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Thu 24 February 2022:
Your regular update from Reading Borough Council on our response to the COVID-19 pandemic and how you can help
A message from Reading Borough Council leader Jason Brock

Whilst the legal requirement for people testing positive for COVID to self-isolate in England ends today, it is still recommended that if you have COVID symptoms you avoid contact with others, get a PCR test and if you test positive please stay at home for at least 5 full days and until you’ve had two negative lateral flow tests. You can currently still order lateral flow tests on the Government website.
 
The Reading COVID infection rate is still high, over 600 cases per 100,000 of the local population.
 
Other changes this week include:

  • Twice weekly testing for schools is no longer required
  • Contact tracing and venue check-in on the app has ended
  • Self-isolation support payments end
More information on living with and managing the virus is on the Government website.
 
As the legal COVID restrictions are lifted we need to take care of each other. It may take several years before the threat of new dangerous COVID variants subsides and the virus becomes more predictable. During this time further outbreaks will occur, and more severe variants may emerge causing more hospitalisations and sadly deaths.
 
You can reduce your risk of catching and passing on COVID-19 by:
  • Getting vaccinated. This is more important than ever now, as vaccinated residents help keep our schools open, the economy going and society open. The Broad Street Mall walk-in vaccine centre is open every day including weekends 9am-7pm. No appointment is needed and it’s never too late to get your first vaccine – every vaccine you have makes a difference.
  • Taking a test if you have COVID-19 symptoms, and staying at home and avoiding contact with other people if you test positive.
  • Wearing a face covering in crowded and enclosed spaces, especially where you come into contact with people you don’t usually meet and when rates of transmission are high.
  • Take a lateral flow test before visiting or meeting someone who is older and/or may be vulnerable.
  • Let fresh air in if meeting indoors to reduce COVID particles in the air.
  • Regularly washing your hands thoroughly.

Testing will be scaled back with free testing ending for most people from 1 April 2022. Although we await further information, it is thought that ongoing free testing will continue (if symptomatic) for a small number of at-risk groups and social care staff.
 
Residents’ survey
Over 1000 people took part in our recent Residents’ Survey. The really positive results reflect the major investments the Council continues to make to provide better facilities for residents. 80% who took part were satisfied with their local area as a place to live and 76% felt very or fairly strongly that they belong to their immediate neighbourhood.

The annual survey also showed that 66% of respondents were satisfied with the way Reading Borough Council runs things overall and that the main areas that they wanted to see improvement were in road and pavement repairs, crime levels and affordable, decent housing. You can read more about how we are responding to those concerns, and see more of the survey’s results, below.
 
New budget
Our budget was approved last night at a Full Council meeting. I’m delighted that we will continue with the investment in the town which will see hundreds more roads in Reading resurfaced over the next three years, two new swimming pools at Rivermead and Palmer Park as well as the refurbishment of South Reading Leisure centre. There is also investment in playgrounds across the borough.
 
We are also investing into a new railway station in Reading with the council-led construction of Green Park Station which is almost complete. You can see our latest stunning aerial footage, capturing the progress on this major development, below - including two 150m platforms, station building and car parks.
 
We are continuing our programme of affordable housing and are investing £88m to build hundreds of new Council homes over the next four years.
 
Your council tax bills will be posted or emailed to you during March and you will see a below inflation Council Tax increase of 1.99% along with a 1% rise in the Adult Social Care precept. As the largest number of homes in Reading fall into Band C, the Council’s element of the increase amounts to 91p per week for these households. These increases don’t include the precepts for the police and fire authority.

Climate Emergency
Saturday marks three years since a climate emergency was declared by the Council on behalf of the Reading community. There are things we can all do to save carbon and save money, such as:

  • Walk, cycle or use public transport
  • Reduce food waste – freeze leftovers and check your fridge temperature is between 0-5 C
  • Turn down thermostats and switch off appliances where possible – depending on your age the ideal room temperature is 18-19C during winter.
  • Skip meat for one day a week - reduce your annual carbon footprint by the equivalent of not driving your car for a whole month.
  • Repair, recycle and reuse.

Find out about the local achievements of the Council and other partners since the climate emergency was declared on our website. Working together we can rise to this vital challenge for Reading.

Constituency boundary changes – consultation now open
The Boundary Commission for England is holding an independent review of all constituency boundaries in England, and invites you to have your say on its proposals for Reading. The 2023 Boundary Review aims to rebalance the number of electors in each constituency, and the number of constituencies in England will increase to 543.

You can view the proposed new constituencies for Reading and the surrounding area, and share your views before the secondary consultation closes on 4 April. Have your say now via bcereviews.org.uk, or at the Reading public hearings on 21 and 22 March. You can book a place at those on the Boundary Commission for England website. We will post updates on the Council website.

RESIDENTS' SURVEY SHOWS SATISFACTION RATES ON THE RISE FOR COUNCIL SERVICES



The annual Residents’ Survey looks at how residents feel about their community, the services the Council provides and how it interacts with residents.
 
From over 1,000 responses, headline results show:
  • 66% of respondents were satisfied with the way Reading Borough Council runs things overall.
  • 62% felt Reading Borough Council acts on the concerns of local residents a great deal or a fair amount.
  • 69% outlined Reading Borough Council keeps them very or fairly well informed about the services and benefits it provides.
Residents were also asked about the areas which needed most improvement. Here are the top three, and how we are responding to those concerns:
  • 38% told the Council roads and pavement repairs were their priority
Over the past three years the Council has invested £9 million on Reading’s largest ever repair programme which will see 436 residential roads and many more pavements resurfaced. The Council is proposing a further £8 million road repair investment over the next three years in its latest budget
  • 26% said level of crime concerned them the most
The Council continues to work with Thames Valley Police colleagues carrying out a strategic assessment of crime issues in the borough and putting in place a new Community Safety Plan focused on reducing the level of serious crime
  • 26% also said affordable decent housing needed the most improvement
The Council is investing £88 million to build more than 300 new affordable homes over the next four years, reducing the housing waiting list and providing affordable rent properties to local residents, including provision for adult social care, sheltered housing and Reading’s essential key workers. A further £34 million is being spent on low carbon measures up to 2030 to improve energy efficiency in Council homes
 
The survey helps to ensure that services are designed around feedback from residents, and that there is continual improvement where needed.
 
The Residents' Survey results also showed:
  • 75% were satisfied with parks and green spaces.
  • 73% were satisfied with the waste collection service
  • 66% were satisfied with the street cleaning service
  • 61% were satisfied with town centre cleanliness
  • 55% were satisfied with schools
  • 39% were satisfied with road maintenance
AERIAL FOOTAGE SHOWS LATEST PROGRESS AT GREEN PARK STATION



Reading’s Green Park Station continues to take shape, with new aerial footage capturing the progress on this major development. Click the video above to watch the advances made so far.
 
Construction on the new £20 million station began in Spring 2019 and is progressing well despite initial delays to the project caused by the pandemic.
 
As shown in the footage, so far we have delivered:
  • 2 x 150m platforms;
  • A new fully accessible station building;
  • A new overbridge, providing fully accessible access to both platforms, via stairs and lifts;
  • A bus interchange and cycle parking facilities;
  • 2 car parks, including 12 blue badge spaces and drop off parking.
Over the coming weeks, work will continue on site to complete the final finishes to the station, including toilet facilities, accessible baby change, ticket vending machines and wayfinding signage.
 
Green Park Station will sit on the Reading to Basingstoke line and will be served by a half-hourly service north to Reading and south to Basingstoke through the day. It is expected to be open for public use during the summer of 2022, and will help to alleviate queues on the busy A33 by offering an alternative sustainable mode of travel.

Find out more at www.reading.gov.uk/GreenParkStation
KEEP UP TO DATE WITH THE LATEST COVID-19 RESPONSE NEWS FROM READING BOROUGH COUNCIL

With the latest advice and service information changing regularly, you can keep up to date by following our dedicated page to the Covid-19 response here: https://www.reading.gov.uk/coronavirus
Please also follow us on Facebook and Twitter (links below) for regular updates.
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