The View from Shute End...

Wokingham District Councillor Annette Drake reports

Speeding traffic

The Chief Constable of Thames Valley Police has replied to my letter in which you may recall that I asked him to be aware of our disquiet about the speeding traffic on our village roads.

His reply is very positive. The guidance on the use of speed cameras is being revised nationally, and there may be some flexibility to deploy more speed cameras or mobile speed enforcement teams at sites that fall below the current threshold. This threshold relates to the number of crashes and fatal accidents on the site.

This is truly good news — it seems ridiculous that unless there are fatalities we cannot get action from the police on traffic calming! The Chief Constable has forwarded his letter to Inspector Lindsay Finch, the Neighbourhood Inspector for Wokingham, who will meet with us to discuss the problems of speeding traffic in Hurst.

Tape Lane

The new access onto Tape Lane which is causing much consternation and anxiety to residents in Tape Lane, and all who fear the not very well hidden agenda of the owner of the land. Many have written to the planning department and the enforcement team, and now the arboriculture officer has also been alerted. The news I have from the officers has now changed! This access requires planning permission because it opens on to an adopted road and does not serve any permitted development.

Planning permission is required to remove a hedge under the Hedgerows Regulations 1997, which states:

• It is against the law to remove most countryside hedgerows without permission
• You must write to your local planning authority
• If the authority decides to prohibit removal of an important hedgerow it must let you know within 6 weeks
• If you remove the hedgerow without permission (whether important or not) you may face an unlimited fine. You may also have to replace the hedgerow.

Clearing Ditches

I have had no response from my questions as to whether anyone else needs their ditches cleared. I thought that if several residents clubbed together, they would get a better deal from a contractor for the work. My ditches need excavating, do yours?

Contacting Annette Drake

Please note, I have had no email since early this month and will not be online again until the beginning of May! So please use my 'phone numbers if you wish to contact me:

Home: 0118 934 xxxx Work: 07753 861 961