West Berkshire Council sets out four-year plan for the district

Improving education, more affordable housing, improvements to road and rail, and the safeguarding of children and vulnerable adults are among the priorities West Berkshire Council is proposing for the district over the next four years.

The latest Council Strategy – “Shaping our District,” which establishes the key objectives from 2015-2019 is now open for six weeks of public consultation.

The proposed strategy which is available to view online proposes four key objectives: better educated communities, a stronger local economy, protection and support for those who need it and to maintain a high quality of life within the community.

Council Leader Gordon Lundie said of the strategy: “The way in which we work with, and support our local communities needs to adapt to the changing world we now live in.”

For tackling education the council has set its sights on closing the attainment gap, and sets out a goal of raising the council into the top 10 per cent of councils for every key stage by 2019 and to eliminate the attainment gap between disadvantaged children and other children.

To achieve this an investment of £70m in schools is proposed in the report prepared by both councillors and officers.

In bolstering the local economy the strategy outlines plans to build 1,000 new affordable homes across the district over the next five years and investing £17m into local roads.

Some of the other infrastructure projects planned include a five-year flood prevention programme at a cost of £5.2m and the regeneration of the London Road Industrial Estate.

The council also promises to lobby the government for an extension of rail electrification from Newbury to Bedwyn, and secure 95 per cent coverage for superfast broadband by 2017.

The other priorities for the area include caring for the vulnerable and maintaining a high quality of life and the council strategy states that increased partnerships and better utilisation of resources will help tackle these problems.

The report also highlights that the council expects to have to reduce its budget by around £5-6m each year in order to balance the books and that these savings will be made not by cutting services but by a “radical re-shaping of the council” largely through considering which services can be better performed by others or not at all.

The consultation process for the strategy is now open and will close on March 16 with all feedback to be considered at the annual council meeting on May 19.