Latest news with #GurcharanManku
BBC News
13-05-2025
- General
- BBC News
Vapes and batteries plea by Slough council after bin lorry fire
People have been urged to throw away vapes and other items that use lithium-ion batteries responsibly after a bin lorry caught fire in Borough Council said a crew needed to temporarily dump about five tonnes of collected rubbish on to a road because of Monday's happened at the corner of Lees Road and Long Furlong Drive in Britwell at about 08:30 BST and is thought to have been caused by a lithium-ion authority's lead member for environmental services, Gurcharan Manku, said the items being thrown away irresponsibly puts crew members' lives at risk and could cost taxpayers hundreds of thousands of pounds. The batteries can ignite if overheated, faulty or damaged, especially during warm throwing away lithium-ion batteries in Slough is asked to take them to the council's Chalvey Waste and Recycling Centre in White Hart Road. Throwing them away is free."A bin lorry fire puts the lives of our refuse collection crews at risk and can potentially cost tax-payers hundreds of thousands of pounds," Mr Manku said."To replace one bin lorry costs around £250,000 – money that could be better spent providing services, so we are calling on residents to do the right thing, keep batteries which have run out or are not useable anymore and then take them to the battery section at Chalvey." In November 2023, about £20,000 worth of damage was caused to a Reading Borough Council site after a fire. You can follow BBC Berkshire on Facebook, X, or Instagram.
BBC News
19-04-2025
- Automotive
- BBC News
Slough to get 1,600 kerbside electric vehicle charging points
At least 1,600 on-street, kerbside charging points are to be installed in Slough after the council received £2.233m in Borough Council said the charging points would be installed over 15 years, with a focus on residential areas with no off-street is hoped the new infrastructure will make electric vehicles more practical and affordable for authority said it would be awarding a contract for the work in the summer with the first installations expected by the end of the year. The funding has come from the Department for Transport's Local Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (LEVI) Capital service councillor Gurcharan Manku said: "It's fantastic that we have been successful in gaining this funding."It will make a real difference to the infrastructure we have in Slough and having plenty of easy to access charging points will make owning an electric vehicle more appealing." You can follow BBC Berkshire on Facebook, X (Twitter), or Instagram.
Yahoo
19-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Council 'should be at centre' of new merger
A council should be at the "centre" of any potential merger, one of its leading councillors has said. Slough Borough Council is looking at a range of options to merge with other councils under a major government-led shakeup. It could potentially merge with a west London borough, with other councils in Berkshire, or could be part of a Thames Valley-wide strategic authority. Gurcharan Manku, a senior member of Slough Borough Council, said he wanted the authority to be a leading part of what might follow. The authority is hundreds of millions of pounds in debt and recently put its former HQ up for sale in an effort to claw back debt. Mr Manku said: "My doubts are, in Slough we are a unique borough with a diverse population, young population, proximity to Heathrow, a great trading estate." He said the area had "a very good history of industrialisation, innovation and development". He added: "We need to take advantage of that and ensure we are at the centre of any unitary authority or strategic authority we go for. "My fear is that with our critical problems or issues we have, like the debt issue, and the health inequalities issue. "These are the issues we need to tackle when we negotiate with other authorities." In December the government announced plants for councils to combine forces as part of large strategic authorities, in an effort to strengthen local government. Each would have a combined population of at least 1.5m people, and be in charge of large-scale transport, infrastructure, and development. But so-called smaller principle authorities would be responsible for more localised public services and would cover populations of at least 500,000 people. Slough Borough Council's cabinet heard of multiple options at a meeting on Monday. They included a merger with a west London borough or boroughs, but also with Windsor and Maidenhead and Bracknell Forest Councils. Council leaders in Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, Oxfordshire, and Swindon have also met to consider whether they could join up under a new strategic authority. Council leader Dexter Smith said changes could help his authority's "very sizable economic base". He added that talks would not take place "behind closed doors" as residents would be consulted on proposed changes, and councillors would get a chance to debate them. You can follow BBC Berkshire on Facebook, X (Twitter), or Instagram. Debt-laden council's former HQ up for sale Cash-strapped authority plans 8% council tax rise Council pursuing unpaid tax from 27 years ago County court could be sold by debt-ridden council Cash-strapped council's £600m sell-off 'unrealistic' Council's former HQ mistakenly listed for sale Bankrupt council spent £28k on 200 indoor plants Slough Borough Council
