Snow-down in Peppard Ward

Snow clear-up following concerns
and lobbying from your Peppard Ward Councillors

10th January 2010 (PM)
Two of Reading Borough Council's snow ploughs started clearing main routes in Emmer Green and Caversham Park from 7.30 this morning. The work started with the worst affected: Lowfield road and Caversham Park road.

Following a small amount of thaw in the afternoon the main road conditions have slowly improved but most of the side streets and footpaths remain hazardous.

As the roads became passable, the 23/24 bus service has now been restored along most of its route along with many other bus services in Reading.

10th January 2010 (AM)
Two of Reading Borough Council's snow ploughs have been in Lowfield road and Caversham Park road since 07.30 this morning and will be moving onto Priest Hill after they have finished in Caversham Park.

Initial reports are that the 23/24 bus service has been restored along most of its route.

Freelance Digger
There have been several sightings of a freelance digger clearing roads in the Caversham area. While he appears to be well intentioned, he is not insured to work on the public highway there have been reports of some vehicle and highway damage. Please call us or report to the Police if you see this vehicle as we can ill afford any damage right now.

9th January 2010
Following a second round of heavy snow, and more expected in the next few days, many parts of our Ward remains unusable and our residents are feeling isolated and trapped.

Our very own Lead Spokesman for Transport, Cllr Richard Willis, has been fighting for the main bus routes to be cleared quickly in our ward and said "people in Caversham Park are expressing a growing irritation that they feel cut off by the lack of road treatment and the lack of bus services up Caversham Park road, Lowfield road and Peppard road."

After writing to the Head of Transport at Reading Borough Council, Cllr Willis received the following reply:

"The two JCB’s we have on hire are currently trying to clear the access [in various parts of the town] so they have been very busy . I have asked that they start tomorrow [Sunday 10th January] up on Caversham Park road and Lowfield road clearing the premier bus route, how much they can clear will depend on how many parked vehicles there are or how much traffic is trying to use the roads at that time but they are doing a great job and will do their best, they should be there from around 10am."

Snow ploughs will be diverted to Caversham tomorrow to clear the routes of the 22 route (through Caversham Heights and Mapledurham) and the 23/24 (through Caversham Park Village and Emmer Green). This will only be possible if there are not lots of cars parked on narrow roads. James Freeman, the Chief Executive of Reading Buses, will then send out a staff member to assess the roads in question to see whether bus services can be safely resumed on their usual routes. Obviously further heavy snowfall tonight and tomorrow could set this back and your Ward Councillors will be monitoring the situation closely meanwhile Cllr Richard Willis will continue to press for normal services to resume as quickly as possible.

We therefore ask our residents in Caversham Park road, Lowfield road and Peppard road, if possible, to try to keep the roads clear to enable the snow ploughs to clear-up as much of these roads as possible.

If you have any concerns or problems as a result of the unprecedented weather please do contact us. In an effort to serve you better, we would like to hear about your experiences of this unusually bad weather, please tell us.