Green Party Leader - Natalie Bennett in Reading

Packed schedule for party leader's visit to Reading and Wokingham

14 DECEMBER 2012

It's hard to believe that we've already passed 100 days since Natalie Bennett became our second party leader in succession to Caroline Lucas - the woman who famously has the uncanny ability to apparently be in three places at once. I can't count the number of times I've heard her dubbed "a hard act to follow".

Proving herself to be an equally energetic public face of the Green Party, Natalie has been tireless in her efforts to connect with party activists across England and Wales since taking on the role as party leader. Yesterday was Reading and Wokingham's chance to get the measure of Natalie Bennett.

Her first appointment was with Shinfield parish councillor Marjory Bisset and her neighbours who are concerned about new housing development that threatens to destroy the character of their village.

Shinfield parish councillor Marjory Bisset showing Natalie the site of the proposed housing development on Reading University land

From there Natalie was whisked back to RISC for lunch with local activists before a visit to Reading's homelessness project Launchpad, which included a tour of one of their newly refurbished properties.

Natalie with Ian Caren, chief executive of Launchpad (launchpadreading.org.uk)

The Living Wage is a key component of the Green Party's belief in fairness so we set up a meeting with local UNISON representatives whose members are facing unprecedented erosion of their working conditions and discussed the possibilty of moving Reading Borough Council to being an accredited Living Wage employer.

Anti-fracking demonstration in London saturday.

Around 400 of us, Friends of the Earth and many Green Party Councillors attended and the Leader of the Green Party, Natalie Bennet addressed the rally.

Letter sent to Parliament to ask them to stop fracking in the UK because of the unsafe practices of this type of blast extraction! Recent testing in Birmingham has resulted in  homeowners living nearby this test to blame the process on new cracks now appearing in their properties! 

We are at War, the war against our Beautiful Heritage! Our English Countryside and Welsh and Scottish! The environment can only take so much! It is coming under threat from more extraction of raw materials, excessive building and more pollution into our sea and rivers. Plus if the Rail Line HS2 from London to Edinburgh goes ahead, we will see it go through 13 beautiful wildlife sites and disturb many woodlands which will take years to grow back if ever!  All for the sake of around 40 mins less travel time!!

We need to preserve our countryside and woodlands and eco-system, using permaculture more, cutting down on food waste and only manufacturing products which will rot down better and look at more Green Energy for the UK using solar and hydro and wind more.

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.