Latest news with #KarenRowland
BBC News
2 days ago
- Climate
- BBC News
Reading footbridge closes for eight days for safety work
A river footbridge is closing for eight days for safety Drive Footbridge has worn-out areas of exposed steel deck, posing a danger to pedestrians and cyclists, Reading Borough Council bridge over the River Kennett is due to reopen on Tuesday 5 council said it had spent £4m on similar projects over two years, including the replacement of King's Meadow footbridge and repairs to Grade II listed High Bridge in the town centre. The work at Kenavon Drive has been funded through a portion of the Community Infrastructure Levy, which is paid by developers, the authority Karen Rowland, in charge of environmental services, said: "We're fortunate to have the River Kennet running through Reading."We're making loads of improvements to ensure our residents can get around the town easily and sustainably by foot or by bike."Work also started recently to refurbish the Orbit Footbridge, which is scheduled to reopen in late October. You can follow BBC Berkshire on Facebook, X (Twitter), or Instagram.
BBC News
6 days ago
- Business
- BBC News
Reading glass kerbside recycling collections set to begin in 2026
Kerbside glass recycling collections are set to be introduced in Reading late next residents must recycle glass by using one of 49 bottle bank introduction of kerbside glass collections has been prompted by the government's Simpler Recycling Borough Council has agreed to fortnightly collections after waiting for funding arrangements to be clarified. The Simpler Recycling initiative requires all local authorities to collect from the kerbside the same core recyclable materials, including glass, paper, card, metal cans, plastic bottles, tubs and trays and food waste, by March kerbside glass recycling in Reading is set to begin next autumn, according to the Local Democracy Reporting bank locations in the town have become focal points for fly-tipping, with bad examples of rubbish dumping at Kensington Park and a bottle bank being removed in Erleigh Road due to persistent the Environment Act of 2021 set out the Simpler Recycling agenda, councils have been waiting for secondary legislation to determine how new recycling schemes will be funded - so-called new burden Rowland, lead councillor for environmental services said the authority would have to order trucks to allow glass to be collected from homes."I've constantly responded that we were not going to be spending taxpayers' money, that we were not going to move forward with it until we had new burdens funding and a specific outline of how we were going to take this forward so there is no risk there."Although "co-mingling" recycling in one collection was considered, this option was not deemed viable as it would have required changes to the Smallmead recycling centre that would cost £ agreed to introduce kerbside glass recycling at a recent meeting of its policy committee. You can follow BBC Berkshire on Facebook and X.
BBC News
09-06-2025
- General
- BBC News
Changes to bin collection dates in Reading from Monday
Almost 80% of residents in Reading are due to see a change to when their bins are changes were being made to "futureproof the service to accommodate a growing population", Reading Borough Council 66,000 households have their bins collected in the borough, with around seven million individual bin collections made by the council each year. The council said there would be no reduction in service, with waste and recycling still collected every other week and food waste being collected weekly. Karen Rowland, lead councillor for environmental services and community safety, said: "Not every resident, but the majority of residents will see some change to one of their collection types, be it the grey bin, red bin or the food bin."There may also be a change to collection day for those who subscribe to the garden waste collection."In terms of having all of one waste type collected across the Borough on a given day, that makes it easier," Ms Rowland said."If we're running late on a certain collection on another neighbourhood we'll have a red bin collection vehicle right next door that can come over and help out with the service."People living in the borough have been advised to use the council website to find up-to-date information about their bin collections. You can follow BBC Berkshire on Facebook, X (Twitter), or Instagram.
BBC News
24-05-2025
- Automotive
- BBC News
Reading's major roads resurfacing programme restarts
Fifteen sections of a Berkshire town's major roads will be resurfaced over the next six weeks, as part of an £8m local authority work will begin in Northumberland Avenue on Tuesday and conclude in Berkeley Avenue on 5 July, with 13 other road sections resurfaced in between, said Reading Borough authority said it would take the number of major road sections improved so far this year to 30, after 15 other stretches were resurfaced in a previous phase of the programme in March and road improvement scheme also covers smaller residential roads, 100 of which were surfaced between February and April. Road closures and a temporary "no waiting at any time traffic order" will be in place to prevent parking on the roads while the work is carried out, said the council. Residents and businesses directly affected will get advance notice, alerting them to the work, along with on-street closure notices and letters to residents, it said, adding that bus diversions will also be put in Borough Council said its commitment to improving highways had already produced results, including a 39% reduction in the number of pothole reports from the public and improvements to over 800 roads since Rowland, the council's lead for environmental services and community safety, said she hoped residents "are as pleased as we are to see the momentum continuing with our road improvements in Reading".She said: "We recognise that, at times, there are frustrations with road closures but we ask everyone to bear with us as we do our best to get these improvements made as quickly and efficiently as possible."The full schedule of the upcoming works can be found on the council's website. You can follow BBC Berkshire on Facebook, X (Twitter), or Instagram.
BBC News
12-05-2025
- Business
- BBC News
Reading Borough Council promises crackdown on fly-tipping
Tougher enforcement on fly-tipping and littering is due to begin in a Berkshire town this month as part of a push to crack down on the Borough Council said it was seeking to boost penalties for fly-tipping and littering by using an external director of environmental and commercial services Chris Wheeler said fly-tipping was a key concern for residents, and the new strategy would result in "more actions against those found to be littering and fly-tipping".The new enforcement arrangement began this month but is subject to an acquisition process. If a full tendering process is required, the service would be implemented in the autumn, according to a report by Mr Wheeler. The new arrangement comes at no extra charge through the council."It's intended to address the key concerns of residents around litter and fly-tipping and other related environmental crime," said Mr Wheeler."This type of approach is new to Reading, and we wanted to be transparent about the benefits of the approach, the risks and the planned controls to manage some of those risks."In taking this approach, it will result in increased activity and more actions against those found to be littering and fly-tipping."Karen Rowland, lead councillor for environmental services said the arrangement was set on tackling the issue in a cost effective added the arrangement would allow the authority's recycling and environmental enforcement officers to focus on the government's planned Simpler Recycling plans were welcomed by councillors, including independent Sarah Hacker and Green's Sarah Magon. You can follow BBC Berkshire on Facebook, X (Twitter), or Instagram.
