Twyford

"Due to the highly unusual travel conditions arising from the severe weather in recent days, First Great Western is offering enhanced compensation, over and above our obligations as set out in our Passenger’s Charter.

Compensation

We are offering compensation in rail travel vouchers for customers holding season tickets (monthly or longer) delayed by over an hour by the severe weather on Friday July 20th. Please submit a claim by letter, enclosing a copy of your season ticket, to the address shown below, marking the letter ‘flooding claim’.

Customer Services, Freepost SWB40576, Plymouth PL4 6ZZ

Customers holding individual journey tickets (single or return) and weekly season ticket holders should also submit claims for compensation in writing, enclosing the ticket or proof of purchase.

For customers unable to reach their destination station that day by rail, we will consider claims for taxis and accommodation on a case-by-case basis; receipts must be enclosed with the letter.

We aim to deal with your claim within 28 days of receipt.

Refunds

Customers holding tickets (including advanced purchase) for a journey on FGW, who did not travel on July 20, July 21 or July 22, are advised to submit a claim for a refund to the place of purchase. The usual administration fee will not be charged.

Claimants should note that FGW will use best endeavours to respond to reasonable and valid claims from customers. Amounts offered over and above the Passenger’s Charter, are at our discretion."

Kind regards,

Glenda Lamont
Customer Services Director

In light of the terrible weather conditions and the flash floods I wanted to let you all know about FGW's compensation procedures. The statement below was issued by FGW's Customer Services Director, Glenda Lamont in response to the flooding the week before last, however I am pushing them to ensure they continue to extend this compensation for the duration of this bad weather:

“Although the National Rail Conditions of Carriage state that rail operators are not required to provide compensation for incidents outside the control of the rail industry, such as severe weather, we recognise that the recent unusual July weather has resulted in some of your journeys being significantly delayed.

I understand how the cumulative affect of these delays has frustrated customers, particularly our season ticket holders and other regular travellers.

We would therefore like to offer compensation to all customers affected by this disruption. In particular we would like offer our season ticket holders a gesture of goodwill in reflection of the repeated delays and the impact this has had.

Should you require further information about how to claim or any other aspect of our service, please do not hesitate to contact First Great Western Customer Relations at:

First Great Western Customer Services
(Freepost), PO Box 313
Plymouth PL4 6YD
Tel: 08457 000125
Email: fgwfeedback@firstgroup.com”

You may also be interested in an email I received recently from FGW regarding the other reasons for the recent delays:

“[Since the beginning of the month] we have had 3 fatalities, 2 lightening strikes and 6 major signalling problems. In particular, this week [week commencing 9th July] an intermittent fault with signalling at Acton caused disruption on Monday, Tuesday and most severely on Wednesday. The latter failure caused disruption for much of the day. Network Rail has been working to deal with the most recent signalling problem and have assured us their engineers have the situation under control. We would like to apologise for the delays your constituents may have suffered and you can be assured that we are working closely with Network Rail to ensure the number of incidents of infrastructure failure such as this are minimised.”

Please do continue to keep me informed about the problems you are experiencing with the service. I have met with First Group and Network Rail today regarding the December 07 timetable again. Their internal consultation procedure should be over in a few weeks and I will update you on their proposals on 1st August.

I would also like to offer my support to those of you whose homes and businesses have been affected by the flooding. If you feel there is any way I can be of assistance to you regarding this matter please do not hesitate to contact me.

Yours sincerely,

The Rt Hon Theresa May MP

Polehampton Junior School, Twyford pupil Kate Chalmers can pedal away this summer after winning a bike in a special food awareness competition, organised by Wokingham Borough Council’s school meals contractors, Edwards and Ward.

Pupils, teachers and parents celebrated Food Awareness Week (June 11 to 15) by enjoying special lunches and roadshows aimed at demonstrating the high-quality, healthy food on offer in school kitchens across the borough.

Wokingham Borough Council joined forces with school meal contractors Edwards and Ward to organise activities, including food-tasting sessions, school council lunches and the “win a bike” competition for pupils.

And on July 13, lucky Twyford Kate Chalmers won the competition with her quirky names for Edwards and Ward’s ‘lunch bunch’ cartoon characters. She called the cheeky vegetable characters Carrot Stix, Apple Pip Squeak, Tomato Splat, Broccoli Brains and Banana Splitz. Kate won a bike and she said: “Thank you very much, my mum and dad were thinking about buying me a new bike as mine was becoming too small.”

The council introduced a new school meals contract in September 2006 with Tunbridge Wells-based company Edwards and Ward. Parents have been given a leaflet which lists what is on the menu each day. There are 56 schools in the borough which are part of the school meal contract and all have seen increases in take-up since September.

Wokingham Borough Council ~ Twyford

Want to know how much wind energy a home can generate? Or see what comes out of a ‘rolypig’ composter? Get down to Green Pastures to see green innovations in action! Green Pastures, Wokingham Borough Council’s green event of the year, is set to be a fascinating showcase of all things ecological and a great day out for people of all ages.

Being held at Dinton Pastures (an ENCAMS awarded Eco-centre) on August 18 from 10.30am to 4pm, the event will feature stalls from all kinds of environmentally-friendly organisations – from national bodies such as the Environment Agency to local groups such as Wokingham Friends of the Earth and businesses such as Ecotricity. Wind energy experts Segen will have a stand where visitors can try out a free wind-speed checker. And Rolypig, makers of fun pig-shaped composters, will be bringing along a real Rolypig that visitors can feed with green waste to see composting in action! The day will also include lectures on topics such as the use of solar panels and how to insulate your home.

Visitors could also take the opportunity to enjoy the park’s regular activities, such as a stroll around the lake, or take the children to the play area. Or relax at the café and enjoy a delicious home-made cake.

Normal car parking charges of £1 will be in effect, so visitors are encouraged to take public transport, walk or cycle to the event.

Wokingham Borough Council