Paying for Care for the Elderly

This last week has seen a major government initiative to solve the riddle of paying for our elderly relatives to be cared for in nursing homes. The issue of who pays for the care of the elderly has become increasingly important to many people as they discover that therir elderly relatives are living longer and most long-term residents of care homes end up selling their houses in order to pay for their care.

I have talked to several residents in Tilehurst for whom this is a major concern. They see poeple working all their lives, saving money, buying a house, retiring and then having to give up all their posessions (including their homes) to pay for care in retirement. The state requires that any wealth over £23,500 must be used to pay for care services when full-time care is required. People with no wealth do not have to worry as the state pays for their care from day one. It is this issue of elderly folk who have saved for retirement and who own their homes having to give everything up rather than pass something on to their children that is so unfair. For many people who have to deal with elderly parents and nursing homes there is huge resentment at having to hand over all the savings over £23,500 whilst others who have not saved receive the same care for free.

Two years ago the government commissioned a report on paying for the care of the elderly and the Dilnot report was duly issued last year. After some dithering they have now agreed to act on the main recommendations. These are that the limit on how much retained wealth you are allowed if you need to go into a nursing home will be raised to £100,000 and that their will be a cap of £35,000 on contributions. Essentially people can reatin more of their life’s savings than at present, so more can be left to relatives. Also if their is a cap of £35,000 for any individual’s contribution to his/her own care, then future generations will be able to take out insurance to cover this relatively modest amount.

At the cost of a couple of £billion a year these reforms will save a lot of older folk from having to sell their houses in order tp pay for care when others, who do not own their own home pay nothing for the same care.

As more and more of us live longer and longer and more of us require care at the end of our lives, the issue of who pays for that care is becoming a bigger and bigger problem. I think most people will see this move as a fairer way to fund care for the elderly.

Dogs doings

I am sure that many ward councillors are approached by residents with stories of dog mess left lying on footpaths and other public places by inconsiderate dog owners. Despite the council installing a multitude of dog bins around the town, dog owners seem to think it is their right to leave their animals mess wherever it happens to fall.

Yesterday I visited one particular footpath in Tilehurst that has clearly been used as a public dog toilet for a very long time, the grass verges alongside the footpath are covered in piles of dog mess, despite the presence of a dog bin opposite one end of the footpath.

I cannot believe that dog owners would let their dogs pooh in the road outside their front door but they are quite happy to let their dogs pooh next to someone else’s house or garden.

The state of public places like this footpath are the reason that we Lib Dems have forced the Labour administration on the council to beef up the dog warden unit with an extra warden, despite the current financial position we find ourselves in. We do believe in keeping our streets clean and dog mess is a public nuisance.

New Parking Restrictions in Tilehurst

Last Thursday’s TMAP (Traffic Management Advisory Panel) meeting approved a series of new parking restrictions across Reading including 5 in Tilehurst:

1. Junction of Victoria road and Armour Road
2. Junction of Calder Close and Chichester Road
3. Green Acre Mount
4. Junction of Corwen Road and Gratwicke Road
5. Dunstall Close

Along with other local Lib Dems I have spent some time in the weeks before Christmas canvassing opinions form residents living nears to these spots and the overwhelming majority in each case has been in favour of the new restrictions.

These new parking restrictions, following formal approval at Cabinet, will now be incorporated in a TRO (Traffic Regulation Order) and advertised in the press. There is then a few weeks statutary consultation period before the new restrictions can be implemented. This will all take a couple of months but hopefully they will benefit local residnets by deterring parking across driveways (as in Green Acre Mount) or parking where it blocks the view of other cars near junctions.

Parking on Grass Verges in Tilehurst

Excellent news from tonight’s meeting of the Traffic Managment Advisory Panel (TMAP). The meeting approved the go-ahead for a ban on verge and pavement parking along a number of roads in Tilehurst. They even accepted the additional roads suggested by the Tilehurst NAG and the Tilehurst Globe, both of which, in their different ways, have taken a keen interest in traffic issues in Tilehurst. This is the first time that such a ban is being introduced in Reading so we are all keen to see what effect it really has.

TMAP have agreed to push forward a Traffic Regulation Order (TRO) that will ban verge and pavement parking along the following roads:

Westwood Road
Oak Tree Road
School Road
Recreation Road
Churhc End Lane
Lower Elmstone Drive
Brooksby Road (just the bottom end near Overdown Road)
Park Lane
Mayufair
The Meadway
Overdown Road
Norcot Road

This has been a long time coming and as a ward councillor I have received many representations from residents who want to see such a ban come in to effect. It will take a couple of months for the TRO to be published and there will be a formal consultation period before the ban (assuming it is approved) finally comes in.

We all need to take more care of grass verges and not turn them into mud patches and we all need to avoid parking on pavements where the footpath is blocked to pedestrians, mothers with prams and mobility scooters.

Tilehurst Triangle – improvements for pedestrians

Last Wednesday I attended a meeting of Tilehurst Globe which discussed improvements for School Road and the area around The Triangle. The meeting was addresed by Simon Beasley, the Traffic Manager at Reading BC. Afterwards we came up with the following proposals which were agreed unanimously.

Tilehurst Globe

TRAFFIC IMPROVEMENT: TILEHURST TRIANGLE

Tilehurst Globe welcomes the initiative to enhance pedestrian safety and improve the environment at Tilehurst Triangle. The Triangle is the shopping hub of Tilehurst Village and in addition to shops it also contains schools, the public library, banks, dentists and cafes. There is a history of traffic accidents with pedestrians in the Triangle and a petition has recently been presented by parents at Park Lane School asking for better pedestrian facilities.

Two other petitions have been presented to TMAP over recent years concerning the lack of a safe crossing over Westwood Road as it enters the Triangle.

The objectives of the changes are to:

1. Improve pedestrian safety.
2. Improve the environment for shoppers and traders.

Our proposals are as follows:

1. 20 mph zone from Park Lane School to the Norcot Road lights, including approximately 100 metres of Westwood Road, Corwen Rd and St Michaels Rd. The 20mph zone to be marked by road surface changes as well as signage.
2. New pedestrian crossing outside Jo-Jos Hairdressers.
3. Replace the current Pelican crossing at the chemist with a pedestrian crossing further north (towards the Norcot Road traffic lights) to better serve the pedestrian desire lines.
4. Railings at Dunstall Close and School Road up to the replacement pedestrian crossing above (to prevent illegal parking blocking School Road).
5. New pedestrian crossing 20 metres down Westwood Road from School Road.
6. New pedestrian crossing outside the Laurels/Public Library.
7. Mitigating measures against speeding through traffic in Westwood Road, Chapel Hill, Oak Tree Road and Overdown, including stopping pavement/verge parking and removing parking restrictions.

These proposals will help reduce traffic speed in the 20 mph zone along the stretch of School Road that includes the shops and schools. The impact of the new pedestrian crossings will be to slow drivers who would otherwise be tempted to put their foot on the pedal. By increasing the number of formal crossings and placing them at the desire lines, pedestrians will be encouraged to use safe crossings rather than attempting to cross the road in opposition to traffic and the pedestrian crossings will also address the needs of parents who have to make the journey between The Laurels and Park Lane Schools. The chief benefit of these changes is to improve pedestrian safety, but the reduction in speeds and the ease of road crossing will enhance the shopping experience. In addition, traffic delays will be reduced through replacing the Pelican by a pedestrian crossing, which require shorter traffic stops.

A key benefit for the schools will be the safer route between the two schools necessitating only one crossing (by JoJo’s).

These Triangle Proposals will impact a number of other roads, including Westwood, Oak Tree, Chapel Hill and Overdown Road, as through traffic may increase as some vehicles divert down these roads in order to avoid the Triangle. The measures of stopping pavement/verge parking and removing parking restrictions already proposed at TMAP will produce informal chicanes, and tend to control speeding. Mandatory chicanes and changes of road surface at specific danger points should be implemented in the future if there is negative impact of the changes in these roads or others in the area.

Potential Problems

In addition to many benefits that these proposals may bring it is fair to point out that the presence of so many zebra crossings over School Road may actually cause blockages of traffic along School Road and that by eliminating pavement parking along Westwood Road we may be causing problems for buses where cars are parked on both sides of the road.

Also, if the Triangle is seen as problematic for through traffic then drivers may well look for alternative routes (Oak Tree and Westwood roads for example) so these need to be considered.

Vodafone Mast Appeal

Vodafone have appealed against the decision by West Berks Council to refuse the planning application to build a mast in Dark Lane. We now have until 20 January to send any further comments on to the Planning Inspectorate who will handle the appeal.

This is not good news for residents of Dark Lane and Prince William Drive and marks a departure for Vodafone who did not appeal the two refusals for masts in Lower Elmstone Drive. The proposed mast in Dark Lane is a mere 6 metres high and possibly less of an eyesore than the 14 and 15 metre ones they proposed for Lower Elmstone Drive. Nevertheless this new mast will still stand out like a sore thumb in Dark Lane and they will have to excavate quite a chunk of bank by the end of Prince William Drive to install it.

Fingers crossed that the Planning Inspector agrees with our point of view.

Gratwicke Road school run

We hear a lot of comments locally and at surgery about the top of Gratwicke Road being blocked every morning as mums drop their kids off to school by the junction with Corwen Road. Well the council have proposed a double yellow line along the inside of the bend in Gratwicke Road from the Corwen Road junction to the first houses. Just along one side and with no loading allowed during the school drop-off and pick-up times.

I spent this evening talking to some of the local residents and most appear to be in favour although they worry about pushing the parking problem further down Gratwicke Road. However the proposal makes sense to just about everybody as a way of keeping the junction clear, maintaining visibility round the bend and keeping Gratwicke Road free for passing traffic.

This will take some time to work its way through council procedures but it does look like an improvement that locals are generally happy with.

There also remains the question of enforcement and whether the council has the means to enforce any new restrictions when it struggles to maintain compliance with existing parking restrictions.

Vodafone 0 Tilehurst 3

Joyous news from West Berkshire ! Their Planning Committee has refused Vodafone’s application to install an 11 metre mast in Dark Lane.

Having fought off two previous attempts by Vodafone to install even higher masts along Lower Elmstone Drive I was approached by residents in West Berkshire about this application last month. I (with some help from Lib Dem colleagues) knocked on doors in the area and encouraged residents to respond to the initial ‘consultation’ and then organised a petition when the application was finally tabled.

This is another brilliant result for local residents who do not want intrusive telephone masts in residential areas. Well done to all concerned.

This is the third mast I have had to campaign against, I am probably one of Vodafones least liked customers!

Tilehurst Car Park Charges – time is running out

With time running out before the new car park charges are implemented at the end of the month, I have written again to Cllr Page (the Lead Councillor for Transport) appealing to him to re-think these charges which could seriously damage trade for local shopkeepers in Tilehurst. Last month I helped the traders present a petition with over 2,200 signatures to Cabinet as the council was planning to do away with the free first hour parking in Recreation Road and Dunstall Close car parks.

This Labour Council says it wants to encourage local shopping centres but then hits Tilehurst with these car park charges. They have offered to keep just the first 30 minutes free but this is not enough for many elderly folk to do their shopping and they are a large percentage of local customers.

The council just does not see the potential losses for traders in The Triangle if shoppers prefer driving down to Sainsbury’s rather than using local shops.

This is no way to encourage local businesses in the middle of a serious recession.