Newbury Area Weekly News Archive (2021)

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Thursday 23 December 2021

A look back at 2021

We’ve covered a lot of stories in this area in 2021, several on more than one occasion as things have changed or new facts come to light. We’ve listed and summarised a handful of these below. More information can be found by searching for the respective phrases in this post (and any for coverage of this area for earlier periods, which will be linked to at the foot of the post).

• The football grounds. One of these, Faraday Road, is an ex-ground (though many disagree that it should be); the other, Monks Lane, will be a new ground (ditto). The full saga – which involves a premature closure decision, the changing views of several national sporting bodies, WBC’s long-held plans for regenerating the London Road Industrial Estate, a vocal opposition group, differing views about the meaning of the phrase “like-for-like replacement”, several planning applications, several pieces of vanishing infrastructure, a lot of letters and emails, a 50-year lease and an arson attack – is virtually impossible to summarise succinctly. One thing the matter proves is that when something starts in the wrong way it can be increasingly hard to get it back on track; and that the more time passes the fewer good routes out of the problem there are.

• The Newbury Showground. This came to local prominence earlier this year when its owners, the Newbury and District Agricultural Society (NADAS), announced that the 150-acre site would need to be sold in order to address the parlous state of NADAS’s finances in part caused, it was claimed, by the fact that the Newbury Show had been losing money for several years. The Showground, “conveniently situated” as an estate agent might put it, to M4 J14 and the A34, is worth upwards of £20m and it at one point seemed likely that it would be turned into a large distribution centre. An opposition group was formed in the summer which objected to this proposal: what followed was a protracted debate between the two sides, some of which was acted out in public, culminating in an AGM in November at which the members voted in favour of the opposition group’s plans. A new board of trustees has since been appointed which is looking at how NADAS can adapt and survive in the future (and without selling the entirety of the ground).

• Pedestrianisation. In the summer of 2020, WBC agreed that parts of Newbury Town Centre, including Northbrook Street, would be pedestrianised 24/7 to assist hospitality venues recovering from the first lockdown. This measure ended on 31 August and there have since been calls from Newbury Town Council and others to have this revived and made permanent. WBC, however, doesn’t agree. In the light of the climate emergency this issue is unlikely to go away. It’s complex and divisive as the views of retailers, shoppers, motorists, cyclists and the emergency services are often very different and such changes are often unwelcome and confusing when first introduced. Many other towns, including Wantage, are grappling with this very issue.

• Readibus. Although relevant to the wider area, this mainly affects Newbury as it is from there that the majority of the community transport company’s clients come (or “came”– despite having offered a valuable service to residents with mobility problems for over 25 years, Readibus has in recent years seen its subsidy from WBC cut dramatically which resulted in service curtailments). For reasons which many find hard to understand, the charity has also during 2021 and before found itself locked in a dispute with the council. This has resulted in half its current remaining grant being withheld. The matter turns on the details of a confidentiality clause in the proposed new agreement which, despite WBC’s assertions to the contrary, effectively gives the Council a veto on any statement relating to the service that the charity wishes to make. There is clearly little wrong with Readibus’ service, as in November is was named as one the country’s three best providers of community transport during the pandemic. Many local residents who need to access it, however, still can’t. There are number of other excellent community-transport groups in the area but none offer exactly what Readibus can. Hopefully 2022 will produce a better result than the impasse of 2021. The dozen or more users of the service who have contacted us about this would concur – for many, it’s a lifeline.

This week’s news

• For the latest news from Newbury Town Council see their December 2021 newsletter here.

• Green bin (garden and food waste) collection service has been “temporarily suspend” by West Berkshire Council between 28 December till 8 January, with resumption of the services starting again from Monday 10 January. The council explained the reasoning behind the suspension as needing to “free up more drivers and operatives to ensure your rubbish (black bin) and recycling (green boxes and bag) service continues as scheduled throughout the busy Christmas period and into the New Year.”

• Dates for Newbury Markets during late-December and New Year were announced on 20 December. Both 25 December and 1 January won’t host any markets, however a small market will be open on Thursday 30 December.

• St Bartholomew’s School, Newbury are looking for any applications towards their title-art banner competition which would be featured on their newly-designed BartholoNews newsletters. The secondary school have requested for any keen local artists to submit “an eye-catching title design” before the deadline of Wednesday 5 January at noon.

• Local artists are certainly in-demand, as another request for “paintings, photographs, drawings or any medium of your choice” this time coming from Arlington Arts for their “community arts exhibition A Winter’s Tale”. A Newbury Today article further explains the T&C’s of the competition which starts on 19 January to 26 February.

• Corn Exchange, Newbury re-started (as of 21 December) hosting their festive pantomime of Cinderella after cancelling four performances over the weekend of 18 and 19 December, as reported by Newbury Today. You could probably guess why the pantos were forced to be cancelled, but for all of our subscribers who have (perhaps fortunately) been living under a rock for the past two years, the article explains that “following the identification of a positive case of Covid-19 in someone who had had close contact with the Corn Exchange pantomime company” the venue was forced to cancel four performances of Cinderella over the weekend. Oh no, they didn’t? Oh yes, they did.

• As reported last week, there’s a campaign to prevent The Rising Sun in Stockcross (which has been closed for some time) from being turned into housing. The Save The Rising Sun group hoped to host an open meeting on 21 December, but had to postpone due to “rising number of Covid-19 cases”. The meeting is hoped to be hosted at some point in 2022: however a presentation can be downloaded on the group’s website which includes “details of the current situation with The Rising Sun and suggestions for saving it”. You can also view how you can support the pub, photos of the pub today, and an article on six-month moratorium on the sale which could be accomplished if it were declared an Asset of Community Value.

• All the Christmas Services at St Nic’s this year, except the Midnight Communion on Christmas Eve, need to be pre-booked here to ensure enough space for social distancing. This includes the Crib Service on Christmas Eve and the Communion Service on Christmas Day. Alternatively, you can watch the services at home as they will be live-streamed on www.st-nics.org.

• There are still lots of festive fun to enjoy each day up to Christmas with Newbury’s Living Advent Calendar. See the programme here of real advent window reveals across the town.

• Newbury Soup Kitchen will be serving bacon butties in the marketplace at 9.30am on Christmas Day to make sure no one gets left out of the festivities.

• West Berkshire Foodbank is appealing for Christmas donations. See more here on how to donate and what has been requested.

• Speen Community Café is continuing to run on Wednesday afternoons 2 to 4pm at The Starting Gate pub over the Christmas and New Year period. So if you know anyone who fancies a chat, cuppa and slice of cake please assure them of a warm welcome by Kerry and her team. See their new Facebook page here.

• As we have mentioned in recent weeks, there are proposals for a new development between Newbury College and the A339 (see last week’s section below for more), a joint venture between Greenham Trust, Aldi Stores and Feltham Group. More information can be found on the project’s website.

• More developments are underway along London Road. A Lidl store is being introduced to the London Road retail park, just opposite Tesco. The aim is to finish this by the first quarter of 2022. A little further on the road, a Costa drive-through (another coffee shop that we so desperately need) is being placed in the B&Q car park. This is to be the fourth Costa in Newbury alone.

• Newbury Town Council is looking for volunteers to be a part of a Steering Group for its Neighbourhood Development Plan. More information here or email NDP@newbury.gov.uk.

• See here for information and events in Parkway, Newbury.

• An NHS research exhibition is on display at West Berkshire Library. Opening times and more can be found here.

• The Winter 2021 Ullage magazine is available to read here.

• Click here for information about lateral flow tests available in West Berkshire.

• Click here for the December 2021 issue of the Hamstead Hornet Newsletter.

• Any comments, suggestions or feedback about the Council’s community transport services (including Readibus) should be sent to WBC’s Transport Services Team. You can write to them at Council Offices, Market Street, Newbury, RG14 5LD, email Transport@westberks.gov.uk or call 01635 519394.

• Community larders are running in Newbury, Thatcham and Wantage – click here for details.

Thursday 16 December 2021

This week’s news

• For the latest news from Newbury Town Council see their December 2021 newsletter here.

• A new scheme by National Highways addressing safety and congestion on the A34 has been introduced which will explore opportunities to relieve traffic congestion and make it safer for drivers on the road between the M40 and the M4 junctions. Earlier this year Laura Farris MP called for National Highways to prioritise safety upgrades to this “dangerous” stretch of the A34 and it was an issue that her predecessor frequently raised as well. See more here on Newbury Today. The real problem with the A34 is that it has delusions of grandeur, behaving as if it were a motorway but with A-road style furniture, signage and slipways which are inappropriate for the volume of traffic and the speed at which much of it travels. Having been tail-ended on this road a few years back, I speak from experience. (As related here, this episode had a couple of ironical consequences.) Many others have not escaped accidents on it as lightly as we did.

• On that same note, the National Highways has revealed that 900 miles of roadworks are to be lifted over the Christmas period to help with traffic. See more here on which areas are to be eased.

• An article on p10 of this week’s NWN refers to the continuing impasse between the recent-decorated community transport company Readibus and West Berkshire Council. This strange dispute has been covered regularly in this column, most recently on 2 December (see below). Once again, our congratulations to Readibus for its award which appears to be well deserved (although it’s clear that for some reason WBC doesn’t seem to agree).

• I’ve just had another dip into Penny Stokes’ Georgian Newbury (see here for for more information on this book) and have come across a section which the town’s current chain-wearer, Billy Drummond, might want to be aware of. It seems that there’s something of a tradition (possibly not unique to Newbury) of sending threatening letters to the Mayor. These were backed up with a certain amount of waving around of firearms and at least one attempt to burn down the Town Hall. I don’t know how badly online abuse, of which he and his fellow councillors must get their fair share, stands by comparison to these. As several MPs have recently discovered, violence against elected representatives is by no means a thing of the past. Perhaps those who say they are going to do something awful are less dangerous than those who keep their rage to themselves until it boils over.

• Many villages have recently been cast into the condition of publessness (let’s pretend that’s a real word), one being Stockcross. The Lord Lyon has long been converted into housing and there’s now a campaign to prevent The Rising Sun (which has been closed for somer time) from going the same way. The Save The Rising Sun group is hosting an open meeting at Sutton Hall, Stockcross on Tuesday 21 December from 8pm, in which anyone wishing to share their opinions regarding “the future of the last remaining pub in Stockcross” can attend. The group’s website includes; its aims, how you can support the pub, photos of the pub today, and an article on six-month moratorium on the sale which could be accomplished if it were declared an Asset of Community Value.

• All the Christmas Services at St Nic’s this year, except the Midnight Communion on Christmas Eve, need to be pre-booked here to ensure enough space for social distancing. This means the Carol Service on Sunday 19 December, the Crib Service on Christmas Eve and the Communion Service on Christmas Day. Alternatively, you can watch the services at home as they will be live-streamed on www.st-nics.org.

• A service to commemorate US forces at Greenham Control Tower took place last Sunday which remembered a glider carrying American soldiers that crashed in Greenham, killing all 33 on-board on 12 December 1944. See Newbury Today‘s page for photos and more.

• Newbury Friends of the Earth’s Lockdown Woods team and about 40 local people brought festivities to Goldwell Park on Tuesday 14 December for the unveiling of their Advent event as part of Newbury’s Living Advent Calendar.

• There are still lots of festive fun to enjoy each day up to Christmas with Newbury’s Living Advent Calendar. See the programme here of real advent window reveals across the town.

• Newbury Soup Kitchen will be serving bacon butties in the marketplace at 9.30am on Christmas Day to make sure no one gets left out of the festivities.

• West Berkshire Foodbank is appealing for Christmas donations. Starting with a 12-days-of Christmas themed donation tree, members of the public are being asked to donate festive treats. See more here on how to donate and what has been requested.

• Speen Community Café is continuing to run on Wednesday afternoons 2 – 4pm at The Starting Gate pub over the Christmas and New Year period. So if you know anyone who fancies a chat, cuppa and slice of cake please assure them of a warm welcome by Kerry and her team. See their new facebook page here.

• Click here to keep up to date with Newbury Town Council’s diary of events.

• Newbury Town Council is looking for volunteers to be a part of a Steering Group for its Neighbourhood Development Plan. More information here or email NDP@newbury.gov.uk.

• See here for information and events in Parkway, Newbury.

• An NHS research exhibition is on display at West Berkshire Library. Opening times and more can be found here.

• The Winter 2021 Ullage magazine is available to read here.

• Click here for information about lateral flow tests available in West Berkshire.

• Click here for the December 2021 issue of the Hamstead Hornet Newsletter.

• Community larders are running in Newbury, Thatcham and Wantage – click here for details.

• Click here for the results from the Newbury Photography Club’s latest competition.

Monks Lane and Faraday Road

These two sites are, of course, the proposed new sports hub and the the former football ground. Linking them together, as my heading has done, would have offended the official view of the recent WBC Western Area Planning Committee which considered (and passed) the application for Monks Lane on 15 December: the matter needed, it was reminded by officers, to be decided on its planning merits. However, de-conflation proved impossible. The extent to which Monks Lane is, or is not, a replacement for the rotting hulk of Faraday Road is impossible to ignore: and also rather important.

In purely planning terms, there is no reason why Faraday Road cannot be redeveloped. A recent (and much delayed) application to do just this by the Newbury Community Football Group (NCFG) was recently approved. Portfolio holder Howard Woollaston, however, claimed that the application amounted to being vexatious as it stood no chance of being implemented. In planning terms, this isn’t the case. Unless there are some constraints not to be in the public domain, the decision not to retain football there is a purely political one. The political will of the council may change after May 2023.

Both these issues – to develop Monks Lane and not to develop Faraday Road – depend on each other. The mounting expense of Monks Lane is only justified if it can be proved that housing on the old ground is in every way viable. This forms no part of the emerging local plan and we’re a long way from any planning application. Given the new flood-protection regulations and the new sustainable features that would be required, this is looking less certain and (if approved) less profitable that it once did. In turn, not to continue with Faraday Road depends upon WBC being able to find a suitable replacement ground elsewhere. Monks Lane (which, unlike Faraday Road, it doesn’t own) is the best it’s managed to come up with, but many claim that it isn’t a replacement facility. If profitable houses can’t be built on Faraday Road then the case for Monks Lane collapses: if Monks Lane isn’t a viable and sustainable alternative to the old ground then the case for not developing Faraday Road collapses. If Faraday Road had been re-developed then presumably Monks Lane would never have been proposed. It’s also hard to be sure, when all the bills are totted up, that even if houses are built on the old ground, and sold, that they will produce sufficient profit to offset the costs of the new hub. These latter costs will, moreover, continue for up to 50 years. That’s the lifetime of the next administration from May 2023 and the eleven ones after that.

As I’ve mentioned before, I have some sympathy for Howard Woollaston in this. He inherited a toxic muddle in which just about everything had been done in the wrong order and has at least accepted – which former the CEO Nick Carter for a long time did not – that WBC has an obligation to find a replacement. If this point had been recognised more clearly in June 2018 when the ground was closed, and if research had revealed just how hard it was going to be to find a new site, then a different decision would probably have been taken.

As for the meeting itself, it was described to me by one opposition member as “disgracefully run and seemingly stage-managed.” I understand that an appeal is being considered. Matters now move to the meeting of the Executive on 16 December when when what seems like a slightly rushed decision to appoint the developers will be taken. (Other challenges and debates, involving the NCFG, FA and Sport England amongst others, are also ongoing.) I cannot believe that WBC still thinks it’s possible that the ground can be ready by the FA’s deadline of 31 March 2022 (so permitting Newbury FC to play matches there in the 2023-24 season). Rushing things costs more and is likely to lead to errors. If there are such issues then it would certainly be fully in keeping with the way everything seems to have gone thus far.

(This week’s Newbury Weekly News refers to the costs of this project in an article on p9. It refers to “leaked council documents…which have been kept secret from the press and the public.” That’s not quite the case: I was aware of these in the late summer and wrote about them in this column on 16 September (see below).)

Watermill Bridge

Let’s now have a look at a development on the other side of town which, by comparison with the above issue, is is of almost startling simplicity. True, it’s right on the edge of Basingstoke and Deane but the effects will almost entirely be felt in West Berkshire; true, it’s for 350 homes, which poses its own problems; true, there’s already a vocal opposition group which is expressing a number of concerns ranging from road access to schools to flood risks. These have been referred to in previous editions of this post, including last week (see below). There are two aspects of this which have more recently been in the news.

The first concerns whether developers in general, and Bewley Homes in particular, live up to their promises. Newbury TC and WBC Councillor Tony Vickers recently accused Bewley of having a “track record” of not delivering on some stated benefits. In a statement sent to Penny Post, Bewley claimed that this assertion was “entirely wrong” and that it “is proud of its legacy of sites, including the stunning scheme at the Douai Abbey.” Tony Vickers was quoted in this week’s NWN (p6) as saying that he wasn’t “picking on” Bewley specifically but rather on developers generally. He may have been thinking of Bewley’s attempts to set aside the provision for social-rent homes at Lancaster Park in Hungerford earlier this year (as was widely reported in the Hungerford area section of Penny Post, this attempt failed and produced what’s probably now seen as an unfortunate PR fall-out, though relations there have since been repaired.) Tony Vickers is, however, correct in his revised assessment that developers tend to take a grandmother’s-footsteps approach to planning, first putting in an application for what they think they can get and then whittling this down to what they actually want to build. Why does this happen? Because developers exist to make a profit and because the planning system permits it. Bewley’s attempt to change the agreement in Hungerford was commercially logical and legally correct. It didn’t work out for them but, to their credit, they appear to have accepted this and got on both with building actual houses and with repairing metaphorical fences.

The second concerns the number of sustainable features which the development promises. “I’ve never seen so many goodies being offered by the developer,” Tony Vickers said. “It would all be wonderful if it ends up delivering everything.” Although Bewley has yet to confirm this point expressly, I understand that these features are ones it intends to stick to. As the above-mentions statement says, “we understand the concerns of residents that our Watermill Bridge scheme will need to be monitored to ensure that it provides all of the proposed community enhancements and we would welcome a meeting with Councillor Vickers to propose that this can be captured within a legal agreement.” There’s an increasing and welcome trend for developers to offer such features at an early stage (Lochailort has done the same with its proposed Eagle Quart re-development at the Kennet Centre and has assured me it intends to abide by them. WBC and Sovereign may yet be persuaded to do the same with Chestnut Walk in Hungerford.) While this could cynically be seen as a ploy to smooth the path to planning approval, developers seem to be sensing that they need to take these matters seriously. New regulations will at some point to be in place to compel this. Perhaps more importantly, market forces may soon dictate that a buyers will be reluctant to pay top whack for a house if the lack of such feature might make it harder for them to sell it on unless the4y expensively retro-fit these themselves. When that happens, installing these from the off will be a no-brainer, just as central heating is. There’s also the possibility that, despite the bad-guy role in which they’re often case, some of them at least want to do the right thing. If Bewley is able to offer any still more comprehensive assurances on this, we’ll welcome this and let you know.

Thursday 9 December 2021

This week’s news

• The Mayor, Billy Drummond is inviting the town’s elderly residents to join him for a festive afternoon tea on Thursday 16 December. Tickets are free but are limited and need to be booked in advance.

• For the latest news from Newbury Town Council see their December 2021 newsletter here.

• If you missed the Christmas Lights Switch-On here is a fun video of the night from Visit Newbury.

• This year, in order to monitor capacity and to get in touch with participants directly regarding any changes to Government event guidelines, The Corn Exchange is asking everyone to book their spectator place to view the Festival of Light procession on Sunday 12 December. All tickets for this event have now been booked. Please contact the Box Office to add your name to the waiting list.

• The NHS Health on the Move van will be in and around West Berkshire, offering first, second and booster Pfizer Covid vaccines and will be at the Riverside Community Centre, Newbury, 17 December 2021 from 10am to 5pm. Residents aged 16 and over can drop in for their first, second or booster Pfizer vaccine – no booking is necessary.

• All the Christmas Services at St Nic’s this year, except the Midnight Communiun on Christmas Eve, need to be pre-booked here to ensure enough space for social distancing. This means the Carol Service on Sunday 19 December, the Crib Service on Christmas Eve and the Communiun Service on Christmas Day. Alternatively you can watch the services at home as they will belivestreamed on www.st-nics.org.

• Newbury’s Living Advent Calendar is going well See the programme here of real advent window reveals across the town. Just a little heads up about the reveal in the magical setting of the Lockdown Wood at Goldwell Park, RG14 1RS at the end of Northcroft Lane on Tuesday 14 December at 6pm. Please meet at the playground and bring a torch and your wellies, the organisers are inviting you to bring a lantern and a star.

• As we have mentioned in recent weeks, there are proposals for a new development between Newbury College and the A339 (see last week’s section below for more), a joint venture between Greenham Trust, Aldi Stores and Feltham Group. More information can be found on the project’s website.

• Leader of West Berkshire Council Lynne Doherty is hosting a talk on social care on Tuesday 14 December at 5pm. If you have a question to ask about adult social care in West Berkshire you can send it in ahead of this Ask Lynne online session now here at pr@westberks.gov.uk.

• A home in Wickham has been the cause of festive cheer around the area as of late. After their first child was born on Christmas Day 2017, Lauren Quine dedicates their home to a wonderful display of lights and festive characters. This year they are asking for donations in aid of the Swings & Smiles charity in Thatcham that supports children and young people with special needs.

• Click here to keep up to date with Newbury Town Council’s diary of events.

• Newbury Town Council is looking for volunteers to be a part of a Steering Group for its Neighbourhood Development Plan. More information here or email NDP@newbury.gov.uk.

• See here for information and events in Parkway, Newbury.

• An NHS research exhibition is on display at West Berkshire Library. Opening times and more can be found here.

• The Winter 2021 Ullage magazine is available to read here.

• Click here for information about lateral flow tests available in West Berkshire.

• Click here for the December 2021 issue of the Hamstead Hornet Newsletter.

• Hamstead Marshall Wildlife Group has been successful in its application to Greenham Trust for some saplings which will be planted in the Hamstead Marshall Village Hall Field. A spokesperson said that that the trees should arrive this week and a planting date has been fixed for Saturday 11 December. Contact anne.budd1@btinternet.com or join their facebook group if you’d like to help.

• Community larders are running in Newbury, Thatcham and Wantage – click here for details.

• Click here for the results from the Newbury Photography Club’s latest competition.

• The popular ‘My Wild Life’ photography competition is returning to The Base, Greenham, inspired by the return of the Natural History Museum’s Wildlife Photographer of the Year 57. For information on the competition and deadlines, click here.

• As mentioned last week, Enborne Parish Council currently has plans to site solar panels on a 20-acre field in the parish and is working with Cavella Community Energy in Aldermaston on the project. This is currently at the feasibility-study stage.

• Congratulations to the Hamstead Hornet on reaching its 100th edition, published last week. Click here to read it.

Life on the road

Speaking of the Hamstead Hornet, its author Penny Stokes has recently written a book about (and called) Georgian Newbury which is available from bookshops in the area or direct from her (see the above-mentioned Hornet link for details). Flicking through it the other day I was on several occasions struck by sometimes how depressingly similar and other times how utterly different life was back then compared to today. Some aspects of human behaviour haven’t changed much, alcohol, money, lust and politics still messing us up just as much as they did our 18th century forbears.

One thing that does seem less risky now is public transport which, back then, was pretty much limited to coaches. Nowadays public transport is for many of us totally safe, if only because as there’s increasingly little of it so we can’t use it. Those who do now venture onto the buses or trains are unlikely to encounter the raft of problems that seemed commonplace back then. Highwaymen – either hardened criminals or bored local rakes – were a constant threat, particularly on the London to Bath road. So too was the weather, with passengers expected to get out and dig when the coach got stuck in mud or snow. They were often also required to dismount on steep hills to give the horses a breather. Other perils she lists included wheels falling off or catching fire (though it’s not specified how this might happen), horses bolting and coachmen dying on the job. All in all, not the kind of perils you might expect now on the number 4 bus or the 8.55 from Bedwyn.

Being almost exactly half-way between London and Bath, Newbury was a popular stop-off point for coaches breaking the two-day journey. The bustle and jostling and bribing and pickpocketing that must have gone on at the many inns in the town when coaches arrived, with everyone trying to secure their luggage, get a room that wasn’t too verminous and organise some food, all the while beating off the attentions of local thieves, whores and scammers, must have been something to behold. The 18th century is seen by some as a golden age for England: the country was just starting to grow fat on its colonial interventions and for the first time there was something approaching a transport network that connected the main towns and cities. The journeys themselves, however, seem like nightmares. One thing’s for certain: with all those horses stabled overnight, Newbury’s Georgian gardeners would never have been short of manure.

A speculative watermill

• At Enborne Parish Council’s meeting on 15 November (see section below for more on this), the Chairman, Councillor Garrett, said that he “proposed to contact WBC to discuss the concerns over protecting the Enborne Valley from over-development and to emphasise the importance of the river and the landscape character of the area. East Woodhay and Highclere Parish Councils have been involved in conversations with Enborne Councillors regarding the Watermill Bridge development who also share EPC’s concerns. Councillor Garrett suggested he would try to have a meeting with WBC to oppose the Watermill Bridge development even though this planning application will fall under the Hampshire border.”

The Enborne River Valley Protection Society (ERVPS, formerly Keep Wash Water Rural) has a website dedicated to opposing this scheme. The planning application 21/03394/OUT can be viewed here (on Basingstoke and Deane’s website, note, as the site is just the other wide of the border, even though most of the impact will be felt in West Berkshire). Any comments should be made by 16 December.

The matter was also referred to in an article on p9 of this week’s Newbury Weekly News. It quotes the NW Hampshire MP Kit Malthouse as saying that the problem was partly due to speculative development (also known as planning on appeal) due to the planning authority (Basingstoke and Deane in this case) not having an updated local plan: as a result, he says, developers – including by implication this developer, Bewley Homes – “see a window which they are rushing to exploit.” A mangled metaphor, but one gets his point. As to why so many local plans, certainly including West Berkshire’s and doubtless B&D’s, are being delayed, Kit need look no further than his colleagues in the Ministry of Housing who decided in the summer to change an aspect of the National Planning Policy Framework which required councils to go away and envisage a 30-year (rather than a 15-year) vision for any significant developments.

Thursday 2 December 2021

This week’s news

• For latest news from Newbury Town Council see their December 2021 newsletter here.

• Well done to the Greener Greenham Group for planting 22 mixed variety trees in the cold weather last weekend on Stroud Green.

• If you missed the Christmas Lights Switch-On here is a fun video of the night from Visit Newbury.

• Congratulations to St Bart’s School for their outstanding Ofsted Section 5 inspection in all categories. St Bart’s is understood to be only the second non-selective secondary school in the country to achieve this result this academic year.

• On the topic of schools, Speenhamland Primary was granted funding by West Berkshire Council for a new £250,000 project that would see two new classrooms, a designated outdoor learning zone, plus accessible toilets and hoists for children with physical disabilities. The project has been completed and The Pelican Room is now in action. For more, visit Newbury Today‘s coverage here.

• Newbury’s Living Advent Calendar kicked off to a great start at Willow and Blooms florists on Wednesday 1 December. See the rest of the programme here of real advent window reveals across the town.

• Newbury Today reported that Greenham Trusts offered match funding as part of Giving Tuesday which took part this Tuesday. You can see the full list of fundings which have been offered here.

• The friendly Community Café at The Starting Gate in Speen on Wednesday afternoons between 2pm and 4pm welcomes anyone who would like to drop in for a chat or a cuppa. There are also knitting and craft activities to get involved with.

• As we have mentioned in recent weeks, there are proposals for a new development between Newbury College and the A339 (see last week’s section below for more), a joint venture between Greenham Trust, Aldi Stores and Feltham Group. More information can be found on the project’s website.

• More developments are underway along London Road. A Lidl store is being introduced to the London Road retail park, just opposite Tesco. The aim is to finish this by the first quarter of 2022. A little further on the road, a Costa drive through (another coffee shop that we so desperately need) is being placed in the B&Q car park. This is to be the fourth Costa in Newbury alone.