West Berkshire Council has introduced a new online registration scheme for access to our Household Waste Recycling Centres, replacing the current paper permits with a digital system. Online registrations opened to residents on the 30 November 2021. Paper permits, including green car permits that have already expired will continue to be accepted until 28 February 2022.

The digital permit system will enable households to register and update their vehicle details, household addresses and contact details instantly, allowing for seamless entry into the Household Waste Recycling Centres, so long as they have booked an appointment.

Residents will also no longer need to wait for a paper permit to arrive in the post or search for it before they visit our recycling facilities. It will also mean that we don’t need to print over 65,000 paper permits to replace those that have already expired, or will expire soon. Under the planned change, there will also be no need to print and post up to 3,000 additional permits for new properties or lost permits every year. The avoidance of use of paper and ink means the Council and its residents can continue to demonstrate greater stewardship of the environment, which will be consistent with the objectives set out in the Council’s Environment Strategy. 

Households will be asked to register their car (up to 3 cars per household) online before 28 February 2022. Each household will need to set up a My Account profile if they do not have one already on the Council’s website via www.westberks.gov.uk/myaccount and then register their car(s) for the digital permits. The process is very quick and simple; it takes less than 3 minutes to complete the actual permit registration. Once you have registered your car(s) the permit will normally become live instantly. The status of your permit will show in your My Account and you will receive an email confirming the outcome of your registration. Digital permit applications for commercial type vehicle permits will take up to 15 days to be assessed and processed. This is because there are more checks required for commercial-type vehicles to ensure that they are not being used to deposit trade waste at our sites. 

The new system will alert site staff of un-registered vehicles entering the Household Waste Recycling Centres using Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) cameras. 

The rules regarding what types of vehicle can access the Household Waste Recycling Centres are not changing. Our HWRC user guide explains what types of vehicles can access our HWRCs, together with any restrictions in place and site rules that have to be observed by visitors.  

Householders who do not have access to the internet can either ask friends or family to register on their behalf or use facilities available at their local library to register. Alternatively, they can call our customer service team on: 01635 519080 where a request for assistance from one of our officers can be raised. Please be aware that it may take up to 15 working days following receipt of your request for assistance to set up your permit.  Residents are kindly requested to only call if they cannot do it online or have a friend or family member assist them.

Please note that our phone lines are very busy at this time and we would prefer to prioritise helping vulnerable residents.

Households with a commercial type vehicle permit will also need to register their vehicle details online. If you currently have a valid commercial type vehicle permit we will contact you directly to let you know what you need to do.

Households will still need to book an appointment to use Newtown Road or Padworth Lane Recycling Centre. To book an appointment please visit: www.westberks.gov.uk/clickandtip.

You can find more information here: www.westberks.gov.uk/recyclingcentres  

And on our FAQ page here: www.westberks.gov.uk/HWRConlinepermits-FAQ

The Chapel Row Surgery Patient Participation Group (PPG) met on 27 January 2021.

Chaired by Erica Tipton and attended by several parishioners on the Group it was also supported by Dr Jimmy Lennox, now Senior Partner, and Paul Gomm the Practice Manager. Normally, reports on the PPG’s proceedings are made at BPC meetings but in the light of the present pandemic situation it was thought a more immediate report would be appreciated.

The PPG delegates were unanimous in their praise of the Surgery’s speed in setting up its Covid-19 vaccination programme and the efficiency and courteous manner of all those manning the Pangbourne vaccination centre. Dr Lennox reported recently there had been a temporary lull in activity owing to lack of vaccine deliveries. However a decent supply of vaccine was now assured and the plan was for vaccinations of the over 70s and the clinically vulnerable to resume next week.

Shortly the Surgery will be introducing a system of texting patients with a link to a vaccination appointment booking system.

The vaccination centre has been able to extract 1200 doses from a standard 975 dose delivery of the Pfizer vaccine by minimising waste.Should any unused vaccine be left at the end of the day ,which might have to be thrown away because of storage limitations, there was a reserve list to call people forward at short notice.

The access arrangements for appointments at the Surgery is working well as is the outdoor system for collections from the dispensary. The Surgery has decided to split its dispensary and receptions teams into two, working an am and pm shift. This will ensure that if team members have to self-isolate there will still be 50% of the staff available to work.

There have been no Covid-19 outbreaks amongst the staff at the Surgery.