Transport

Reading to Heathrow Rail – will we finally get there?

Reading-On-Thames, , , 6 Comments
Reading Station square

Reading’s economic fortunes are underpinned by its proximity to Heathrow. With a new runway set for take-off, there’s renewed interest in future rail connections to the airport. This is a long-running saga, with various rival schemes proposed that best suit various locations or interests. A firm proposal, to be funded by the airport as part of its expansion project, is apparently on its way, giving us a final opportunity to indulge in speculation. Will Reading finally get its long-awaited direct train, or will it be shunted into the sidings once again? Let’s look at our chances…

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Reading to Heathrow Rail – will we finally get there?

Gladman proposes 1200-home Caversham extension

Reading-On-Thames, , 19 Comments
Gladman brochure cover

As part of the local planning process, new documents from prospective developers have been published on Reading council’s website. It appears the new materials were made available in May, so it’s with apologies that it took me so long to get round to clicking the link to “2 of 6 Regulation 19 representations F-to-K.pdf“. If you scroll down to page 81 you’ll find a sub-document submitted by Gladman entitled “Play Hatch & Emmer Green – A vision for land North of Reading”. We’d seen reference to this title before, but I think this is the first appearance of the document in the public domain.

Continue reading “Gladman proposes 1200-home Caversham extension” →
Gladman proposes 1200-home Caversham extension

There’s going to be a mayor, but a mayor of where?

Reading-On-Thames, , , , , 9 Comments
A map of the area likely to become the Thames Valley Strategic Mayoral region

A frenzied process of provincial match-making is in full swing, with central government having issued an edict that the country must be chopped up into regions, each of which will elect a mayor to receive devolved executive powers. City regions and combined authorities in the larger cities have operated this model for some time. Now the rest of England is to play the same game, but with the added fun of a new rule: regions should have a population of at least 1.5 million. Rather than carve up the map in Whitehall, the government has amusingly thrown it over to the nation’s Town Halls to figure it out for themselves, missing the glorious opportunity for a TV show format in the process. So where’s Reading ending up? Let’s speculate…

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There’s going to be a mayor, but a mayor of where?

Town Centre Improvement Proposals – Do they hit the target?

Reading-On-Thames, , , 19 Comments
Reading Minster artists impression

A new strategy has been published by the council that looks at how best to enhance the town centre environment. The plans involve resurfacing pedestrian areas, reallocation of road space, and considerable landscaping proposals. It’s a creative-heavy document covering a design strategy, rather than specific funded and timetabled works, and it will go to a consultation initially. I’ve pulled out some of the imagery and details below.

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Town Centre Improvement Proposals – Do they hit the target?

Parks and Recreation

Reading-On-Thames12 Comments

InShot_20200414_172039852.jpg

In the current circumstances, it doesn’t feel comfortable to be backing proposals for high rise flats whilst comfortably holed up in a suburban family home with a garden. The advantages of city living: being in the thick of the action, near entertainment, transport links and workplaces, have been entirely nullified for an extended temporary period. Towns and regions as concepts are largely irrelevant as only your street and your country really count, together with access to local open space.

Yet it’s been a busy few months of local development news since my last update so here are some of the main stories, inevitably viewed in the context of the Covid-19 crisis. Continue reading “Parks and Recreation” →

Parks and Recreation

December ’19 Timetable Preview

Reading-On-Thames, , , 12 Comments

readingStation

I use these pages to break free from the character limited world of Twitter. But if I’m going to post here I feel it’s got to be long enough to be worth it, so I set a nominal lower limit. That means that when it comes to commenting on local goings-on, I am faced with a choice of writing either less than 280 characters, or 1000 words. So here goes… 1000 words on the December 2019 train timetable changes with, hopefully, minimal repetition, hesitation or deviation – although the odd rail replacement bus service cannot be ruled out.

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December ’19 Timetable Preview

Town centre bids for success

Reading-On-Thames6 Comments

AbbeyQuarter

Would you vote for an extra tax?  You might be surprised to hear a voting process is underway right now in Reading for exactly that.  It’s a simple Yes/No referendum.  On this occasion, it’s not residents being polled – frankly nobody’s in a hurry to ask the public to make any more binary political choices at the ballot box.  But thankfully it’s not us being taxed either.  The votes on two separate town centre “Business Improvement Districts” (BIDs) ask local employers to agree, by way of a majority, to a 1% levy on their business rates (taxes) to fund a range of initiatives to “enhance their trading environment”. Continue reading “Town centre bids for success” →

Town centre bids for success

A Congestion Charge for Reading?

Reading-On-Thames16 Comments

images

The past month or two has seen several inter-linked pieces of news on local transport: talk of congestion charges, increasing car park prices, air quality concerns, and the planning refusal for the MRT.  Let’s attempt to stitch together some of these threads and offer some analysis and opinions on the way forward. Continue reading “A Congestion Charge for Reading?” →

A Congestion Charge for Reading?

East Reading MRT Revised Plans

Reading-On-Thames34 Comments

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The proposed bus, cycle and pedestrian link from Tesco on Napier Road to Thames Valley Park was a prominent issue in the local elections, particularly in its immediate neighbourhoods in East Reading.  Intriguingly, a whole series of revisions to the plans were published the day after the polls closed.  One might instinctively assume this must be cynical timing to prevent “bad news” being released to voters before the election, but I think it is probably more accurately explained by the “purdah” rules that prevent policy announcements in the run up to elections.  In this case, I think the changes would have been positively received by those closest to this issue, and in my view, make the case for this new infrastructure even more compelling.   Continue reading “East Reading MRT Revised Plans” →

East Reading MRT Revised Plans

Supporting a technology tradition

Reading-On-Thames1 Comment

Uber_Elevate___eVTOL

Contrary to popular belief, I do occasionally venture outside the Greater Reading area.  Last week I was fortunate enough to go to Lisbon for Web Summit, a world-renowned technology conference.  From virtual reality to flying cars, in this post I’ll cover some of the innovations coming down the road (or hovering above it), as well as considering some of the implications for us locally.  Continue reading “Supporting a technology tradition” →

Supporting a technology tradition