Flooding in Mill Green, Caversham pathway at back of homes still not passable. Environmental Agency pumping out water at the back of Deans Road Properties, many cars damaged there through water.

Cold snap on its way now, no extra rain fall forecast for next two weeks so hopefully levels will reduce a bit more, but with water management decreasing with the loss of lock keepers on the Thames who do a fantastic job and building on flood plains, we need to keep building out of these areas. 

More house building on the cards in South Oxfordshire....


But with plenty of homes vacant and owners out of the country, more needs to be done to get owners to either sell or make their homes habitable for a family or couple who need housing in the UK.

Sonning Bridge closed today. Train and road chaos because of high flooding not seen since 2007 in Berkshire and along the River Thames.

Now cold weather coming....   plenty of hot spicy soups and brisk walks for our hearts x

Been out with Caversham Globe today litter picking off Peppard Road

Caversham Shopping Event weds 12th from 5pm - 9pm - lots to choose from.  Come by bicycle or walk or by bus to help with congestion expected!

Flooding

Thames on flood alert from Goring to Henley-on-Thames.
For advice contact 08459 88 11 88 or you can go into The BMW office next to the Reading Station.
Reading Borough Council's website www.reading.gov.uk also has details to help with advice on sandbags and tips on securing your property from flooding.

First Person: University strives to be clean and green

The University of Reading’s annual Green Week is getting under way today.

Energy officer Tom Yearley explains how the eco-friendly campus is boosting its green credentials and gives details of the activities taking place to celebrate its environmental successes.

Visitors to our wonderful parkland Whiteknights Campus often comment on its beauty.

Our Grounds Team work exceptionally hard to make it a place to be enjoyed by all, but people may not be aware of the other ‘green’ successes at The University of Reading.

In March 2011, The University of Reading committed to reduce its carbon emissions by 35 per cent by 2015/16.

In just two years I’m delighted to report that we are almost halfway to that target.

What better way to announce our annual Green Week?

In 2011/12, the university recycled more than 50 per cent of all waste produced and since 2008/09 we’ve reduced our carbon footprint by 16.5 per cent, saving almost £4 million.

Green Week aims to celebrate environmental successes over the last year and, crucially, highlights ways further successes can be achieved.

As one of the world’s top one per cent universities Reading has a duty to be as environmentally friendly as possible, especially given we are world leaders in areas of environmental research such as meteorology, climate change and soil science.

We also take immense pride in our eco-friendly campuses.

So what can we all look forward to during Green Week?

Monday’s Battle of Bins will see Sir David Bell, the university’s vice-chancellor, going head to head with Student Union president James Fletcher in a race at 1pm to see who can make haste with the waste.

Who can separate and recycle the most rubbish the fastest? Expect cheering and jeering!

Later that day an evening of interactive debate and discussion on the topic of environment and sustainability in our region gets under way with a thought-provoking presentation by Dr Marina Della Giusta, an expert in behavioural and social economics.

In Wednesday’s public lecture Professor Janet Barlow will explore the meteorological processes controlling our city temperatures and ask if it’s possible to design our cities to beat the heat in the future.

Throughout the week university Fine Art students will show videos of their interpretation of green ... in a skip!

I hope to see many of you next week and that you enjoy our fourth Green Week.

Visit www.reading.ac.uk/cleanandgreen for more.