St William of York Church – alleyway improvements Name – Molli Cleaver, Community Relations Manager Project overview The St William of York Church is based in the heart of our local community on Upper Redlands Road. The Church (part of the parish called St James & St William of York) owns an alleyway that connects Upper Redlands Road to Foxhill Road/Cardigan Gardens. There are over 1,000 students living in this area who use the alleyway as a main thoroughfare walking to Whiteknights Campus from their private accommodation. The alleyway is also well used by residents living in the local area. Pictures have been included below of what the alleyway currently looks like. Over the years, there have been multiple issues with the gate at the end of the alleyway, which is locked in the evenings, being broken and damaged. This has caused strained relationships between the University and residents who live close to the alleyway and have responsibility for closing the gate. Residents are understandably frustrated at the damage and the University have committed to explore improving the strength of the gate with the Church. Repairs to the gate in the past year have cost the Church approximately £500. There have also been multiple reports of anti-social behaviour along the alleyway, although not exclusively University students. The alleyway is currently looking run down, there is a lack of lighting and the signage has been graffitied over time. The University and Church believe that these factors all contribute to issues of anti-social behaviour. We are looking for funding to run a community project between residents and students to improve the area as a way of addressing the anti-social behaviour and build more positive relationships between the University, Church and local community. We would work with Reading Students’ Union sports clubs and societies, local residents and the Church community to choose the planting, lighting and signage they would like to incorporate into the space. We would then create a programme of activity to clear the area and complete the planting together. The installation of the lighting and signage would be led by the Church with support from the University. The Church would have ownership and be responsible for ongoing maintenance of the space. We have spoken to a small group of residents who are interested in improving the space and they are supportive of the plans. Reading SU are also supportive of working together to find students who will volunteer their time. The Church are supportive of this project and the opportunity to work in collaboration with the University. Project aims · Reduce cases of damage and anti-social behaviour along the alleyway by improving the space. By involving students who regularly access the alleyway, we aim to build a stronger sense of connection to and greater care for the area. · Improve sense of safety, particularly at night, by introducing new lighting along the alleyway. · Improve and strengthen relationships between students, local residents, St William of York Church and the University. The University and Church will demonstrate that we are listening to the views of residents and responding proactively by improving the space and tackling anti-social behaviour. The opportunity to work together on a project aims to improve positive relationships by demonstrating that our students do care about the local area and can make a positive impact throughout their studies. Project benefits · The University demonstrates its commitment to being a University for Reading as well as of Reading, by proactively engaging with the local community, supporting the strategic principle of Engaged University. · Students feel a stronger sense of connection and belonging to the local area and are provided with more opportunities to enhance their student experience, supporting the strategic principle of Community. · Positive relationships between local residents, the Church and the University are built through a collaborative project to improve the space in response to feedback and recognition of existing issues. · Students and residents feel safer when walking home, particularly at night. · Anti-social behaviour is reduced causing less damage and costs to the Church to repair any damage. Funding request We are requesting £2,200 to improve the alleyway next to the St William of York Church. This will include – · £200 – planting · £600 – lighting · £400 – new signage to replace the existing sign on and next to the gate · £1,000 – part funding of a new gate. The University is prepared to match fund this. Pictures of the alleyway

From: The Friends UoR <vrs02mt@reading.ac.uk>
Sent: 19 March 2023 5:02 PM
To: Molli Cleaver <m.cleaver@reading.ac.uk>
Subject: Re: Friends of the University grant

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