This week Reading Borough Council leader Jason Brock writes exclusively to Reading Chronicle readers:

What’s the most talked about subject in Reading? There are a few contenders, but I’d put my money on transport. Traffic jams, parking, the school run, cycle infrastructure, traffic lights, bus lanes or pollution – it’s consistently the town’s biggest talking point and has been for many years. Like the England football team and Brexit, everyone has an opinion.

Next week the Council will launch one if its biggest ever public consultation exercises. The theme is Reading’s new Local Transport Plan and feedback will help shape how we travel in the town over the next 20 years.

Reading has a real problem when it comes to congestion and pollution. As a successful town, and city in all but name, we attract the big hitters when it comes to business. That makes us the major centre for employment in the Thames Valley region, not to mention the biggest regional shopping and leisure hub in Berkshire.

It’s amazing to think that as many, or more, people commute to Reading Station every morning as leave Reading to work in London. One in three vehicles on the IDR doesn’t even start or end their journey in Reading. We are truly unique in that respect. Our success generates tens of thousands of journeys every day, not just by Reading residents, but by people who live out of the borough and travel here, or through here, to work. In a nutshell, we are the capital of the Thames Valley (despite some other towns erroneously trying to claim this mantle). And this is where the problem lies.

Demand for new homes in and around Reading has never been higher. The town’s population is expected to increase by 12.5% over the next 20 years. 671 new homes are planned for Reading every year to 2036. Next door in Wokingham 801 new homes are planned every year. The figure is 990 new homes every year in South Oxfordshire. We know that a lot of these new residents will commute into Reading on a daily basis for work. That’s a lot of extra journeys, all adding to congestion and all adding to poor air quality affecting the health and well-being of residents in Reading, particularly the young and old. There is growing evidence that poor air pollution is contributing to many unnecessary health issues and deaths. No responsible local authority can stand by and do nothing. The Council has committed to achieving a carbon neutral town by 2030. For that to happen we all need to make some fundamental changes to the way we get around town. That could involve some difficult choices.

The Council’s public consultation exercise on a new Local Transport Plan for Reading is due to be launched on Monday. We will be talking to residents, businesses, organisations, transport operators and schools about what changes we need to make to absorb the inevitable future growth in housing, jobs and commuting, whilst protecting the health of local residents. This is not just the Council’s Local Transport Plan; it is everyone’s, which is why it is so important for you to help us shape it. Please look out for details of the consultation next week and take a few minutes over the summer to fill in the survey at https://www.pclconsult.co.uk/transport2036. It goes live from Monday afternoon. We must each be part of the solution to the challenges we face.