FITNESS TEAM’S CHARITY DAY

Charity fun day helps fitness centre celebrate new home

MP speaks out against fracking

Members of the PT:U coaching team with visitors to the Centre as they took part in a special fundraising day to

support Bowel Cancer UK Picture: Steve Smyth

Member, Jen Gough taking a challenge to help raise funds for Bowel Cancer UK

By DANIEL BLACKHAM dblackham@wokingham.today

A PERSONAL training gym has hosted a fitness fun day to celebrate its new facility.

PT:U marked the opening of their new training centre, at the Pinewood Recreation Centre on Old Wokingham Road, with a range of activities and charity fundraisers.

Richard Jones, co-owner of PT:U, said: “It was a really good day and we had good attendance.

“We did fitness competitions like holding out two big tubs of protein for the longest and a hang tough to see who could hang from a pull-up bar for the longest.”

There was also a DJ, a free barbecue and sweet treats supplied by Unholy Donuts.

The gym has moved from its previous location, on an industrial site in Winnersh, to the heart of a community, something Mr Jones is excited about.

He said: “It’s a key area to the community of Wokingham.

“We share the venue with a judo club and then there’s the Pinewood Café, gymnastics, Scouts and everything else that’s around us.

“It’s a really nice area and on the day we had a steady flow of people, new and old, come in to show their support for the move.”

As well as celebrating the new location, the open day was also raising money for a cause close to gym owners’ hearts.

“Kevin was a long term client and had worked with three of us throughout the time he trained with us,” said Mr Jones.

“During covid he was diagnosed with bowel cancer and unfortunately, just before we were due to move sites, he lost his battle so he was unable to see our new gym but we know he would’ve been fully supportive.

“We felt like we wanted to do something in memory of Kevin, a local businessman, a family man and an all round nice guy.”

The fundraising activities included a raffle and a sports massage and in total, the event raised £460 for Bowel Cancer UK.

Looking forward, the team is hoping to raise money to create a new outdoor training area.

The space will allow them to host a number of outdoor classes and small boot camps.

On Saturday, November 26, the gym will hold a powerlifting competition to help fund their expansion.

Mr Jones added: “We’re all about trying to self invest and self promote and expand the business as best we can.

“We want to continue to integrate ourselves within the local community, get more people involved and help them with their fitness.” n For more information, visit pt-u.co.uk, alternatively, search ptupersonaltraininggym on Instagram.

Members of the coaching team

Grace Povey coaching a fitness session

READING EAST MP Matt Rodda has expressed his concerns about the resumption of fracking.

He asked an urgent question in the House of Commons on Thursday, September 22, after it was revealed the government was going against a manifesto pledge to start the controversial gas extraction process.

Jacob Rees-Mogg, the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, told the chamber he was “glad to be able to announce that the moratorium on the extraction of shale gas is being lifted”.

He continued: “It is important that we use all available sources of fuel within this country. It is more environmentally friendly to use our own sources of fuel than to extract them in other countries and transport them here at great cost, both financially and in terms of carbon.

“It is therefore something we need to revisit, and we need to revisit the seismic limits to ensure that shale gas extraction can be done in an effective and efficient way.”

A number of MPs were critical of this decision, including Mr Rodda.

His question to Mr Rees-Mogg was: “Residents across the south of England are deeply concerned about the risks of fracking and indeed oil drilling.

“Why is the Secretary State not listening to those concerns? And why is he also not listening to the concerns of the Government's former Chief Scientific Advisor and indeed, those of the British Geological Survey?”

The response was: “The concerns of this house are being represented by Members of Parliament, so they are being listened to by Her Majesty's Government.”

Speaking after the debate, Mr Rodda said: “Fracking is a dangerous and expensive way to produce energy.

“It will not provide the clean, secure energy we need in the South-East.

“To underline the dangers of lifting the moratorium on Fracking, the British geological survey has confirmed that, ‘Hydraulic fracturing can trigger earthquakes large enough to cause structural damage.

“These events were not predicted in advance of operations’.”

Marathon feat to help The Link

A WOKINGHAM man, is running his first London Marathon on Sunday.

Kevin McDaniel is to raise money for local charity The Link Visiting Scheme as he pounds the streets in the 26.1 mile race.

He has already gained more than £500 in sponsorship for his chosen charity, which links volunteers with older or housebound people who otherwise face loneliness.

Liz McDaniel, Kevin’s wife, says of the challenge: “Kevin has completed the Brighton Marathon, and has always wanted to run the London race.

“He’s tried for many years to get in, and this year he’s done it.

“He’s chosen to support The Link Visiting Scheme, probably because of me.

“I’ve recently started working for the charity and I keep coming home and telling him about all the wonderful work that has been going on, and the numbers of people being supported.

“The Link is a great charity doing fabulous work.

“And with things as they are now, it’s really important to be supporting older people, who may find it difficult to heat their homes this winter.”

Kevin’s fundraising page will remain open for some time after the marathon.

“The money will go towards the activities we run for older people at Christmas time.

“We’ll be having a Christmas day lunch, for example, for a large number of people who would otherwise be on their own.”

Kevin will run the TCS London Marathon on Sunday. n To support him, visit: www. localgiving.org/fundraising/ RunningForLinkFriends/.

Boots ram raider jailed in connection with spate of Wokingham burglaries

By DANIEL BLACKHAM dblackham@wokingham.today

TWO MEN have been jailed in connection with a spate of burglaries in and around Wokingham, including the raid of Boots in the town centre earlier this year.

Following multiple Thames Valley Police investigations, James Frost, aged 32, of The Oaks, Bracknell, was sentenced to three-and-a-half years in prison at Reading Crown Court on Tuesday, September 13.

He pleaded guilty to three counts of dwelling burglary and one count each of non-dwelling burglary, aggravated taking without consent, dangerous driving, driving whilst disqualified and handling stolen goods.

Terry Smitheyman, aged 26, also of The Oaks, Bracknell, was sentenced to two-and-a-half years in prison after pleading guilty to two counts of dwelling burglary and one count of handling stolen goods.

At around 2am on Wednesday, June 9, last year, police say Frost and Smitheyman stole an Apple Mac laptop from a property on Bracknell Road, Warfield.

At around 3.25am the same day, Frost and Smitheyman burgled a property in Hogoak Lane, Warfield.

According to police, they stole a gold ring, two watches, a Zippo lighter, an iPad, a debit card and a large quantity of cash from a downstairs bedroom.

They also took the keys to a Toyota Hilux hire car and the vehicle itself from the driveway.

Police say there was extensive damage to the electric gates, as if they had been rammed when the car was stolen.

Directly outside of the gates on the roadside were two discarded mountain bikes and a pair of disposable rubber latex gloves. DAMAGE: The front doors of Boots in Market Place were smashed open, with glass scattered on the floor in a ram raid carried out by James Frost earlier this year. Picture: Phil Creighton

The two bikes had been taken from a nearby property in Bishops Lane, where their electric gates had also been damaged.

A tracker on the Toyota showed it had been stopped at around 3.40am on the Britwell estate in Slough, where officers found it later that morning.

Officers forensically linked Frost and Smitheyman to the offences during their investigation.

They were arrested on Friday, June 11, last year and charged on Sunday, June 13.

Between 3am and 4.40am on Friday, January 14, this year, while on bail for the offences in June last year, police say Frost burgled a property in Beehive Lane, Binfield.

He entered through the kitchen window and ransacked the property, ripping off cupboard doors, stealing a garden strimmer.

From there, Frost walked to Milward Gardens and stole a Land Rover Discovery, which was parked on the drive of a property.

According to police, at around 6am he reversed the stolen Land Rover Discovery into the storefront of Boots in Market Place.

Once inside, Frost smashed a glass door to the fragrance cabinet and stole a quantity of high value men’s fragrance.

He then made off in the car, which was abandoned in Emmbrook Lane, Wokingham, shortly afterwards.

Officers found numerous boxes of fragrance inside the Land Rover as well as the garden strimmer stolen from the Beehive Lane property.

Officers forensically linked Frost to the burglaries as his DNA was found on the car jack that was in the front of the recovered vehicle.

Frost was arrested for these additional offences on Thursday, May 5, and charged the following day.

Detective constable Kelly Turner, based at Loddon Valley

James Frost

Terry Smitheyman

police station, said: “Thames Valley Police is committed to bringing burglars to justice, which is important as burglary is an incredibly invasive crime.

“James Frost and Terry Smitheyman went on a spree of offending on June 9, last year.

“They stole a car, two bikes, numerous personal items and a large amount of cash and damaged two pairs of electric gates, all of which had a substantial impact on the victims.

“Then around seven months later while on bail, Frost broke into another property and ransacked it before stealing a Land Rover.

“He then used the car to smash his way into Boots in Wokingham town centre and steal several high-value fragrances before driving off.

“Their offences have caused concern in the community and a lot of damage to the properties and businesses.

“I am pleased by Frost and Smitheyman’s sentences, which should serve as lessons to others who seek to commit burglaries that we will investigate and put offenders before the courts.”

Charity gains new members

A charity that helps youngsters has recently welcomed three new members to its team.,

Pat Meadowcroft, Andrea Caplin and Vanessa O’Donnell have joined Soulscape, which works with borough schools.

Pat will support two of Soulscape’s projects in schools; The Lounge, and Mentoring.

The Lounge is a lunchtime club in schools that provides space for young people who want somewhere to relax and play games. It’s also a place where they will always find someone to talk to, and a lsitening ear.,

Michelle McLeish from Soulscape says: “With The Lounge, our strapline is ‘come as you are’.

“Young people come along and we all have lunch together, play games and talk about whatever it is that they want or need to talk about.

“We currently have seven Lounge groups running in school each week.”

Pat will be supporting the group leaders, the volunteers, and the day to day running of The Lounge.

Her other role is to support the Mentoring teams, who work with individual pupils, and are, effectively, their champions.

“Working with young people in this way feels like it’s a privilege to be in their space,” says Ms McLeish.

“Soulscape is growing bigger, so we are delighted to have Andrea and Vanessa join us too.

“Andrea is taking care of our administration, and also looks after our bakers and cake makers.

“And Vanessa is our project coordinator, who handles the logistics and planning of all our projects.

“We’re so delighted that all three have joined us, and very lucky to have them.”

Soulscape creates space for young people to enable them to reflect, ask big questions, explore what’s going on inside, and creatively express their own ideas. n For more information about the charity, or to support its work, log on to: www.soulscape.org.uk

Shake-up of parking fees will see charges for evenings and Sundays

n Continued from front page

And other readers fear that business that would have gone to Wokingham’s independent shops will instead end up going to online retailers like Amazon.

There are also concerns that the borough will see residential streets overtaken by people seeking to park for free rather than using the car parks.

Councillors are being asked to vote on proposals that would see fees for borough-run car parks from 6am to 10pm seven days a week. At the moment, it is free to park on Sundays and after 6pm the rest of the week.

While parking fees would increase, there is one bright spot: overnight season tickets for residents, which are currently £292, would be free.

For vehicles in the car parks after 10pm, police have requested that motorists display a free vend ticket on their dashboards.

The council argues they need to make up an £800,000 shortfall in parking revenue, caused in part by changing habits due to the covid-19 pandemic. Spiralling inflation is also having an impact on council budgets.

Last week, Cllr Clive Jones, leader of the council, said: “All our services are under pressure due to rising costs, which is making us look very hard at everything we do to see if we can make any savings and whether we could raise more revenue.

“We need to do this to ensure we have enough to protect the most vulnerable in our community.”

The report to be considered at the meeting, to be held at Shute End from 7pm, adds that, even with the proposed increases, parking costs will remain at the “lower end” compared with other local authorities.

It is estimated by officers that the earliest implementation date would be in the new year.

Cllr Paul Fishwick, executive member for active travel, transport and highways, defended the plans.

“As a local authority, our number one priority is to protect the most vulnerable,” he told Wokingham.Today.

“To do that, in a time of immense financial pressures, we need to look at all of our spending to ensure every penny is well-spent and then turn to areas where we can generate revenue to make up for the shortfall caused by rampant inflation and spiralling energy costs.

“The cost of living crisis is affecting all of us, and the council is not immune.”

He said as part of this, the council had reviewed car parking charges, and they had not seen an increase for four years.

“They are some of the lowest in the area and in the region,”

DECISION: Wokingham Borough Council’s ruling executive will consider raising car park charges this evening Picture: Phil Creighton Cllr Fishwick explained.

“Raising them to bring them in line with our neighbouring authorities is the right thing to do – to allow us to use the income generated from car parking charges to put it towards keeping our highways services going.

“We know this won’t be popular – increasing charges never are. But we face unprecedented financial pressures and are having to make some very difficult decisions.”

New charges at a glance

Charges would increase as follows - up to one hour, from 80p to £1.30; up to two hours, from £1.20 to £2.50; up to four hours, from £2 to £4.50; up to six hours, from £3 to £6.50; over six hours, from £4 to £9. Market traders would pay £6.50 for an extended day at Cockpit Path car park instead of £4.

Season tickets would be charged as follows - one month, from £82.23 to £168.50; three months, from £240.35 to £506.50; six months, from £450.34 to £1,013; 12 months, from £900.68 to £2,026. An overnight 12-month season ticket, previously £292, would be free of charge. n Editorial page 32, From the chamber, page 34 READING residents are set to enjoy behind the scenes access to one of the town’s most visible landmarks.

Visitors will have the opportunity to learn about the Green Park wind turbine on Saturday.

The structure can generate green electricity at a rate of 4.5 kilowatts per hour every year, enough for around 1,500 homes and businesses.

Completed in November 2005, the 120m-tall windmill is one of the UK’s largest landbased windmills.

Soaring above Junction 11 of the M4 motorway, it is owned and operated by Ecotricity, an electricity supplier which looks to supply clean energy to customers across the country.

The event will give visitors the chance to find out more and is part of Reading Climate Festival.

The programme of events is run by Reading Climate Action Network and is supported by Reading’s Economy and Destination Agency (REDA) and The Great Big Green Week.

The tour takes place at Green Park Business Park from 2pm-3pm, with visitors asked to arrive in good time as the Royals have a home match.

Tickets are free. n For more information or to book a place, search: Green Park Wind Turbine Tour on www. eventbrite.co.uk

M4 closures More than 1,000 free Reading FC tickets given to grassroots teams By JI-MIN LEE jlee@wokingham.today READING FC’s principal sponsors are giving 30 free tickets to young footballers for every home match this season.

Select Car Leasing will be inviting children at nearby clubs the chance to attend 23 Championship and 11 Women’s Super League games as part of its Tickets for Kids initiative.

Kidmore End FC under 10s, with their parents and siblings, were at the Select Car Leasing Stadium to watch Reading defeat Stoke City 2-1.

The Gallowstree Common side, who play in the Berkshire Youth Development League, witnessed striker Lucas Joao score twice to secure three points for the Royals.

The club’s treasurer and coach, David Bird, said: “The kids all had a fantastic time.

“For some it was their first game, and for others it was the first time they’ve ever seen Reading win.”

Whitley Youth under 15s will be making the short trip down to the ground to support Reading as they take on highflying Norwich on Tuesday, October 4. Team manager Maria Cox will bring 11 players, one of whom is her own son Reece, and their parents along to the night game. Ms Cox said: “I’m absolutely thrilled to be able to take the entire team to Reading FC to watch the match against Norwich. “As a lifelong Reading fan, having been to watch the team when they played at Elm Park, it’s going to be a really special night for me. “Lots of the boys in the team follow Reading. Our goalkeeper is already a season ticket holder, but for a lot of the players this will be the first time they will ever have seen a professional match. “We’re going to use the occasion as a team-building event. We’ll also treat it as an opportunity to watch and to learn, spotting patterns of play and where the Reading players position themselves.” Ms Cox is a community development worker at the Whitley Community Development Association, based on Northumberland Avenue. She describes the team as a ‘second family’ for youngsters who wear the shirt. “At Whitley Youth, we simply want to encourage the boys to carry on playing, even with all the distractions that come with being a teenager. “And we’ve had some tough times. Some of the players actually lost parents during the Covid-19 pandemic. “So for us to be able to give them a night to remember with this ticket donation really does make a difference.” The Reading-headquartered company’s Tickets for Kids initiative was first launched last season. It is open to junior football teams with players aged under 16. The ballot process for the competition was open between August 4-25, with each club able to put forward one application.

MOTORISTS using the M4 may be required to find alternative routes due to planned closures.

Various parts of the road will be shut over the next three weekends. URRRZ: Winners and matches were

The M4 and slip roads will Kidmore drawn and allocated at random. be closed eastbound between End FC Mark Tongue, director at junctions 12 and 11 from 8pm Under 10s Select Car Leasing, said: “As on Friday, September 30 to 6am were given a company, we’re passionate on Monday, October 3. free tickets about giving back to grassroots

Signed diversions will be in to watch sport. place utilising the A4 and A33. Reading “I grew up playing football

The following weekend, FC’s home in the local area and, as a from 8pm on Friday, October 7, victory over youngster, I would have loved to 6am on Monday, October 10, Stoke City. the chance to go and watch my the section between junction Picture beloved Reading FC. 11 and 10 will be inaccessible, courtesy of “So to now be able to provide with motorists directed to use Select Car such opportunities to hundreds the B3270, A3290 and A329M. Leasing of youngsters is one of the most

The same part of the M4 rewarding things we can do as a will be closed between 8pm on socially-responsible business.” Friday, October 14, and 6am on Reading FC’s head of Monday, October 17, with the commercial, Tim Kilpatrick, same diversions used. added: “We’re extremely

The works are part of the fortunate to work with a M4’s smart motorway project, principal partner in Select Car adding an extra lane and Leasing, who are so passionate introducing new technology about our community and our on the road to smooth traffic future generation of fans. flows. “Community and grassroots

Drivers are advised to check engagement is key to the club’s for updates online as poor growth and success, so we’re weather conditions could cause proud to work with Select in works to be postponed at short welcoming new clubs and notice. blueprint_advert_190x137mm_TKT17746_advert-3-v02-PR.pdf 1 28/07/2022 15:38 hopefully new, lifelong, fans to n For more information, visit: the stadium for each and every www.nationalhighways.co.uk matchday.”

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