Question:
Based on the amount of opposition from local residents following on from the Public Path Creation Order notices in Jubilee Ave recently, and that the public consultation in summer 2020 was not widely known about, I would like to ask, please can you reconsider the routing of Greenway Route B through the middle of the land that runs alongside Jubilee Ave?
The local residents' opposition is clear that Section 26 of the Highways Act 1980, 'would add convenience or enjoyment to a large section of the public or local residents' cannot be demonstrated. Please consider adjusting this section of the greenway, so as not to destroy the wildlife habitats within this wildlife corridor from Joel Park to Cantley Park. Please either widen the pavement on the northern side or adapt this section to be signage, like is planned for the Clifton Road section
Minutes:
Based on the amount of opposition from local residents following on from the Public Path Creation Order notices in Jubilee Ave recently, and that the public consultation in summer 2020 was not widely known about, I would like to ask, please can you reconsider the routing of Greenway Route B through the middle of the land that runs alongside Jubilee Ave?
The local residents' opposition is clear that Section 26 of the Highways Act 1980, 'would add convenience or enjoyment to a large section of the public or local residents' cannot be demonstrated.
Please consider adjusting this section of the greenway, so as not to destroy the wildlife habitats within this wildlife corridor from Joel Park to Cantley Park. Please either widen the pavement on the northern side or adapt this section to be signage, like is planned for the Clifton Road section.
Answer
The consultation between July and September 2020 involved engagement with various stakeholders including ward members, Wokingham Town Council, user and interest groups, the Mid and West Berks Local Access Forum and other key stakeholders. So it was a wide consultation. Individual letters were sent directly to residents living near to the proposed route, highlighting the scheme and encouraging them to comment. The consultation was also published on the Council’s website and advertised through local newspapers and the Council’s own social media pages. Prior to this consultation, the Council also held an earlier consultation in February to May 2019. So that is two consultations.
We are currently in the process of considering all the comments that have been received during the recent statutory consultation for the path creation order and will be preparing a consultation response document addressing all of the comments raised. This will be sent to all those who have responded to the consultation. Following this, a decision will be made as to the next steps for the Greenway route.
We are aware that many of the concerns that residents have raised have been about the impact of the proposed scheme on wildlife. The Council has already commissioned and received an independent Preliminary Ecological Appraisal (PEA) of the area as part of the feasibility design, which did not highlight any concerns with the scheme on the local wildlife. If the route is progressed, we would also engage the ecologists to be on site at the point of construction of the route to ensure that there is no harm done to the wildlife in the area.To ensure safety of residents and users of the Greenway we will also be installing a formal crossing point at Milton Road as part of the scheme.
Supplementary Question
Thank you for the response. It is good news to hear about the crossing as that was a danger point. My supplementary question is: by creating this path I believe that you are contradicting what WBC has pledged to do in its Climate Emergency Action Plan (January 2020). In there, the Council pledges £170k to “deliver small-scale woodland planting on Council estates in existing parks and open spaces”. Yet, by creating this path, surely you are destroying the habitat and doing the exact opposite. So, how can you justify going against your own Climate policy?
Supplementary Answer
As I said, we did commission a PEA through the experts and I can assure you that there will be no trees removed and we won’t be destroying anything in that way. We will be very careful. The ecological report states that as well. I beg to differ – we are not going against the Climate Emergency Policy – we are actually supporting it. It will be a small path, 2.5m wide and we will not be destroying any of the trees.