Bell Tower Community Association

NHS Berkshire West has just announced the closure of Priory Avenue Surgery in Caversham, which is the nearest surgery to much of our area, on 30 June 2018.

Patients living in the RG4 postcode area will be able to transfer directly to surgeries at Balmore Park or Emmer Green, but those of us that live south of the river are ‘out on our own’ and are going to have to find another surgery for ourselves. Patients are advised to register with a new GP practice by 13 June, after which one will automatically be allocated if no registration has been made.

If you are currently registered at Priory Avenue Surgery you will receive a letter explaining the options, with a list of surgeries that are accepting registrations. The list can be downloaded directly from https://healthwatchreading.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/Southcomparisontable.pdf

Reading Borough Council has launched an informal consultation on closure of Milford and Meadow Roads to through traffic near the junction of the two roads.

The closure would stop through traffic between the area and the industrial estate. The Bell Tower Community Association has been working with the council for some years on this and supports the closure, which would stop rat-running through the area. Drivers are more likely to use the area as a short cut when the Cow Lane bridges are fully open in early 2019 so we are hoping to prevent this.

Residents have been sent consultation letters with response forms that can be returned to the councillors via free post. Alternatively, if you have any comments or questions you can email our councillors directly. The deadline for responses is Friday 1 June:

Tony Page: tony.page@reading.gov.uk

Mohammed Ayub: mohammed.ayub@reading.gov.uk

Karen Rowland: karen.rowland@reading.gov.uk

Improvements to the road under under the railway line at Cow Lane have been delayed by six months.

Cow Lane bridge was demolished last year – as part of the £850m Reading station development scheme scheme – to make way for a two-lane traffic system. However, Network Rail said that due to “unforeseen issues” completion will be delayed until early 2019.

The scheme was due to be completed before Reading Festival in August.

The delay means that the road will remain the same for a further six months. The council has announced that the current northbound-only one-way system will end in July and that the previous two-way traffic light system will be put back in place, presumably until the works are completed.

In the meantime, the junction of Cow Lane and Cardiff Road is closed for six weeks until the end of June – the bollards in Cardiff Road have temporarily been removed and the alternative route via Milford Road, meaning a lot more traffic for some Cardiff Road residents.

The council is proposing to convert the short stay parking areas in Northfield Road to pay & display bays, with charges of 70 pence for 20 minutes and a 3 hour maximum stay.

We understand that this will have been discussed at the council’s traffic management sub-committee on 8 March 2018 and are currently waiting to hear the outcome.

Did you know that our area has more than 20 old cast iron lighting columns? Most of these are the original fluted pattern that dates from Victorian times and carried gas lamps, and these columns were all manufactured in Reading, many of them by two foundries close to our area – Samuel Griffith in Vastern Road and H C Goodman by Caversham Bridge where the Peter Brett Associates building is today.

With the advent of LED street lighting the council is considering scrapping all these columns, and Bell Tower residents are taking part in a town-wide campaign to save them, as they can be converted to take LED lanterns. The good news is that the council have agreed to undertake a structural survey of all the remaining cast iron columns to determine which ones can be saved and we should hear more in January – but so far there are still no guarantees that any of these will be kept.

Look out for decorations on these old columns during the festive season that have been put up as part of the ‘Love your Lamp post’ campaign. To find out more about this town-wide campaign and how you can show your support please visit bell-tower.org.uk/lampposts. Don’t forget to leave a message of support!