Parish Council News

From Jan Martin — Chairman of Hurst PC
0118 934 xxxx

Transport for the Elderly and Disabled

The Parish Council is committed to help all parts of our community and one way it does this is to provide grants to service providers that help people in Hurst. One example of this is our commitment to support the provision of transport for the elderly and disabled.

Annually the Parish Council receives requests for grants from Keep Mobile and Readibus to help provide transport for those who are unable to use public transport through age or disability. The services these charities provide are:

Approximately 50% of the funding for Keep Mobile and Readibus comes from grants and donations, which whilst very welcome, does not give stability from year to year. This makes planning very difficult, not knowing their level of income or whether they will receive sufficient funds to cover their costs. What these charities need is a regular income, part of which could be provided by shops and businesses in the form of an annual grant. Last year the Parish Council provided a grant of £850 for Keep Mobile and £300 for Readibus.

In order to set this year’s grant, the Parish Council would like to have some feedback from users of either the above services. Please e-mail admin@hurstpc.org.uk or telephone Jan Martin on 0118 934 xxxx. More information about Keep Mobile and Readibus can be found at:

Vehicle Activated Signs

It was reported in the last HVS Newsletter that 7 day 24 hour speed surveys were to take place at the sites of the proposed Vehicle Activated Signs. The first survey was carried out between the 18th and 24th April outside the Elephant and Castle The results of the southbound traffic volumes showed that the speed at or below which 85% of the vehicles travelled averaged at 44mph over the 7 day period in what is a 30mph zone. This measure is almost identical to the SID surveys taken during the first quarter of last year, but this latest survey gives us the true volume of traffic, i.e. about one car every 30 seconds during daylight hours. Unfortunately we have not been able to get individual car speeds, which would have shown how many cars were travelling faster than 45 mph. You may be interested to know that northbound, towards Twyford, the equivalent speed for a 7 day average over a 12 hour period was 41.7 mph.

The second survey from the south towards Hurst, located near Orchard Road, has just been completed. Both results will be presented, along with a formal proposal, to the WDC Executive, either at the 28th July or 29th September meeting.

Youth Provision for Hurst

The Mobile Youth Provision for Hurst are holding a baby sitting course commencing Tuesday 24th May. The course will be held in the Committee Room from 8pm-9pm. The young people will learn first aid, health and safety and how to care for children of varying ages. At the end of the course they will be given the opportunity to practice what they have learnt by looking after a virtual baby. The course will be run over an eight week period. If you require any further information regarding the baby sitting course or the Mobile Youth Provision you can contact Debbie Coleman on 0118 966 xxxx or 07xxx xxxxxx.