Welcome to Brightwalton News

The Parishes of the West Downland Benefice will be holding
A Service in Commemoration of
His Late Royal Highness The Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh
at 6pm
on Friday  16th April 2021
in Welford Churchyard
 
Parking will be available at Welford Park
 
The service will be organised in line with current Covid-19 regulations for outdoor worship.   
·         Please ensure that you maintain social distancing as you enter and exit the churchyard, especially through gateways and narrow walkways.  Please leave gates and doors open. 
·         Please check in using the NHS App, or by offering your name and contact number to the sidesman on duty.
·         Printed orders of service will not be provided.  Instead an electronic version of the Order of Service, for printing or download onto a hand held device, will be made available on the St Gregory, Welford entry on the  A Church Near You website from Thursday 15th April
https://www.achurchnearyou.com/church/6041/service-and-events/events-oneoff/
·         If you are experiencing Covid-19 symptoms, or have reason to self-isolate, please do not attend the service.    
 
No physical Books of Condolence are being made available. 
If you would like to view the online Book of Condolence you may do so here:
https://www.churchofengland.org/remembering-his-royal-highness-prince-philip/hrh-prince-philip-book-condolence
If you would like to write your own message of condolence you may do so here:
https://www.churchofengland.org/remembering-his-royal-highness-prince-philip
 
Revd Miriam Keen

Brightwalton Village Hall Monday's 12.30 - 1.15 starting 12/04/2021
WBC Press Release:
​West Berkshire Council will be distributing lateral flow device testing home kits across its district from Monday 12 April.
Community Collect is a government programme which makes lateral flow device testing home kits available to families and households with children and young people at Primary or Secondary School, or College, including childcare and support bubbles.  Lateral flow device testing helps with the process of finding more COVID-19 cases and breaks the chain of transmission.
West Berkshire Mobile Community Collect will be in operation from Monday to Friday, with a different specified route around the district each day.  The routes and timetable can be found on the council’s lateral flow testing webpage.
The Government has recently announced that everyone in England should have access to twice weekly lateral flow device testing from Friday 9 April. People will be encouraged to have regular testing, so that more positive cases within households are found and prevented from entering workplaces, schools and colleges so that as a society we are able to make a step towards a more normal way of life.
Around one in three people have COVID-19 without showing symptoms and lateral flow device testing helps finds cases quickly – in under 30 minutes – meaning positive cases can isolate straight away.  This can be the difference between children being able to stay in school, or a class being sent home due to an outbreak.
Cllr Graham Bridgman, Executive Member for Health and Wellbeing at West Berkshire Council, said:
“West Berkshire Council is making every effort to make lateral flow device testing accessible to residents across the district.
“We urge residents to undertake regular testing, to help prevent the spread of COVID-19 and keep children and young people safe.”
Speaking about Community Collect, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, Matt Hancock MP, said:
“Regular testing of households and childcare support bubbles of primary and secondary school children is another tool we are making available to help keep schools safe.  We know that one in three people with COVID-19 don’t have any symptoms, so targeted, regular testing will mean more positive cases are kept out of schools and colleges.
“As we continue to roll out the vaccine, testing offers us a way forward.  Sustained and repeated testing for people without symptoms has a critical role to play as sections of society are reopened by driving down transmission rates.
“By everyone playing their part and getting tested regularly, vital public services, workplaces and educational settings can stay open and running, and we can move closer to a more normal way of life.”
Professor Yvonne Doyle, Medical Director at Public Health England, said:
“These rapid tests help uncover hidden cases of the virus and break chains of transmission, stopping outbreaks before they occur.
“Combined with other protective measures, they are a vital tool to help us lower infection rates and ensure that they stay low.
“I would encourage all eligible households to take up the offer of twice weekly rapid testing – it’s quick and painless and could help save lives.”
All families and households with Primary, Secondary and College aged children and young people are encouraged to undertake lateral flow device testing at home twice a week and report their results to https://www.gov.uk/report-covid19-result, or call 119, 7am to 11pm (lines open every day).

West Berkshire Council Press Release - Date: 06 April 2021:

Have your say on public rights of way
Work as started on an improvement plan for public rights of way across West Berkshire - and we want your views.
West Berkshire Council is responsible for around 740 miles of public footpaths, bridleways, restricted byways and byways. There are public rights of way across the whole of West Berkshire, in both urban and rural areas. These form an important network for enjoying and exploring the countryside and travelling to work or school, as well as supporting tourism and good health. They provide hundreds of miles of free routes on which people can walk, cycle, ride horses or use other means of travel.
Our rights of way improvement plan helps us to make sure the public rights of way network meets the needs of the public, now and in the future. Our current Rights of Way Improvement Plan (ROWIP) was adopted on the 27 May 2010 and it now needs updating.
Speaking about the work Councillor Richard Somner, Executive Member for Transport and Countryside, said:
"Many people have used public rights of way more during the pandemic, or have discovered them for the first time. Accessing the countryside and West Berkshire's network of paths has been very important to people for their health and mental wellbeing. We want to better understand the value of the public rights of way network to those who currently use them as well as how we might other residents to discover and make use of them."
The rights of way service is also using the process of reviewing its ROWIP to understand the needs of residents of West Berkshire more fully. It will use the opportunity to make sure the ROWIP addresses the priorities of the area in terms of health and wellbeing, supporting people living with disabilities and mental health issues, regeneration, growth, transport, climate change, tourism and other priorities.
To make sure the new ROWIP reflects the needs of West Berkshire's residents, we'd like to know about your experience of using our public rights of way, and how important the network is to your health and wellbeing. We also want to know if you've encountered any problems using the PROW's, and whether your concerns were addressed.
An online survey has been set to gather people's views - take part before 30 May 2021.
A public right of way is a path that anyone has the legal right to walk on. Some public rights of way can also be used by cyclists, horse riders or motorists. You can use:

• Footpaths for walking, running, mobility scooters or powered wheelchairs
• Bridleways for walking, horse riding, bicycles, mobility scooters or powered wheelchairs
• Restricted byways for any transport without a motor, except mobility scooters and powered wheelchairs
• Byways open to all traffic for any kind of transport, including cars (but they're mainly used by walkers, cyclists and horse riders)

You can explore public rights of way on the West Berkshire Online Map.

Please find below the March update from Downland Ward Councillor, Clive Hooker. 

As published in the Brickleton News, there will be a 2.30pm service on Good Friday in the churchyard. It will be a short reflective service with poetry and music. 
A copy of the pew sheet can be downloaded here.