddick Drive was the most suitable for this type of facility. Having said that, the Chairman of the Amenities & Leisure Committee, Councillor David Chopping, made it clear that no decision had yet been taken and it was important that the widest consultation possible should take place before Councillors reach a conclusion as to whether to proceed with the proposal or otherwise.

TOWN COUNCIL PLANS BMX TRACK FOR LOWER EARLEY

At a recent meeting of its Amenities & Leisure Committee, the Town Council considered plans for a BMX Track in Lower Earley. Members were informed that a number of sites had been considered but the most likely one would be at the bottom of Paddick Drive at the corner of Lower Earley Way. An Architect had drawn up detailed plans for the site and Members looked at these at the meeting.

The plans reflected the initial consultation which had taken place with the Borough Council’s Highways Department particularly in relation to parking provision and further consultations were currently being undertaken with the Parks Department, Community Safety Officer and the statutory Youth Workers. A further consultation process was proposed with members of the public particularly residents who lived in the nearby housing developments.

Consequently, an informal meeting to explain the Council’s plans took place on Wednesday, 4th June in the Council Offices. Attended by approximately 70 residents, this was a lively meeting at which the members of the public who lived near the proposed site expressed some concerns. However, the Chairman of the Amenities & Leisure Committee, Councillor David Chopping, explained this was an initial consultation on an informal basis before the Town Council made any final decision and, certainly, before any planning application would be submitted to Wokingham Borough Council for its consideration.

The Amenities & Leisure Committee will next be considering the proposal at its forthcoming meeting to be held on the 2nd July at 7.45 pm in the Council Chamber.

COUNCIL PEDALS SLOWLY TO NEXT STAGE IN CYCLE TRACK PROPOSAL

There was a packed public gallery at the Earley Town Council Meeting held on 25th June as members of the public came to express their views concerning a proposal for a cycle track, suitable for BMX users, on the open space bordering Lower Earley Way at its junction with Paddick Drive. Because a number of members of the public wished to express their views, the normal period allowed at the beginning of the Council Meeting of 20 minutes for members of the electorate to ask questions was extended to 35 minutes by the presiding Chairman, Town Mayor, Councillor Andrew Bradley. This allowed the members of the public a full opportunity to make their points of concern about the proposal to site a track at this location. Leading Town Council Members answered the points and indicated quite categorically that no decisions had yet been taken on the proposal, nor had their been any formal consultation and this would certainly occur before the Town Council would consider moving to a Planning Application.

All comments were welcomed by the Leader of the Council, Councillor Chris Edmunds, who said that the points made would be taken into account when the Council would next consider the proposal at the Amenities & Leisure Committee to be held on Wednesday, 2nd July. At that meeting, Councillors will be asked to consider the possibility of a wide consultation to see if the views expressed at the Town Council Meeting were typical or otherwise. It was also stressed that, although a decision to proceed to this next stage may be taken, it is very much a measured progress towards what will be a considered decision, taking into account all points of view. The members of the public were informed that the final decision on whether to proceed with the project would be taken by the Full Town Council and not a Committee.

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