Bracknell, and the surrounding towns and parishes

A unitary authority within the ceremonial Royal County of Berkshire

Welcome to our website. Here we have collected a little bit of Bracknell together. Alvin's blog is to found here http://alvin-finch.blogspot.com/
Below is a periodic snapshot of the blog.

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Alvin's Stuff - Blog

Ask Alvin joins Race Online 2012

Ask Alvin joins Race Online 2012 in bid to get everyone online by the London Olympics

Race Online 2012 is the landmark challenge led by the UK’s Digital Champion Martha Lane Fox which aims to get the UK 100% internet enabled by the London Olympics. 

More than 10 million adults across the UK have never used the internet, and worryingly 4 million of this group are also socially excluded.  All of them are missing out on the opportunities and cost efficiencies that the web has to offer. 

Of the 4 million adults offline who are socially and digitally excluded:

·         39% are over 65 years old
·         38% are unemployed
·         19% are in families with children

Independent Champion for Digital Inclusion, Martha Lane Fox said “When the UK is near 100% online the benefits to society and the economy will be significant and mark a step change for the country as a whole. Race Online 2012 aims to show there is both a moral and economic imperative for the wider business community to take the issue of digital inclusion much more seriously.”


Iain Duncan Smith, secretary of state for work and pensions, said: "Digital literacy is a great enabler of social mobility. It is a way for those who have had bad experiences of institutions to re-engage in learning, and it can break down feelings of social isolation. It is a powerful weapon in the fight against poverty."
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/internet/7884842/Everyone-of-working-age-online-by-2015-says-Martha-Lane-Fox.html 

As an official Race Online 2012 partner, Ask Alvin  joins  BT, Google, Comet, McDonald’s, Microsoft, Skype, Moneysupermarket, Sky and Talk Talk whose remarkable vision and support has already resulted in a commitment to get a staggering 600,000 new users online.

The macro-economic environment makes the Race Online 2012 challenge an issue of urgency for all business, no matter what the size. Getting the UK near 100% online will create significant efficiency savings, attract investment, open opportunities and improve work force skills.

Why not become an official Race Online 2012 partner and be a part of this incredible cross-sector movement which will put an end to the digital divide forever?

Race Online 2012 wants any organisation of any size to get involved and help tackle the issue.  From encouraging business partners to sign up, to teaching friends and family to get online, or by donating old IT equipment locally - there are opportunities for all businesses to make a difference. It’s simple to sign up and it only takes five minutes to register. 

All Race Online 2012 partners are automatically entitled to access the Race Online 2012 partner toolkits which include a Race Online 2012 certificate, online media and communication materials to help promote their initiatives and spread the word, plus access to the Race Online 2012 news feed offering 24/7 digital inclusion news updates.

Please click on this link http://raceonline2012.org/get-involved to become an official Race Online 2012 partner, where you can explain what your organisation is doing or can do to help make the UK one of the first countries in the world to establish a fully online, internet enabled society.


Further Information
·         To find out more about becoming a Race Online 2012 Partner visit http://www.raceonline2012.org/get-involved
·         For people who are already online and know someone who is not visit http://www.helppassiton.co.uk
·         To find out more about getting online call 0800 77 1234 to find your nearest UK online centre where friendly staff are waiting to help you get started.


Cashless spending

Music festivals goers instead of using money could be forced to pay electronically for everything. Payments could be made via a wristband, which would also act as the event ticket, and be pre-loaded with money. The systems would use radio frequency identification (RFID) - which would see a microchip being embedded into something like a wristband or ticket.

People in London are already used to cashless transactions, with the Oyster card. A bit like supermarket loyalty cards these things can be used to tell what you have been up to, and what you might do next.
Iin a BBC article Barclaycard's Mr Mathieson said that information gathered from transactions could be valuable for future marketing. "For example if the system knows what time you went and bought a beer and at which bar, it can make a guess which band you were about to see," he said."Then the organizers could send you information about upcoming tours. The opportunities are exciting."
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/10362721

A recent article on TNW said that future generation iPhones will almost certainly contain Near Field Communications (NFC) technology, which will enable the phone to communicate with RFID tags or other NFC capable devices.

So far the average person has not had any way to interact with RFID tags, so they’ve mainly stayed in shipping and logistics and haven’t made it a noticeable impact on people’s lives. If we were to get NFC-enabled phones we would be able to. Some phone makers such as Nokia have already embarked on this.

TNW has the scenario where you walk out the door with your iPhone in your pocket.  You stop for a cup of coffee at the corner and just as you’re about to walk in, you iPhone pushes a notification to you. The notification tells you that you’ve just become the top visiting customer at that location (yes, it will check you in automatically) and asks you if you would like to share that info with your friends. If you hit yes, it sends you to an input screen and you share on Twitter, Facebook, wherever.
http://thenextweb.com/location/2010/07/16/how-apple-envisions-a-check-in-iphone-and-os/

I did some speculation about the use of RFID tags in my book Cold Suspenders. Hint – Tig Tags. I also speculated about how a mobile phone can be located. With GPS systems in phones this has become even easier. Build in RFID to all the other applications on your phone, and allow something like Facebook access, and who knows what people could tell about you?

There has been a lot of discussion about Facebook privacy, but does anyone really know who is tracking what we do? Who would have guessed that the original mission was just to create a facebook for Harvard University? A BBC article tells us that there are now people who make their living advising companies on how to use Facebook and other social networking sites. Companies can use the site for advertising and marketing "based on the extremely exact demographic data volunteered by the individual".
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-10705923

This is a bit of a ramble on, but I wonder just how many people know what details they are already giving away, and just what might be coming?
Bracknell based company Webroot give some hints about protecting yourself in the following linked article.
http://www.ciol.com/Developer/Enterprise-Tools/Feature/Location-based-social-network-apps-boom-Webroot/138963/0/

Road Safety

There has been talk in the press recently about road safety, and last month the BBC reported that the number of people killed on British roads last year reached a record low.  http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/10408417.stm
I took an interest in this, given that I was involved in a study of accidents in the Bracknell Forest Council area.  More about that later…

A bit over a year ago, the Guardian reported that “Road safety, cycling and bus priority schemes across England are under threat amid fears that the government is preparing to cut its £2.1bn local transport budget.”
This month the BBC reported that half of all fatal road crashes occur on one-tenth of Britain's roads. This article also reported that improved junctions and markings, along with resurfacing with high friction, anti-skid treatments, drastically reduced the number of serious accidents.

Just lately the LGA is suggesting that along with Housing, education, major transport projects and social cohesion programmes, road safety may have reduced funding.
It is probably just as well that Bracknell Forest has invested heavily in road safety in the past. Various schemes were implemented throughout the borough to bring down the number of accidents.
In the Working Group report that I contributed to, it is noted that “Further reductions in casualties are increasingly difficult to achieve, and it has to be recognised that there is an irreducible minimum number of casualties which no amount of investment could remedy.”

The Working Group noted that BFC had committed itself to further reduction over and above the targets set by Government. The working group concluded that the Council’s annual targets should not set a step reduction in any one year, but instead be based on a straight-line reduction to the ‘stretched’ targets.
http://democratic.bracknell-forest.gov.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=492&MId=2259&Ver=4  (item 12)

Let us hope that there will not be a too drastic reduction in road safety spending. It seems that on-going education is needed in this area, even though the Council has already used many means to engineer-in road safety to our streets and roads

Statutory duties and budgets


The Government has published details of the £1.166bn Local Government contribution to the £6.2bn cross government savings in 2010/11 needed to tackle the UK's record deficit in order to restore confidence in the economy and support the recovery.
http://www.communities.gov.uk/localgovernment/localgovernmentfinance/

In the light of the recent announcements of in year cuts to council spending, I tried to re-visit what it is that a council must do. What a good council should do, and what could be left out, if residents don’t want it.
The Council’s constitution gives some clues, but it is not all obvious. The fact that there are some Statutory Committees gives more clues.
http://democratic.bracknell-forest.gov.uk/ecSDDisplay.aspx?NAME=SD282&ID=259&sch=doc
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Local_government_in_England
Says that Unitary Authorities look after:
housing, waste management, waste collection, council tax collection, education, libraries, social services, transport, planning, consumer protection, licensing, cemeteries and crematoria

The Answer is not simple, and the best I can come up with is at the Conservative Home blog.
I hope here to paraphase what Glyn Gaskarth wrote there.
http://conservativehome.blogs.com/localgovernment/2010/03/statutory-duties--councils-are-legally-obliged-to-fulfil-their-statutory-dutieshowever-few-know-the-number-of-statutory-dut.html

Councils are legally obliged to fulfil their statutory duties.
But what are the statutory duties they are required to fulfil?
New ones are added each year.
Old ones are rarely repealed.

There should be fewer legal obligations for councils.
We should know what they are.
Any new ones should be costed and funded.
A mistake in a council’s legal responsibility could result in wasting money by performing ‘duties’ they are not legally required to, or left open to penalties if they fail to perform duties that they must.

There are issues of translation of council documents. When Government Quango’s charged with overseeing compliance seem to differ with Government Ministers on the scale of what local authorities are legally required to do. Nobody is completely sure.

Central Government dictates what local authorities must do.
If a Government is serious about giving local authorities more autonomy it needs to understand what they are currently legally required to do. It needs to audit all the statutory responsibilities of local authorities. All these statutory duties need to be listed in one place accessible to the citizen.
A simple search of “Statutory Duty” on the Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG) site yields 1,000 individual results. This is highly unscientific. However, we can draw three basic conclusions from this fact.
Firstly, there appear to be many statutory duties.
Secondly, we are unsure how many.
Thirdly that DCLG, the department responsible for managing local authority’s compliance does not appear to include a list of local authorities’ statutory duties on their website (none could be found in this search).
A simple list would give greater clarity and flexibility to local authorities.
They would be certain of what they had to do.
Perhaps residents could then be able to vote for a local authority that pledged to tax less because it was required to do less?
Councillors would act when they wanted to because they believed it necessary to act, not simply to comply with the will of Central Government.

The questions are:
What sort of things should your council be obliged to do?
How much do you want to pay for those things?


Garden Grabbing

I noted that the Bracknell Standard picked up on my query to the planning officers about the issue of “Garden Grabbing”. One of the objectors to a recent application had cited the change in policy in this area by the new government.
http://www.getbracknell.co.uk/news/s/2073790_garden_grabbing_gets_green_light

The big headache with planning issues is that we are very much bound by law, the weight given to various government planning edicts, and policies contained in local plans. The local plans themselves although called local, are often constrained by Government policy.

I asked the question to clarify the position that we are now in. It appears that we are now in a much better position to write rules that will prevent future high density development in back gardens. The change in the regulations already gives us more room to manoeuvre.

The previous governments planning rules created a shortage of homes with parking and gardens. Whitehall regulations were pricing a whole generation of low and middle income earners out of buying a family home. As they pledged, the new government are now changing planning rules to encourage more new homes with bedrooms and gardens for families – in place of dense blocks of flats.



A letter that was recently sent to Planning Officers if available at http://www.communities.gov.uk/publications/planningandbuilding/lettergardengrabbing

I am writing to confirm that the Government has amended Planning Policy Statement 3: Housing (PPS3) with the following changes:
 • private residential gardens are now excluded from the definition of previously developed land in Annex B
 • the national indicative minimum density of 30 dwellings per hectare is deleted from paragraph 47
 Together these changes emphasise that it is for local authorities and communities to take the decisions that are best for them, and decide for themselves the best locations and types of development in their areas.

In 2000, John Prescott introduced new national planning regulations for housing – which forced all new housing developments to pack in 12-18 new dwellings per acre. The flawed rules also classed gardens as ‘Brownfield’ land. As a result, blocks of flats were increasingly being crammed in the place of existing homes with gardens. This is also known as ‘garden grabbing’. Reports suggest that the price of a family house has risen at eight times the rate of a new flat since 2000, and there has been fall in the number of detached and semi-detached homes being built. There is now a relative over-supply of flats in many areas.

In recent years, it has become increasingly difficult for families across Bracknell Forest on modest incomes to buy a home suitable for children to grow up. But house prices don’t change in isolation from government policy. Labour’s national planning rules, laid down on high from Whitehall, have in many areas created a surplus of pokey flats and a shortage of family homes with parking spaces and gardens.

Recent government figures suggest the proportion of houses built on previously residential land, such as gardens, increased from one in 10 in 1997 to one in four in 2008.

Dr Simon Thornton Wood, director of science and learning at the Royal Horticultural Society, said gardens had medical as well as environmental benefits.
"Gardens, like parks, are the green lungs of cities, improving air quality, controlling air temperature and flood risk, and providing a haven for wildlife.
"Beyond these very practical benefits of gardens we know that gardening is great for physical and mental health.
"That's why we would like planning measures to go further than protecting existing gardens, to guarantee high-quality green space and gardening opportunities in all new building developments, wherever they are."
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/8728633.stm

Now that the new government have scrapped the rigid density rules, let’s hope that it will now let the market build the homes that people want and need.
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News from Bracknell Forest

Road diversions in Crowthorne due to burst water main

A burst water main has today forced the temporary closure of a major route through Crowthorne and so motorists are advised to seek an alternative route through the village for the next few days. The water main, which belongs to South East Water, is located at the roundabout connecting Bracknell Road, Dukes Ride and High Street. Two way traffic lights will be in place from lunchtime on Friday, July 30, so traffic can flow between Bracknell Road and High Street. However, no traffic will be able to turn into Dukes Ride and this is likely to remain closed until early next week. Motorists should leave extra time for their journey if they need to travel through Crowthorne over the next few days. Diversion routes will be in place and are as follows: northbound traffic: Waterloo Road to New Wokingham Road southbound traffic: Old Wokingham Road to Nine Mile Ride to New Wokingham Road.

Work starts to link Peacock Lane and A329 Berkshire Way

Work to create a direct link to the A329 Berkshire Way from Peacock Lane, along with associated roundabout and slip roads started earlier this summer. The road works are currently taking place ‘offline’ to the south of the existing A329 carriageway but will move onto the carriageway in late summer. Once the roadworks reach the carriageway, there will be some disruption to traffic flows and a 50mph speed limit will be enforced for safety reasons. The new link is scheduled for completion in Winter 2010/2011 and will provide a vital connection to the main route into Bracknell and onto the M4. It will be of significant benefit to people who use Peacock Lane – who currently have to go through the Southern Industrial Estate to reach the A329 – and to the growing residential community of Jennett’s Park and people who work at the adjacent Southern Industrial area. The roadworks will consist of the construction of a short length of access road from an existing stub in Peacock Lane to a new roundabout on the A329.  Vehicles travelling eastbound into Bracknell will however be able to use a through-lane rather than the roundabout in order to maintain traffic flow from the M4 towards Bracknell.   The programme of work is being carried out by contractors working on behalf of the Jennett’s Park Consortium – Persimmon Homes and Redrow Homes. Information and weekly updates  for road users about the improvements is available at www.a329roadworks.co.uk. Additionally a freephone information line with a recorded weekly update message is available by calling 0800 028 8332.

Doggy delights at Paws in the Park

Does your pooch have the waggiest tail or perhaps crazy capers are right up your canine's street, if so then why not pop along to Paws in the Park? You'd be barking mad to miss the family-fun event, which will be taking place at Lily Hill Park on Saturday, July 31 as it will be full of doggy delights. The free event will start at 11am and run until 4pm and will feature dog advice, displays, competitions, charity stalls and stands from local dog-related businesses. Dog owners can come along to enjoy games and some good old handling challenges. Competitions will include the waggiest tail and best trick award and the chance for dogs and their owners to obtain the coveted bronze award in the Kennel Club's Good Citizen Dog scheme. Bracknell Forest Council's parks and countryside team organises the annual event to give something back to dog walkers who use the borough's parks throughout the year. It aims to promote responsible dog ownership, including how to keep pets healthy and well exercised. This year's event will include arena displays by Berkshire Search and Rescue Dogs and Oakwood Park Kennels with stalls from various charities such as the RSPCA and Moor Cottage Veterinary Hospital, where information and advice is available. For more information visit www.bracknell-forest.gov.uk/leis-paws-in-the-park

Fancy footwork to kick off Edgbarrow's official reopening and summer fun day

Edgbarrow Sports Centre's grand reopening will kick off with a special visit from a well-known footballer on Sunday, August 1. Ex-Chelsea and Leeds United striker Tore Andre Flo, will be making sure there are no own goals during the celebration, which marks the centre's re-launch after a fire late last year. Mr Flo, who has also represented his native Norway in international matches, will be joined by the Deputy Mayor of Bracknell Forest Cllr Chris Turrell and the centre's mascot Foxy to celebrate its much earlier than anticipated reopening. A summer fun day is also planned after the ribbon cutting, between 10am and 4pm, so families can enjoy everything the centre has to offer now that it's back to full strength. Free activities will include: - gymnastics; - bouncy castle and soft play; - trampolining; - archery; - tennis; - athletics and; - badminton. Plus a great prize raffle, garden games and a barbecue will be on offer.   There will also be the chance to sign up for some fantastic discounts and promotions on memberships and bookings, as well as finding out more about the benefits of becoming a member. Cllr Turrell said: "I'm very much looking forward to helping Edgbarrow Sports Centre celebrate being fully open again. The fire caused real damage to the centre so I'm pleased that it has been able to open earlier than anticipated and I urge all families to come along on Sunday and try out all the free activities." More information is available at www.bracknell-forest.gov.uk/beFollow Edgbarrow Sports Centre on Facebook.

Trading standards step in and help save £125,000

The trading standards team at Bracknell Forest Council has directly intervened and helped residents and organisations save over £125,000 in the last year. Trading standards stepped in and helped local residents get refunds and savings of £65,000 for items ranging from rusty scooters and replacement TVs to faulty footwear and car repairs. One couple, Marcella and Bob Begbie, from Binfield, reclaimed more than £1,000 from a bathroom company and Margaret and Catherine Whitehead from Warfield got a refund of £1,700 from a will company. Marcella and her husband became involved with the bathroom firm after responding to an advert in a catalogue. They paid  £1,066 as a deposit for a new shower unit. The couple tried to cancel their order, only to be told they would incur additional charges of £740 if they pursued their attempt. Mrs Begbie said: “When we tried making contact with the man that initially sold us the shower unit, we were unsuccessful, and he wouldn’t return our calls. I couldn’t believe the lies that I had been told and so I decided to contact trading standards. They were so helpful. Initially their calls were screened too, but after persisting they managed to get us our money back - we were so grateful for their help.” In a similar incident, Mrs Whitehead and her daughter were seduced by a stall in a Slough shopping centre which was offering two wills for £100. Later the same week she was telephoned by the company and asked to pay an additional £1,700 so that changes could be made to the wills at a later date. Mrs Whitehead only realised she’d been misled when she read about a similar story in a national newspaper. Mrs Whitehead added: “As soon as I saw the article I called the will company to try and cancel. When they said no I made contact with trading standards, who got involved and helped me get my money back.” From April 2009 to March 2010, the team also helped save taxpayers' money by preventing over £60,000 worth of fraud from local authorities and national health trusts. Robert Sexton, head of trading standards and services at Bracknell Forest Council, said: “Our team has worked hard to try and save people’s money both directly by way of refunds and indirectly by tackling fraud against the public sector. "Over the last year we have intervened and recovered £65,000 for Bracknell Forest residents when their own efforts have failed. I would urge anyone who feels they have concerns about a purchase they have made, fallen victim to a scam, rogue trader or been mislead to make contact with Consumer Direct on 08454 040506.” Cllr Iain McCracken, executive member for public protection, added: "These cases highlight how important it is to be aware of your rights and how to exercise them.   "There are unscrupulous people out there who wouldn't think twice about ripping you off, so the general advice is purchase from established retailers or those that come recommended to you, know your rights, and if a deal seems too good to be true then it usually is." For more information and advice about trading standards, visit www.bracknell-forest.gov.uk/tradingstandards or call 01344 352000.
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