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Slough Borough Council continues to close the door on anti-social behaviour after placing gates at the entrance of a private alleyway in Wellesley Road to Richmond Crescent.

The gates will prevent anti-social behaviour, such as fly tipping and vandalism, by blocking access to the alleyway between Wellesley Road and Richmond Crescent.

After consultation between local residents and the council’s community safety and highways teams, along with Thames Valley Police, the gate was erected on Monday, April 7.

Kam Bhatti, community safety project officer for Slough Borough Council, said: “Reducing anti-social behaviour, crime and the fear of crime, is a clear priority for the council.

“The community safety team liaised closely with residents, and it was agreed that as an official Gating Order was not suitable at this private site, maintenance of the gates will rely on the commitment of residents.

“Gating reduces the occurrence of anti-social behaviour in alleyways, which are often used as sites for drug dealing, as well as vandalism and fly-tipping.

“Blocking the alleyway demonstrates we will not tolerate such behaviour, and will improve the quality of life for residents.”

If you know of any abandoned vehicles, fly tips or graffiti, please call the anti-social behaviour hotline on 0845 605 2222.

Slough Borough Council

To celebrate the release of The Golden Compass DVD on April 28, libraries in Slough are running a competition to win a copy of the film and a portable DVD player to watch it on.

For a chance to win, Slough readers need to be 16 or over and collect a quiz sheet from their local Slough, Britwell, Langley or Cippenham library, before completing and returning by the closing date of May 9.

Correct answers will be entered into a prize draw on May 15, with the chance of winning one of three top prizes:

* First prize - portable DVD player and copy of The Golden Compass DVD
* Second prize - two cinema tickets for the Empire cinema in Slough and a copy of The Golden Compass DVD
* Third prize - copy of The Golden Compass DVD.

Julia Clement, customer services coordinator for Slough Borough Council, said: “This is an excellent prize for film fans, and the competition is a great way to get readers down to their local libraries and see the resources we have.

“It’s really easy to enter, just pop along and pick up a quiz sheet and answer the six questions on The Golden Compass. We look forward to seeing you soon.”

For any further information please contact Julia Clement on 01753 535166.

Slough Borough Counci

Thames Valley Police Mounted Section is taking to the streets of Slough on 25/4.

Between 12pm and 3pm, PC's Jack Frost and Kirsty Wilson will be out assisting the neighbourhood teams from the Eastern part of Slough.

They will be focusing their Slough patrols on parts of Kedermister, Wexham and Langley Wood.

The aim of the high visibility patrols is to target anti-social behaviour and vehicle crime hot spots in the area.

Slough Neighbourhood Inspector, John Goosey, said: 'The Mounted Section is an excellent resource to have come down and support the work of our neighbourhood teams. They provide an extra high visibility presence that will deter criminals and reassure the community.

'They will be targeting crime hotspots which we have identified through analysis and public consultations with the community.

'These patrols demonstrate our intention to use all resources available to us to tackle crime in the area.'

The Mounted Section, which is based in Milton Keynes, has nine horses which are ridden by a sergeant and nine PC's.

They provide:

* A mounted public order response across the Force, as well as in other force areas.
* Support to neighbourhoods with targeted high visibility patrols.
* A response to rural and urban searches initiated by search coordinators.
* Mounted escort protection at military and royal events.

Sgt John Thurston, from the Mounted Section, said: 'Since the introduction of neighbourhood policing, we are increasingly supporting the work of neighbourhood teams across the Force. We provide high visibility patrols in all the main towns and cities as well as in the smaller towns and villages.

'With people seeing us more and more, in spirit of neighbourhood policing, we are encouraging them to come and meet us as well as the horses.'

Members of the neighbourhood team can be contacted via 0845 8 505 505. For more information about the neighbourhood teams, please visit www.thamesvalley.police.uk.

Thames Valley Police ~ Slough

Police are asking for the public’s help in tracing two teenage boys who watched their dog kill a cat in Cippenham, Slough on Monday (21/4).

At around 4.45pm, witnesses saw the teenagers let their dog off the lead in The Greenway before watching it attack and kill a cat.

Both boys are Asian and in their mid-teens. One was wearing a dark coloured fleece top and dark jogging bottoms and the other was wearing a light coloured top and dark tracksuit bottoms.

The dog is medium-sized with brown and black colouring, possibly an American Pit Bull Terrier.

Slough PC Matt Kille, investigating the incident, said: “We have reason to believe that the boys deliberately let their dog off the lead, knowing it would attack the cat. This is clearly an appalling crime and therefore we urge anyone with information to contact us as soon as possible so that we can catch those responsible and stop it happening again.”

PC Kille can be contacted via the 24-hour Police Enquiry Centre on 0845 8 505 505. If you don’t want to speak to police or give your name, please call the Crimestoppers charity on 0800 555 111.

Thames Valley Police ~ Slough

Three men have been charged in connection with a robbery at a newsagent in Slough.

Brian Seagrove, 28, of Nightingale Court, Amersham, Buckinghamshire, and 27-year-old Matthew Costello, of Doddsfield Road, Slough, were jointly charged with robbery by detectives during the early hours of Saturday (19/4).

Both appeared before Slough Magistrates’ Court later that day.

Costello was released on court bail with conditions, while Seagrove was remanded in prison.

Both will appear before Reading Crown Court on Tuesday 24 July.

A third man, 50-year-old Hasan Tonbul, of Cameron Close, London, was charged with handling stolen goods. He is due to appear before Maidenhead Magistrates’ Court on Wednesday 30 April.

The charges follow an incident at Star news shop in Knolton Way, Wexham, at approximately 6.30am, on Friday 18 April.

Thames Valley Police ~ Slough

Slough Borough Council is inviting families to take part in workshops at Slough and Britwell libraries for a fun way to learn new skills in computing and healthy eating.

The courses will be held every Saturday at:

* Britwell Library, from May 3 to May 24 on healthy eating from 10.30am until 12pm
* Slough Library, from May 10 to May 31, computer workshops from 1.30pm until 3.30pm.

The workshops, run by Lifelong Learning, will encourage parents and children to learn and be creative together.

The healthy eating workshop will present interesting ways on how to eat healthily, whilst the computer workshops will explore the theme of historical figures online.

Tracy Briggs, family learning librarian for Slough Borough Council, said: “The workshops are a great way for families to learn together.

“They can use the computer centre at Slough Library to research their favourite historical figure and use computer packages to produce colouring crafts or a newsletter to take away.

“The healthy eating workshops will encourage food awareness, as well as colourful ways of cooking creatively. The workshops are guaranteed to be lots of fun for all.”

The Saturday workshops are free and open to parents, grandparents, carers and children over four years old and must be booked in advance.

For further information on the Saturday computer workshops, visit the Slough Junior Library or call 01753 787526.

To book a place on the Saturday healthy eating course, visit the Britwell Library or call 01753 522869.

Slough Borough Council

Due to the success of Slough Borough Council’s customer services, nine new call centre recruits started on April 14, for their first shift.

The Slough advisors have joined the dynamic team to help meet the demands of customers and ensure their queries are dealt with more quickly and efficiently, as well as to expand the service.

Over the last few months, many advisors have gained invaluable experience on the front desk and have moved on to internal jobs within the council, continuing its strong hold on staff retention.

Mo Hassan, customer services manager for MyCouncil, said: “It’s great news for the service that we are employing more people.

“The whole of MyCouncil is dedicated to retaining staff and we have a very successful rate of people staying within us.”

Slough Borough Council.

This year is the designated National Year of Reading (NYR) for England, and Slough Borough Council is taking part by encouraging children, young people and their families to join their local library.

Friday April 25, sees the launch of the Reading Agency’s first ever national library membership campaign, encouraging people to join a library and access the wealth of ideas and resources available for free.

To make it easier for people to join at the end of April, Slough residents will fill in a simple membership form for use in any library in the country.

To join any of Slough’s libraries simply come along with proof of ID, containing your name and current address.

The first 235,000 new young members and their families to sign up across England will be given:

* A free copy of the NYR ‘s ‘The Ultimate Book Guide: A selection of some of our best children's and teenage reads from picture books to novels.’
* A library welcome pack, complete with information on services, resources and the expert support of library staff.

Gaynor Baveystock, principal librarian for Slough Borough Council, said: “In support of the campaign we will be holding some family sessions on Saturday April 26, to encourage people to come along to Slough library, such as;

* Dad’s Story Time will take place at the children’s library from 11am to 11.30am, and Hindi Story Time from 2pm until 3pm.
* Visitors can write about the most interesting book they have read during the previous week to be added to the Reading Wall.
* There will be a chance to win a £10 book token simply by submitting a book review.
* As an incentive, if you borrow three books, you will receive a voucher for a free hire of a Talking Book.

“We want residents to know there's much more to Slough's libraries than just books.

“We offer Internet access, DVDs, videos, CDs, CD Roms, Playstation games, talking books, newspapers and magazines, community information and an enquiry service led by highly qualified librarians.“

Additional information on Slough Borough Council’s library services can be found on the council's website or External link iconSlough's libraries website (opens a new window).

For further information please contact Gaynor Baveystock on 01753 787513.

Slough Borough Council

Slough Borough Council’s lifelong learning department has organised a variety of new and exciting courses for residents in the borough to come along to.

Join a course and learn something new for 2008 and beyond.The courses range from car maintenance to clothes making, DIY to cooking and drawing to interior design.

The courses, held at the Thomas Gray Centre on Queens Road and Slough and Eton School, unless stated otherwise, are as follows –

* Car maintenance – Every Saturday from May 10 to June14 from 10am to 12pm or Tuesdays from April 22 to June 3 from 12.30pm to 2.30pm. £12 for full course.
* Driving theory and hazard perception – Every Wednesday from April 30 to July 9 from 6pm to 8pm and every Thursday from May 1 to July 10 from 9.45am to 11.45am at Thomas Gray Centre. £20 for full course.
* Introduction to DIY – Every Saturday from June 21 to July 26 from 10am to 12pm or Tuesdays from June 10 to July 15. £12 for full course.
* Making children’s clothes – Every Saturday from May 10 to June 7 from 10am to 12.30pm. Classes are free.
* Drawing and sketching – Mondays from April 28 to July 7 from 12.45pm to 2.45pm. £20 for full course.
* Make over for your home with soft furnishing - Every Monday from April 21 to July 7 from 12.45pm to 14.45pm. £20 for full course.

Three new Slough courses with qualifications -

* Brighten up your environment – Every Tuesday from April 22 to July 1 from 6pm to 8pm, based at Cherry Orchard Allotment. £30 for full course, excluding exam fee.
* Flower arranging – Every Wednesday from April 23 to July 2 from 2.15pm to 5.15pm. £30 for full course, excluding exam fee.
* Patterns cut and sewing – Every Thursday from May 1 to July 10 from 9.30am to 12.30pm. £30 for full course, excluding exam fee.

Other Slough courses include -

* Cooking for men – Every Thursday from May 1 to June 12 from 6pm to 8pm. Full course is £12, plus ingredients.
* Caribbean cooking – Every Wednesday from April 30 to July 9 from 6pm to 8pm. Full course £20, plus ingredients.
* Learning to drive/help with driving theory and support for those with limited English – Every Thursday from May 1 to July 10 from 9.45am to 11.45am. Full course is £20.

Philip Wright, head of Slough lifelong learning, said: “We are continuing to revise our programme to respond to what local residents are interested in and have come up with some very interesting courses.

“We do hope to see lots of people attend and start to learn new skills and meet new people.”

Please call 01753 476611 to find out more about the courses and where they are.

Slough Borough Council.

Crime in Slough has fallen by more than 15 per cent this year compared to the same period during the previous four years, resulting in fewer victims across the local police area.

The Slough police area has seen an overall reduction of 916 British Crime Survey (BCS) crimes, which accounts for over half of all crime.

BCS crimes - the ones which matter most to the public - such as domestic burglary, criminal damage, vehicle crime, robbery, wounding and common assault, have dropped by 7.9 per cent overall between 1 April 2007 and 31 March 2008, compared with 2006/07.

Most notable are falls in incidents of wounding which have dropped by 19.9 per cent; 13.2 per cent in criminal damage; 6.4 per cent in burglaries; 16.5 per cent in robbery of personal property; 18.9 per cent in theft of pedal cycle; and 15.6 per cent in vehicle interference.

Police and the Slough council have also worked in close partnership over the specified time period to reduce vehicle crime - theft from motor vehicles and theft from motor vehicles - hitting its three year target set by the Government Office for the South East (GOSE).

Theft of vehicles is down by 8.6 per cent and theft from vehicles is down by 3.9 per cent.

Superintendent Pete Davies, local police commander for Slough, said: “I am delighted at the crime reduction results for Slough which shows how working in partnership can really help make a difference.

“With the successful roll-out of neighbourhood policing in Slough, we now have more officers patrolling our streets than ever before.

“We have in the region of 30 Police Community Support Officers (PCSOs) working across the police area, who work alongside neighbourhood policing officers and the council community wardens.

“I am really pleased that our three-year target for reducing vehicle crime has been met, and would like to thank everyone who has worked so hard to achieve this level of performance in this crime category and others.

He added: “Although these reductions are certainly a step in the right direction, we are not complacent and won’t certainly be resting on our laurels. We are committed to reducing crime further, and will continue to target those individuals who commit crime in Slough.”

James Priestman, head of drugs and community safety for Slough Borough Council said: “The Safer Slough Partnership is really pleased to have achieved these reductions in crime over a period when our population has actually been increasing.

“Reductions in vehicle crime have been particularly good. If residents in Slough want crime to get even lower over the next three years they can play their part by getting involved with their Neighbourhood Action Group and by continuing to take responsibility for the safety of themselves and their property.

“Neighbourhood Action Groups offer advice from Thames Valley Police, Slough Borough Council, housing providers and others on how to reduce crime and give an opportunity for residents to get involved.”

Slough Borough Council

Despite the unpredictable Slough weather, the Nagar Kirtan procession held in Slough yesterday (13/4) was a great success, according to officers who policed the event.

Held annually by members of the Sikh community to celebrate Vaisakhi, which marks the birth of their religion, the procession attracted several thousand people from all over Slough and beyond.

“As usual, this year’s procession was a good-natured, family-oriented event,” said Community Safety Inspector Mark Millward. “There was a good rapport between police, Slough Borough Council and the organisers of the procession.”

Insp Millward, under the command of Ch Insp Dave Parker, led a team of officers and police community support officers (PCSOs) from Berkshire East, who all worked together to facilitate one of the biggest public gatherings to be held in Slough.

“The event was very well organised and we received a lot of positive feedback from the community. In fact, everything was a success except the weather: we had rain, wind, hail, everything except snow, but despite this, people had a good time.

“The police’s main role was to assist the procession through traffic management, road closures and other public safety measures. As far as our officers are concerned, the Vaisakhi procession is one of the best events of the year, with real community spirit - and some fantastic food!”

Starting at around 11am at the Siri Guru Singh Sabha Gurdwara in Sheehy Way, Wexham, the procession wound its way slowly through the streets until it ended at the Ramgharia Gurdwara in Woodland Avenue, Baylis, at about 2.30pm. Police did not anticipate any disorder during the day and, as expected, there were no incidents or arrests.

Insp Millward said: “We would like to thank all the organisers and participants for a very peaceful and enjoyable day. We’re looking forward to next year’s procession.”

Thames Valley Police ~ Slough

Detectives investigating an alleged election fraud in Slough Central last year have today (10/4) charged four men in connection with their inquiry.

Altaf Khan, aged 30, of Knolton Way, Slough, 52-year-old Arshad Mahmood Raja, of Broadmark Road, Slough, 45-year-old Mohammed Basharat Khan, of Mirador Crescent, Slough, and 19-year-old Yasar Mumtaz, of Wellesley Road, Slough, were this afternoon jointly charged with an offence of conspiracy to defraud under Common Law, and offences under Section 60 and 62A Representation of the People Act 1983.

All four men have been released on bail to appear at Maidenhead Magistrates’ Court on 15 April.

Altaf Khan and Raja were initially arrested by officers on 7 June 2007.

Yasar Mumtaz was arrested on Tuesday 8 January 2008.

Mohammed Basharat Khan was arrested on 2 April 2008.

Following their arrest, all four were given police bail pending further inquiries.

Thames Valley Police ~ Slough

Slough Police are appealing for witnesses to a common assault which occurred in Cippenham on Friday afternoon (4/4).

At around 4.15pm, a woman in her thirties was driving along Elmshott Lane, when she stopped to allow a group of male youths to cross the road.

The group, which consisted of two black youths on bicycles and a number of white youths, then stood in the road and blocked her way. When she asked them to move, they became verbally abusive and one of the white youths approached her car and spat in her face.

Slough PC Jozef Hodgson, investigating the incident, said: “During the incident the traffic backed up behind the woman’s car so it is possible that another motorist saw what happened.”

Anyone who witnessed the incident, or has any information which may assist police with their enquiries, is urged to contact PC Hodgson via the 24-hour Police Enquiry Centre on 0845 8 505 505. If you don’t want to speak to police or give your name, please call the Crimestoppers charity on 0800 555 111.

Thames Valley Police ~ Slough

Slough Borough Council’s trading standards team has successfully prosecuted a Slough shop owner selling counterfeit DVDs with a penalty of nearly £1,200.

Counterfeit DVDs are illegal. The case, which was heard last Friday, April 4, at Maidenhead Magistrates Court, found Surbir Singh Arora, owner of Euro Food and Wine on the High Street, guilty of being in possession to supply 140 counterfeit and unclassified DVDs, many of which were Bollywood titles.

The trading standards officer visited the shop last May and seized the items, before carrying out an investigation which resulted in a prosecution under the Video Recordings Act 1984, Trade Marks Act 1994 and the Trade Descriptions Act 1968.

A further restrictive statement offence involved a sign attached to the DVDs, stating ‘DVDs – no exchange or return’.

It is currently illegal to restrict consumer’s statutory rights in this way, under the Consumer Transactions (Restrictions on Statements) Order 1976.

Mr Arora pleaded guilty to all four offences and was fined a total of £400, with an additional £792.50 prosecution costs.

Slough Borough Councils trading standards officer, Dean Cooke, said: “This is a welcome result.

“The message needs to get out to traders in Slough that it’s illegal to supply any counterfeit and/or unclassified film works, even if they are not UK or Hollywood titles.

“It appears that some traders may be taking advice from bogus sellers and are being given misinformation.

“For proper legal advice on the sale of these and other goods, we would urge traders to contact us on 01753 875255.”

Slough Borough Council

People 1st (Slough) will be marking two milestones on April 11th with a special event to be held at their new offices in Langley.

Time to celebrate.The Arms Length Management Organisations (ALMO), which looks after the Slough council’s housing and tenants, will celebrate its award of two stars given in January by the Audit Commission and its recent move to its new premises.

The programme for the day will see the ALMO’s chief executive, Andrew Billany, give a speech to guests before chair of the board, Sue Morris, cuts the ribbon to the new headquarters.

Refreshments will be had before a tour of the new office begins.

The two star status means that People 1st (Slough) can now draw on funds of £45 million to bring all remaining properties in the borough up to the Decent Homes standard over the next three years.

Every week, 56 properties in the town are being modernised with refurbishment including new kitchens, bathrooms, central heating and rewiring.

In addition, over 60 secure-by-design doors will be fitted each week.

Chief executive of People 1st (Slough), Andrew Billany, said: “This event will mark two very special achievements for People 1st and its staff.

“Everyone has worked so hard to get the ALMO where it is today, and continues to do so.”

Chair of the Board, Sue Morris, added: “We were simply delighted with the inspection outcome and have come an incredibly long way in two years.

“It makes me enormously proud that everyone has worked so very hard to achieve this - our staff, my fellow board members, The Fed and our partners and contractors and especially Slough Borough Council.

“Our aim continues to be to manage and improve Slough’s council housing, giving residents a bigger say in key decisions about the future of their homes and neighbourhoods.

“The Decent Homes Programme is transforming estates. To do this, we will work with residents making sure their views shape how the future of their homes and communities are enhanced."

Slough Borough Council

Slough Borough Council is official offering free bus travel across England from today, April 1st, as part of a new national scheme.

The current bus pass, which allows free local off-peak travel for eligible Slough residents, is going to be extended as part of the new National Bus Concession Scheme.

People aged 60 and over, or are disabled and are a Slough resident, can apply for a pass. If you are disabled and need someone to help you when travelling by bus, you can apply for a pass that allows a companion to travel with you for free on buses in Slough.

Anyone with the pass will then be able to take advantage of free off-peak travel on local buses anywhere in England.

Off peak hours are 9.30am until 11pm Monday to Friday and all day weekends and bank holidays.

As a Slough resident, the new pass means you are able to travel at any time on most buses boarded within the Slough Borough Council boundary and in some neighbouring authority areas.

The scheme aims to provide greater freedom and independence, whilst offering significant savings when visiting friends, vital services and attractions outside the local area.

Everyone who already holds a bus pass will be sent a new one automatically, but the council is also encouraging new applicants.

Tim Wangora, Slough customer service centre team leader, said: “We really welcome this new bus pass scheme as it will help many elderly and disabled residents by providing them with a much greater service.

“If there is anyone who feels that they are eligible for a bus pass, but don’t yet have one, we urge them to get in contact with us.”

For bus timetables and route information or to apply for a pass, please call Slough Borough Council on 01753 475111.

Slough Borough Council

Slough libraries are kick starting April with special craft sessions and stories about the kite festival and Spring.

Step into Spring at the libraryThe free event is for anyone aged five and over who would like to go along to their local library and join in the fun.

The sessions will be held at –

* Langley Library on Tuesday April 8 from 2.15pm to 3.15pm
* Cippenham Library on Thursday April 8 from 10.30am to 11.30am
* Britwell Library on Tuesday April 15 from 10.30am to 11.30am
* Slough Library on Wednesday April 16 from 10.30am to 11.30am

Sabiha Malik, senior library assistant for Slough Borough Council, said: “I am really looking forward to seeing the children come to the library and learn all about spring and what it has to offer.

“There will be lots of fun with stories about kites and plenty of colours to stimulate the young children’s imagination.”

For further information, please call Slough library on 01753 787524.

Slough Borough Council

Residents of Baylis and Stoke neighbourhood in Slough are invited to a public meeting on Thursday 10 April.

The open forum will be held at Baylis House in Stoke Poges Lane, Slough starting at 7.30pm.

Liam Nairn, Slough neighbourhood sergeant, said: “It’s a year since neighbourhood policing was launched in Baylis and Stoke. At that time, residents identified their top priorities as anti-social behaviour, prostitution/drug dealing and litter.

“The meeting on 10 April is an opportunity for residents to hear about the progress we have made in tackling these issues, to raise any other concerns they may have, and to identify what they would like the Neighbourhood Action Group (NAG) to concentrate on in the coming year.

“It’s also a chance for people to come forward and play a part in the work of the NAG, which steers the joint efforts to improve the quality of life in their community.

“We hope as many people as possible will come along to meet their neighbourhood policing team and find out how they can get involved.”

The Slough neighbourhood policing team for Baylis and Stoke comprises:

Insp Jon Goosey
Sgt Liam Nairn
PC Ian Whitlock
PC Ruth Cant
PC Tim Crossman
Police Community Support Officer (PCSO) Krzysztof Krawczyk

Thames Valley Police ~ Slough

A special Slough screening of the ‘Black Gold’ will be accompanied by a Question and Answer session by a local man who used to work as a coffee farmer in Ethiopia. Dereje Gelata lives in Slough with his family and provides housing support for young unaccompanied refugees and asylum seekers. However when he was living in Ethiopia where he was born he ran a coffee farm, very much similar to the one described in the film ‘Black Gold’

Black Gold set in Ethiopia, the birth place of coffee follows the life of one coffee farmer, Tadesse Mesekela on his mission to get a fair price for his coffee. Multinational coffee companies dominate an industry worth over $80 billion, making coffee the most valuable trading commodity in the world after oil. The film tracks the exploitation of coffee farmers by multinational companies while Tadesse travels to world to find a buyer who is willing to pay a fair price for the highest quality coffee beans.

The Slough screening will be followed by a Question and Answer session with Dereje. There will also be free fair trade products to sample at the evening.

This screenings is part of the Same Difference Film Festival which runs from April 2nd to April 14th 2008. This year the festival will run over two weeks giving people a greater chance to catch up with more of the latest cutting edge films. The festival will showcase a range of thought provoking films on the theme of community, conflict and peace.

“This really is the most exciting programme we have had to date. The programme includes a range of thought provoking, challenging and heart warming films all aimed at bringing people together.” (Mandeep Kaur Sira, Aik Saath)

The festivals main aim is to raise awareness and bring the community of Slough closer together to share interests and increase understanding. The festival is organised by Aik Saath and Slough Co-operative Film Society. The festival is funded by The Co-operative Membership and Slough Social Fund.

Aik Saath will celebrate their tenth birthday by launching a new and innovative research report on ‘Community Cohesion and Young People’. The event will take place on Friday April 4th.

The Slough conference will look at how community cohesion work has developed over the past ten years and the original documentary, The Peacemaker, shown on channel 4 over ten years ago, from which Aik Saath was born, will be screened. The highlight of the conference will be the launch of a new research report. The report will take a fresh new approach by training young people to carry out the research with other young people.

“We’re so delighted to be celebrating our tenth birthday with the launch of a new report that will set the agenda for work on community cohesion and young people.” Rob Deeks, Aik Saath

Speakers for the event include MP Fiona Mactaggart, Thames Valley Police, and Selmah Chaudhary who featured in the original documentary and Aik Saath. The event is being supported by Thames Valley Police and the Runnymede Trust will be supporting the research. The findings will be compiled into a special research report which will be released towards the end of this year.

The Slough fourth Same Difference Film Festival runs from April 2nd to April 14th 2008. This year the festival will run over two weeks giving Slough people a greater chance to catch up with more of the latest cutting edge films. The festival will showcase a range of thought provoking films on the theme of community, conflict and peace.

This year the Slough festival opens on April 2nd with another pre-release blockbuster, ‘Sukkar Banat’ (Caramel). Set in a beauty salon in Beirut the film weaves a portrait of women muddling through the uncertainties of a culture caught between the modern and the traditional. The opening night gala will also include live Lebanese music and food!

“This really is the most exciting programme we have had to date. The programme includes a range of thought provoking, challenging and heart warming films all aimed at bringing people together.” (Mandeep Kaur Sira, Aik Saath)

The Slough festival also includes the screening of ‘Black Gold’ with free fair-trade refreshments and special screenings for Lea Junior School and the young carers groups at the Family Welfare Association who will both enjoy ‘Azur and Asmar: The Princes Quest’ which has been receiving rave reviews all over the country.

St Mary’s will also play host to another screening this year. Viewers will get the chance to watch ‘Daratt’, a film set in Chad exploring the themes of reconciliation and common humanity aswell enjoy free fair-trade wine and chocolate.

The festivals main aim is to raise awareness and bring the community of Slough closer together to share interests and increase understanding. The festival is organised by Aik Saath and Slough Co-operative Film Society. The festival is funded by The Co-operative Membership and Slough Social Fund.

Residents of two neighbourhoods in Slough set their policing priorities for the coming year at recent open forums.

A public meeting to launch neighbourhood policing in Central Slough was held at the Express by Holiday Inn in Mill Street, Slough, on Thursday 20 March.

As a result of this meeting, previous street meetings and other forms of public consultation across Central Slough, the following three priorities have been identified: anti-social behaviour and drug use in identified locations; a more visible police presence across the neighbourhood; speeding and inconsiderate parking at identified locations.

A separate public meeting to launch neighbourhood policing in Langley St Marys was held at the church hall in St Marys Road, Langley, on Thursday 27 March.

Residents identified the coming year’s priorities for Langley St Marys as: anti-social behaviour, parking and a more visible police presence across the neighbourhood.

Insp Andy Boomer, neighbourhood inspector for Slough East, said: “The consultations went well, with everyone keen to raise their concerns.

“I would like to thank everyone who attended the meetings for their contribution, and also the two venues for their support. We have been given a clear indication of what residents expect from the police and our partners, and we will be working together to address the issues raised.”

The neighbourhood policing team for Central Slough comprises:

Insp Andy Boomer
Sgt Jon Moores
PC Dave Huggins
Police Community Support Officer (PCSO) Margaret Morton

The neighbourhood policing team for Langley St Marys comprises:

Insp Andy Boomer
Sgt Damon Wilson
PC Louise Sloane
PCSO Carol Lewin

All officers can be contacted via the single number: 0845 8 505 505.

Thames Valley Police ~ Slough

Winners of the 2008 Young Enterprise for North East Berkshire were chosen on Thursday evening, March 27 at Herschel Grammar School, Slough.

The winners were Kiran Marr,16, Raphae Khan,17,finance manager,Hassan Minhas,16, Ishminder Deol,16,managing director,Arbab Anwar,16, Waseem Butt,17, deputy MD,Priya Sharma,16, KulJit Aujla,17,and AmanJot Sandhu.

Their business is called Pyro Tags and is aimed at the youth market.

Slough Borough Council