The View from Shute End...

Wokingham District Councillor Annette Drake reports

Speed Indicator Device (SID)

The roads identified by us as subjected to the greatest number of speeding vehicles have been monitored using SID. The highest speeds were recorded on the A321/Broadwater area, the A321/Orchard Road area, and Hinton Road near the Green Man. Where excessive speeds were recorded our local WPC was informed. The monitoring of the Broadwater area will continue since this area has been identified with the highest recorded speeds.

Travellers

Travellers are now classified under the European Union’s ‘Human Rights Act,’ as ethnic minorities. I thought you should know how the Council’s policy operates. The general policy is to remove travellers from Council owned sites as quickly as possible using the ‘Public Order Act 1994’, which is for landowners rather than the police. An eviction notice can be obtained within a week. On privately owned sites the council will liaise with the landowner and ask them to remove travellers through the same or similar legal process. The Council feel that they cannot possibly take action on these sites as the cost would be prohibitive, although there have been exceptions where the landlord has not been located. The result of the latest four invasions locally has prompted the Council to strengthen their response to future illegal encampments through the employment of a second part time traveller co-ordinator financed through Home Office funding.