How busy has your councillor been? #rdguk

The table below shows the amount of case work -- potholes, education issues, parking problems, requests for information etc -- each councillor in Reading has put through the Front Office system from May 2013 to present. I have only included councillors whose term is coming to an end this year.

In the past commentators have suggested that some councillors choose not to use the Front Office system for their casework and this accounted for their low Front Office statistics. I have never understood this because if you use the system, councillor services will log your case work, keep track of it, chase it up for you and help you write letters back to residents. If you don't use the system then you either fire and forget your communications with officers and don't keep track of them or you have to use your own system to manage casework without the support of councillor services.

I’ll let people draw their own conclusions about levels of activity and how to vote at the elections.

What do you think?

Councillor	Ward	No of enquiries
WHITE, Rob	PARK	451
EDEN, Rachel	WHITLEY	127
ENNIS, John	SOUTHCOTE	96
RALPH, Mark	PEPPARD	80
DUVEEN, Ricky	TILEHURST	64
HACKER, Sarah	BATTLE	54
RYNN, Jenny	KENTWOOD	42
TICKNER, Bet	ABBEY	41
CUMPSTY, Andrew	CAVERSHAM	28
BENSON, Daisy	REDLANDS	20
LIVINGSTON, Marian	MINSTER	20
RYE, Rebecca	KATESGROVE	17
JONES, Peter	NORCOT	10
STEVENS, David	THAMES	7
HARRIS, Tim	CHURCH	3

Crescent Road needs resurfacing! #rdguk

We had another go recently at trying to get the Council to resurface Crescent Road. We got the Council to do a small section of it a while ago and we have got some of the potholes fixed. With this road being the main route to a number of schools we think it should be prioritised. Unfortunately the Council doesn't agree.

Below is the most recent response from the Council:

"Thank you for your enquiry regarding the road surface in Crescent Road.

Last year the worst part of Crescent Road was resurfaced as funding allowed.  However you are correct where at present the majority of the areas of carriageway you refer to do not reach the current intervention level, although there are occasions where ad-hoc orders are required when deterioration occurs.

Crescent Road will continue to be monitored and will be assessed and considered in accordance with the Council policy and inspection regime."

local election hustings on the environment in Reading #rdguk

The Greater Reading Environmental Network have organised a local election hustings. See below:

GREN Local Election Hustings

GREN’s Environmental Hustings for the 2014 Reading Local Elections will be on Tuesday 13th May at 7:45 pm in Reading Quaker “Friends’ Meeting House” 2 Church Street, off London Street, Reading RG1 2SB.
Councillors Tony Page (Labour), Ricky Duveen (Liberal Democrat) and Rob White (Green) have agreed to present their policies and to take part in a ‘Question Time’ style debate chaired by Prof. Gavin Parker, Chair of Planning Studies, Reading University. A Conservative representative is also expected.
Come along to quiz the politicians and tell them your concerns. Questions should focus on local environmental issues such as climate change adaptation and mitigation, planning, transport, pollution, provision for biodiversity, and waste.
Please help to publicise the event by forwarding this to others and by downloading and printing an A4 poster http://www.gren.org.uk/resources/GREN_Hustings_A4.pdf and/or an A5 Flyer http://www.gren.org.uk/resources/GREN_Hustings_A5x2.pdf.

GREN is the Greater Reading Environmental Network www.gren.org.uk

Reading Council Announces Full List of Candidates

Below is a full list of candidates at the council elections. Surprisingly UKIP are standing ten candidates and Labour have switched their candidate and by-election candidate in Park Ward around (neither of which live in Park Ward).

Josh and I will keep working hard in Park Ward up to the elections, say hello if you see us and feel free to ask for a poster.

Park Ward By-Election
Shanaz Akhtar	Con	18 Cholmeley Road
Francis David Jakeman	LibDem	50 Eastern Avenue
Matthew Lawrence	Lab	2 The Ridings
Josh Williams	Green Party	66 Cumberland Road
Abbey
Richard Charles Black	Green Party	166B Kensington Road
Stephen George James	UKIP	112 Surley Row
James William John Moore	LibDem	36 Swansea Road
Laurence Douglas Taylor	Con	33 Marlborough Avenue
Bet Tickner	Lab	25 Hemdean Hill
Battle
Glenn Goodall	LibDem	114 Blenheim Gardens
Sarah Hacker	Lab	6 Dorset Street
Imraan Ishtiaq	Con	3 Beresford Road
Alan Edward Lockey	Green Party	23 Brocksett Close
Jean-Louis Pascual	Roman	12 Stanley Grove
Caversham
Christopher Burden	LibDem	24 Cromwell Road
Rachael Chrisp	Lab	5 Amherst Road
Michael Diamond	UKIP	16 Blossom Road
Jenny Hicks	Green Party	25 Luscombe Close
Geoff Poland	Con	6 Blakes Quay
Silvia Vousden	TUSC	45 Managua Close
Church
Paul Alan Carnell	Con	2 Pevensey Court
Vivienne Joyce Johnson	Green Party	22 Clarendon Road
Margaret McNeill	LibDem	2 Ella Garett Close
Ashley Pearce	Lab	24 Elgar Road
Ann Patricia Zebedee	UKIP	5 Cressingham Road
Katesgrove
John Barrie Dearing	UKIP	27 Sherman Road
Sophia James	Lab	Lower Flat, 46 Crown Street
Louise Kaye Keane	Green Party	30 Edgehill Street
Peter Jon Kinsley	LibDem	33 Sherman Road
Emma Jayne Warman	Con	58 Bramshaw Road
Kentwood
Glenn Anthony Dennis	Lab	200 Thirlmere Avenue
Ruth Leonora	Green Party	25 Wardle Avenue
Tom Steele	Con	71A Oak Tree Road
Howard Thomas	UKIP	90 Stone Street
Jonathan David Walls	LibDem	Flat 72, Regents Riverside
Minster
Katie Black	Con	18 Heritage Court
Patrick Dillon	UKIP	72 Wolseley Street
Jonathan Richard Fanti	LibDem	50 Collis Street
Marian Elise Livingston	Lab	57 Swainstone Road
Hazel Murphy	Green Party	44 Boston Avenue
Norcot
Debs Absolom	Lab	3 Hampstead Court
Georgina Hughes	LibDem	31 George Street
David James Patterson	Green Party	53 Balmore Drive
Clare Vose	Con	1 Dulnan Close
Park
Anne Patricia Armstrong	UKIP	15 Hollicombe Close
Mohammad Basharat	Con	168 London Road
Anrish Kaur	Lab	7 Tuxford Mews
Rebecca Rye	LibDem	69 Carnarvon Road
Rob White	Green Party	69 Coventry Road
Peppard
Kate Annabel Day	Green Party	2 Rotherfield Way
John Knight	UKIP	Flat 5, 40 Knights Way
Natalie Kay	Lab	16 Buckingham Drive
Mark Andrew Ralph	Independent	7 Kidmore Road
Simon Howard Robinson	Con	78 Galsworthy Drive
Jenn Claire Woods	LibDem	Flat 72, Regents Riverside
Redlands
David Lawrence Absolom	Lab	3 Hampstead Court
Robert Derek Allan	UKIP	Flat 5, 56 London Road
Kirsten Ruth Bayes	LibDem	2 Malvern Court
Helen Elizabeth Hopper	Con	47 Culver Road
Kizzi Murtagh	Green Party	47 Blenheim Gardens
Southcote
Madeleine Elizabeth Adams	LibDem	94 Mayfield Drive
Doug Cresswell	Green Party	2 Rotherfield Way
John Ennis	Lab	5 Hampstead Court
Ellis Wiggins	Con	5 Wellingtonia House
Thames
John Robert Dickson	Independent	1A Kidmore Road
Sarah Frances McNamara	Green Party	12 Woburn Close
Guy William Penman	LibDem	90 Blenheim Road
Richard Martin Stainthorp	Lab	23 Oakley Road
David Bryan Stevens	Con	61 Baker Street
Tilehurst
Haji Banaras	Lab	72 Salisbury Road
Ricky Duveen	LibDem	4 Chieveley Close
Miriam Frances Kennet	Green Party	6 Strachey Close
William Stewart Graham MacPhee	UKIP	29 Armour Road
Robert Vickers	Con	58 New Lane Hill
Whitley
Janel Marie Blattler	LibDem	50 Collis Street
Nicholas Brown	Con	Flat 1, Berwyn House
Rachel Claire Eden	Lab	7 Windrush Way
Keith Martin Johnson	Green Party	22 Clarendon Road
Jamie Steven Wake	Independent	21 Gweal Avenue