Woking Borough Council
Rubbish collection in Barrens Close
The Barrens Close Residents’ Association has been in touch with me and my fellow ward councillor, Cllr David Bittleston to question the recent change in schedule for rubbish collection. The properties in Barrens Close have to use rubbish sacks because the very steep slope means it is difficult to put the wheelie bins in the correct place and for the contractors to empty them. While the blue bags can be safely left out overnight, this is not the case for black sacks containing food waste as these are frequently torn by foxes which scatter rubbish across the road and pavement. This means that residents have to wake up very early, at about 6am, to put their bin bags out on the day of collection.
I am told it is quite difficult to change the collection patterns. However, Cllr Bittleston and I have been in touch with Geoff McManus, who is the officer responsible for managing the contract, to see if anything can be done. We will update residents as soon as we have a response.
White Rose Lane Nature Reserve
This week I will be presenting a Notice of Motion to full council to try and secure a regular schedule of maintenance at the White Rose Lane Nature Reserve, which runs through the woodland beside the Hoe Stream and connects Woking Park to Hoe Bridge School.
The nature reserve is a site of interest to local walking and rambler groups and is home to a significant variety of wildlife including owls, bats, deer and various species of rare fungi and wild flowers. Over the last few years volunteers have been working to carry out scrub clearance and removal of the invasive Himalayan Baslam, which if left uncontrolled could spread across the site and overwhelm the native flowers and fauna.
My Notice of Motion calls on the council to recognise the potential of the White Rose Lane Nature Reserve to be an important amenity and local attraction in Woking. If the motion is approved, the council will identify options and allocate resources for landscaping and improvement so that the nature reserve can be enjoyed by both residens and visitors to the borough.
Access road to St Dunstan’s from Onslow Crescent
Earlier in the summer a number of residents expressed concern about an application for a fire road across the northern boundary playing field of St Dunstan’s school to provide emergency access from Onslow Crescent. It was felt that the proposed access road will take up an unacceptably large proportion of the main playing field, limiting future recreational activity.
Residents also sought reassurances that the school would limit this road to fire access only. Onslow Crescent is already congested at pick up and drop off times, and there were fears that the proposed new access route could be used as a relief road, further exacerbating the problem.
Following these representations my fellow Mount Hermon East ward councillor, Cllr David Bittleston, raised the matter with planning officers and was able to secure a condition which confirmed that the access road will only be used for fire or emergency access. A series of protective restrictions were also put in place, with the council being required to approve any pruning or removal of trees, to ensure taht there would be no loss of amenity for residents.
Woking Food & Drink Festival
This weekend I had the pleasure of attending the second Woking Food & Drink Festival in Jubilee Square. The event, which was three times larger than last year, featured 60 high quality food and drink stalls, live culinary demonstrations courtesy of Tante Marie and other local businesses, a hog roast, a baking competition and cookery courses for schoolchildren, as well as live music and performances from the Phoenix Cultural Centre.
On arriving at Jubilee Square I was surprised by just how many people the festival had attracted to Woking. Retailers at the Peacock Centre and Wolsey Place have said that footfall over the three day period increased by as much as 35,000 people, giving a tremendous boost to the local economy. The festival also adds to the growing and diverse range of entertainment, cultural, culinary and social events in Woking’s calendar, helping further establish our reputation as a borough where people come to live, work and shop.
I would extend my congratulations to all the businesses, sponsors and council employees who helped make this year’s event happen – thanks for all your hard work.