• Every Fri morning Thatcham Market, The Broadway.

• Fri 6 Dec Christmas Lights Switch On, Broadway, Thatcham.

• Sat 7 Dec Warming Up For Christmas Market, Broadway, Thatcham.

• Sat 7 Dec Table-top Sale, Acland Hall, Cold Ash.

• Sat 7 Dec Christmas Coffee Morning, St Mary’s Church, Bucklebury.

• Sun 8 Dec Civic Carol Service, St Mary’s Church, Thatcham.

• Thu 12 Dec Christmas Decoration Workshop, the Chamber at Thatcham Town Council.

• Thu 12 Dec Vintage Adventure: Christmas Celebration, Thatcham Methodist Church.

• Sat 14 Dec Christmas Craft Fair, Royal British Legion, Haig House, Pelican Lane, Newbury.

• Sun 22 Dec Christmas Food Market, Thatcham Broadway.

• Sun 2 Feb Chinese New Year Celebration Event, Thatcham Broadway.

• Regular events

Our usual round-up of local news includes cards, comedy, carers, connections, cameras, vintage adventure and litter – plus Cold Ash decides to continue the fight, West Berkshire’s forthcoming community forum looks at flooding and the budget consultation is now live. See also below for community notices and news from your local council.

Upcoming Thatcham area events include Thatcham Comedy Club and Vintage Adventure. See below for details, plus regular events and group activities.

• Cold Ash fights on

We’ve covered several times the battle that Cold Ash Parish Council (CAPC) is waging with West Berkshire Council (WBC) over WBC’s decision to accede to the Planning Inspector’s “request” that four new sites, including two in the parish, be added to the local plan at the last minute. At the meeting of CAPC on 12 November, a paper was formally presented, discussed and unanimously agreed which outlined CAPC’s position and the steps it’s proposing to take.

Before briefly looking at that, it’s worth first taking a step backwards to see what WBC’s portfolio holder Denise Gaines had to say about the matter at the Executive meeting last week:

“On 4 May 2023, the Liberal Democrats inherited the last conservative administration’s flawed Local Plan – a flawed plan which had been cynically submitted at the eleventh hour prior to them losing West Berkshire Council. This Conservative local plan has had its final three days of examination. Two of the three additional days were to discuss the inspector’s “suggested” additional sites. Make no mistake, this was not a suggestion but a directive.

“I’ve been asked a number of times why we are not resisting these modifications and pushing back on this plan. The answer is that we are powerless to resist. The process was set in motion, in March, by the Conservatives and cannot be stopped. We did try to withdraw the plan, without success, in May. We have been directed to proceed by both the previous Conservative government and now the current Labour one: otherwise, the Minister for Housing, Communities and local Government would intervene.

“This plan was never part of this administration’s vision. We did not support it during its journey through council. However, we will shortly be expected to vote on distributing the plan, and its modifications, to the residents of West Berkshire for consultation. This is the next phase in the examination and as such subjected to the same criteria as the inspector’s hearings.

“One may well ask “what is the point of consultation?” when we are being told that this version with its modifications is the only way that this local plan is going to be found sound.”

One may indeed.

At several points, her irritation is plain to see. I accept that the Lib Dem’s wish to see a different local plan has been regularly thwarted. None the less, I still believe that, when it came to the Inspector’s recent “request”, WBC could have suggested some other ways round the problem (of which there were several). It does seem absurd to have seven years spent on developing a local plan only to have four large-ish sites (all of which have been rejected before, one on appeal) bolted on at the very last moment.

CAPC feels the same. The 2,000-word document is clearly written but I won’t try to summarise it point by point (it will be available on the CAPC website when the minutes are published). Two of the conclusions, however, are worth quoting in full:

“Whilst the Inspector did seem to understand the concern that the work on the NDP, which involved thousands of hours effort and thousands of pounds spent, the general indication given in the hearing held on 2 October was that both the Inspector and West Berkshire Council are already committed to the proposed changes and, so, we do not expect a positive outcome for Cold Ash Parish from the deliberations.

“We believe that a major contribution to the problem lies with the advice being given to both the Councillors and, likely, our MP himself from the Senior Legal Officer at West Berkshire. The legal guidance they appear to be following has led them to take an unchallenging and passive approach, allowing the inspector’s decisions to proceed unchecked. We feel this advice is ill-advised and should be re-examined.”

“From our communications with our District Councillors and MP,” the statement continues, “we do not believe that we will receive any support for our case from those quarters.” It then suggests there are two ways forward: give up or fight on. The document recommended the latter course and outlined some of the ways it would conduct this campaign. One was to initiate a judicial review which would require fundraising and the seeking of expert legal opinion.

This story is clearly not done yet.

• Cost of living and flood prevention on the menu of the next Community Forum

Our usual round-up of local news includes a newsletter, shopping, litter, cards, cameras and a Chinese market – plus the continuing story of a blocked-off path, congratulations to Bucklebury memorial Hall, a new Community Connect service and free seasonal bus travel coming up. See also below for community notices and news from your local council.

Upcoming Thatcham area events include Remembrance Parade & Armistice Day. See below for details, plus regular events and group activities.

• A blocked path (continued)

In this column on 17 October (see below) we dug into a rather tangled story about a blocked-up path next to the memorial Hall in Thatcham. The central problem is that the path has been declared dangerous. In normal circumstances, the obvious thing would be for the owner to repair it. However, despite much research, no-one knows who the owner is.

For all the organisations involved, including the Memorial Hall, Thatcham TC and West Berkshire Council (WBC), this opens up a potential legal minefield. My suggestion last month that WBC dip into its CIL funds and do the work itself is still a possibility. However, this might then make the Council liable for any claims for injury, including several which are pending or contemplated as a result of accidents before the trustees closed off the path.

There’s also the question of who, if no owner emerged, would be responsible for the future management and maintenance. None of these organisations have the finances or possibly the bandwidth to take on an extra responsibility, the more so as there might be legal claims associated with it. To do so would be akin to assuming control over a building when one knows there’s an unexploded bomb in the basement.

At some point, all reasonable steps (however the law defines this) will have to be taken to track down the owner. If these fail to identify anyone, another complication is added. What might happen then is something that a working party has been asked to look at. However, until the ownership can be established there’s not much that can be done. In the current circumstances, it would be unwise to re-open the path, annoying though that is for the many people who’ve been used to using it.

I don’t think we’re dealing with a conspiracy or municipal incompetence here, as has been suggested, but merely an unfortunate combination of events. In these litigious and process-driven times, it’s hard to see how anything can move forward until the path’s ownership is established or, if no owner is found, a decision is taken about who’s going to take it over. All of this is likely to take some time.

• Bucklebury Memorial Hall

Congratulations to Bucklebury Memorial Hall, which managed to secure £6,000 in the latest round of West Berkshire Council’s CIL bids. This will be used to improve the access to the building, particularly for wheelchair users, and to refurbish the toilets. About another £4,000 remains to be raised to complete all the proposed works.

Village Halls everywhere are in constant need of repair and renewal: one year it’s the wiring, the next the roof, the next the plumbing – and on it goes. Many suffered from a combination of low usage and lack of funds during the pandemic, and many have been under-maintained for decades.

Losing one is a blow for any community as, once gone, they’re rarely replaced (like pubs and shops). Constant vigilance is required as well as energetic trustees who can find ways of raising funds and putting on events that will draw the crowds and raise the cash.

It seems that the management team of the Bucklebury Memorial Hall has been reinvigorated following the WBC grant, and plans are underway for a wider range of events and other fund-raising activities. Keep your eyes on the website for details of these and get in touch with the committee if you want to get involved in any of its projects.

• On the buses

Our usual round-up of local news includes designs, cards, stallholders, repairs, safety, poppies and apples – plus a fountain in the Broadway, changes at the market, some further thoughts about Bucklebury’s ongoing campaign against development in NE Thatcham and comedy night in Thatcham. See also below for community notices and news from your local council.

Upcoming Thatcham area events include WI Christmas Bazaar & Coffee Morning and Thatcham Scarecrow Trail. See below for details, plus regular events and group activities.

• Taking the water

Thatcham Town Council is pleased to announce the installation of a new drinking-water fountain in The Broadway, offering residents and visitors a convenient and sustainable way to stay hydrated while out and about. Located in the heart of the town, this eco-friendly initiative encourages the reduction of single-use plastic bottles by providing free access to clean, safe drinking water.

• Have a laugh

The best night out in town, Thatcham Comedy Club is Thatcham’s very own comedy night, featuring professional acts from the Comedy Circuit in London and the South. Every two months or so, MC Graeme Coulam hosts a line-up of established and newer comedy talent, including acts that have graced the stage of bigger venues like the Comedy Store, with TV and radio credits to their names.

Tickets are selling fast for the next show on Thursday 21 November with Richard Morton, described by Jack Dee as one of the funniest comedians he has ever worked with; American stand-up comedian, writer and actor, Spring Day who recently appeared on BBC TV’s Live at the Apollo; the wickedly funny Madeleine Brettingham, the stand-out winner of the audience voting at our recent Thatcham Festival gig; and Nathaniel Ray, who has been working hard in the open mic circuit in London to build an act that appeals to audiences of all ages. He’s young and smart, and keen to impress…

Doors open at 6.30pm at Thatcham Rugby Club, and the show starts at 7.30pm. Grab your tickets here.

Our usual round-up of local news includes winter, a quiz, a festival, apples, sticks, poppies and thermal imaging – plus a look at plans for improving the Kennet and Avon Canal. See also below for community notices and news from your local council.

Upcoming Thatcham area events include Family Fundraising Quiz & Thatcham Scarecrow Trail. See below for details, plus regular events and group activities.

• Reimagining the canal

Plans have recently been announced to improve the appearance of and access to the Kennet and Avon Canal. I first became aware of this because of proposals, not yet confirmed, to provide some improvement in the Hungerford area, which is of interest to the Town Centre Strategy Steering Group which has canal-side improvements as one of its main priorities to investigate.

I haven’t had time to look into any of the details of this so lay before you verbatim the main part of the statement from WBC, the full text of which you can read here.

“West Berkshire Council is delighted to be working in partnership with the Greenham Trust, the Canal and River Trust and Sustrans, to pursue opportunities for access improvements to the Kennet and Avon towpath through the district.

“On 30 September a meeting was held at Padworth Village Hall, hosted by Sustrans. A range of stakeholders from the local area and wider, including potential funders, were briefed on the “Reimagining the Kennet & Avon” programme.

“This bold initiative being developed by the partnership aims to deliver, in stages and as resources allow, six projects centring on making the Kennet and Avon towpath more accessible across the District, so that everyone can share and enjoy the waterside environment. Stakeholders were shown a recently upgraded, accessible section of towpath and were invited to participate in the programme’s evolution and delivery.

“Working together and with valued input from other organisations such as local cycle group West Berkshire Spokes, the partners have already delivered:

• 1.7km of upgraded, surfaced towpath between Victoria Park and Ham Bridge, Newbury.
• 700 metres of improved route between Aldershot Water Bridge and Brimpton Road, east of Thatcham.
• 2.4km of widened, resurfaced towpath between Aldermaston Wharf and Ufton Lane.
• 1.25km of resurfaced route between Mill Road, Burghfield and Hissey’s Bridge, Calcot.
• 380 metres of reconstructed waterside path between Mill Road, Burghfield and the waterside near the Cunning Man pub.

“The partnership is seeking funding for sensitive design and delivery of improvements along the waterside corridor. The partners are agreed on the need for a holistic approach in developing proposals. Key considerations include:

• The sensitivity of the waterside environment and ecology.
• The need to make the towpath more robust and fit for the purposes it serves, giving access for anglers, boaters, considerate cyclists using National Cycle Network Route 4 and walkers with differing levels of mobility, and for relaxation and enjoyment.
• Opportunities to reduce risks associated with flooding.
• Opportunities to boost the economic vitality of towns and villages on route, tying in with Town Centre Strategies and local objectives.
• Heritage, reflecting the importance of the canal as a historic transport route for goods, coupled with multiple heritage assets along the corridor.
• Interpretation and wayfinding.”

• Scourge of our time

Our usual round-up of local news includes questions, safety checks, poppies, dementia, apples and half term – plus a look at the pros and cons of a possible bridge in Thatcham and the odd tale of a blocked path next to the Memorial Hall. See also below for community notices and news from your local council.

Upcoming Thatcham area events include Thatcham Festival & Family Fundraising Quiz. See below for details, plus regular events and group activities.

• Thatcham’s bridge

The question of whether there should be a bridge at Thatcham station to replace the level crossing, where waiting times can be up to half an hour, has been a recurring local issue for decades. Last year, and with an eye on the election, the then MP Laura Farris said that she supported such a scheme. Now her successor, Thatcham born-and-bred Lee Dillon, has requested a meeting with the rail minister to push the same idea.

At first glance, it seems like a no-brainer. The crossing is busy and likely to become more so. The railway signalling is antiquated, meaning that waiting times are even longer than they should be. If the capacity of the line increases then this will get worse. I suspect that Network Rail hates level crossings, with all their dangers and uncertainties, and is probably reluctant to upgrade its technology just to make this crossing easier (and so a bridge therefore less likely).

There’s also the question of who would pay for it. Neither Network Rail nor the government will be quick to step forward if there’s a chance this can wholly or partly be met by developer contributions. The Colthrop Village Consortium has long proposed a development south of the tracks, for which a bridge would be essential, and has claimed that it can meet the costs itself. Given that these are likely to be in in the £20m area, this might seem surprising for a mere 950-home development.

However, there are other objections to the scheme, not least of which is WBC’s reluctance to allocate the site given the perceived flooding risk. Despite considerable lobbying, the project was not included in the current draft local plan.

Part of WBC’s concerns might be that, if the development goes ahead but something goes adrift with the developers or their costs, the Council would be left to pick up the bill. There also seem to be uncertainties about how the junctions would work and whether there would need to be one bridge or two – there is, after all, a railway, a river and a canal to span. All in all, the costs are only likely to go in one direction.

Moreover, some local residents and campaigners question whether this is a sensible option at all. Aside from the flood risk and environmental damage, the development might open up a Pandora’s box of development to the south of the town which is currently of an entirely different character to the north. This will particularly impact Crookham Hill (which links Thatcham to the A339 from Newbury to Basingstoke). This is currently not geared up for the volume of traffic that might result, and is wholly unsuitable for HGVs. An upgrade to the road would probably double the cost of the operation and would certainly run into fierce local opposition.

For better or worse, the choke point of the level crossing has kept the area south of the railway largely free of bricks and mortar. That’s the way many of the residents of the area would like it to stay. A bridge would, despite solving one problem, almost certainly create others. One of the most immediate would be that the area to the south would immediately need to cope with more traffic and more people than it’s currently designed to.

 • A blocked path

There’s a strange story of a blocked path in Thatcham in which West Berkshire Council, Thatcham Town Council, local residents, the trustees of the Thatcham Memorial Hall and the Trust’s insurance company are all involved.

In the early summer, the pathway connecting Beverley Close and other local streets to the playing fields and other local facilities was blocked off by the Trust. The reason, it seems, is that the Trust learned that the path was a health and safety risk. An inspection was required by its insurance company as a result of the impending work on the nearby flood alleviation scheme. The assessors found that, with or without the flood scheme, the path itself was dangerous.

Although the Memorial Hall doesn’t own the path – more on that in a moment – it abuts its building and is closely associated with it. If there were any claims for injuries (and I understand that at least one such incident has recently happened there), the Trust would be morally, if not legally, responsible.

Also, as the Trustees now know that the path is dangerous, to continue letting it be used would not be a good look. It’s hard enough to find trustees for such charities at the best of times. Appealing for new ones when there’s a risk to reputation and possible personal liability will not make the task any easier. No trustees would eventually equal no hall, so causing further problems.

So, it was closed. WBC said that this breached various conditions and demanded it be re-opened. Local residents are obviously confused and annoyed by the loss of the amenity. None the less, the trustees have stuck to their guns.

The obvious solution is to fix the path. The problem here is that no one knows who owns it (a situation that arises more often than one might think). No public body is going to want to repair something that doesn’t belong to it lest it be accused of wasting taxpayers’ money or infringing someone else’s rights. Also, mending something that isn’t yours is in many ways wrong, and certainly unusual. It’s not how property ownership works.

There matters currently rest: an impasse, the peculiar and frustrating nature of which was robustly expressed at a recent meeting on the subject.

One obvious solution, or so it seems to me, is for WBC to raid its Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) piggy bank for the three grand or so that this will cost, fix the path, open the fence and recoup this by saying that, the next time there’s a round of CIL funding, Thatcham gets that amount deducted from the amount it can bid. There’d then be no accusation that WBC’s general coffers had been raided on a whim nor that Thatcham had been shoer-changed. This is, after all, exactly the kind of thing that CIL funds get spent on. If the owner does emerge, WBC can present them with an invoice.

A final, albeit small, benefit is that Thatcham has long had an infrastructure deficit, with less in the way of facilities and amenities than do other places in district. Although fixing a short path is not going to make a huge dent in this, it’s a step in the right direction. It would also be a step in the right direction for the local residents who for decades have been using the path but have, since May, been forced to take the long way round. As well as cutting through the red tape, WBC also has the chance to cut through the journey times: and deliver upgraded infrastructure for the town into the bargain. Looks like a win-win-win to me. Let’s see what actually happens…

Our usual round-up of local news includes the festival, vintage adventure, cyber crime, poppies, dementia and football – plus Cold Ash Parish Council’s continuing concerns about housing allocations, a look back at the recent repair café, reducing the risk of fire and possible changes at Thatcham’s market.  See also below for community notices and news from your local council.

Upcoming Thatcham area events include Thatcham Festival & Litter Pick. See below for details, plus regular events and group activities.

• Cold Ash’s concerns

Opposition continues from Cold Ash Parish Council (CAPC) to the decision by the Planning Inspector to allocate two new sites in the parish in order to accommodate the housing needs of the extended period of the draft local plan (now running until 2041). The various points of view have been expressed in previous editions of this column (see below). The essential point is whether West Berkshire Council (WBC) should have cashed in some of the goodwill it has earned from being a compliant planning authority and request that the plan be shortened to 12 years with no change in allocation until a new local plan process could be started.

This is an option that that has, as we considered on 12 September, some precedent with what happened in Tunbridge Wells. This was not, however, a card that WBC was prepared to play. Opponents claim that as a result four sites – two in Cold Ash, one in Tilehurst and one in Pangbourne – may become bolted onto the local plan at the last minute, despite all of them having been rejected before (once on appeal).

The Inspector considered points regarding all of these in the final round of hearings on 2 October. One of the ward members for Tilehurst told Penny Post that their points had been made regarding the Pincent’s Hill proposal but it was impossible to know when any conclusion would be reached.

In a recent exchange of emails between WBC and CAPC, WBC claimed that the Tunbridge Wells situation was “different” as TW had allocated all its sites through its Housing and Economic Land Availability Assessment (HELAA) whereas WBC had not. This ignores the fact that the sites were subsequently found to be problematic and that Cold Ash had, only a few months before, completed its NDP, a document which therefore carries weight.

Nor does it address why the Inspector was not asked to consider another viewpoint. It’s not a question of demanding, or refusing, or generally being difficult: but merely suggesting that the interests of the district and the vast amount of work its officers and other groups had put into the plan did not regard these four sites as being necessary, appropriate or even deliverable. Given time, better options could be found, including perhaps some which had not even been proposed when the last HELAA was produced. However, WBC’s not asking the question slammed the door on this.

CAPC’s response was forthright and made many of the above points. “Although we’ve yet to confirm our position in council,” it concludes, “those of us who have been tasked with managing our response find WBC’s position unacceptable and intend to continue to challenge it through all viable routes.”

It seems a shame that a parish council (which has played the game by doing an NDP) should have become locked in a battle with its parent authority (which has played the game by doing a local plan and regularly exceeding its housing targets) merely because the latter didn’t want to ask a question.

CAPC also contacted the local MP, Lee Dillon. His response, on 9 October, was that “there is really nothing to be done at this stage.” It reiterated the point which clearly terrified WBC’s planners about the “extensive powers” that the Planning Inspector has and that WBC had to respond quickly to a demand for extra homes. He added that “There is no facility in the planning system for any local authority, to push back on the Inspector or to go out for additional consultation until the Inspector has determined the acceptability of the Local Plan.”

I’m not sure what the definition of “push back” is here. The entire examination process of the local plan had an element of push and pull and exchanges of views. Matters have come to a sad state of affairs when a sensible alternative cannot be proposed for fear of draconian reprisals. CAPC’s response to to Lee Dillon reminded him of various manifesto pledges and requested that he reconsider his position.

Lee Dillon’s reply did, however point out that “in due course the Local Plan will come back to the Council and there will be a consultation process then.” This might offer some hope, although some fairly convincing arguments will need to be mustered. I’m sure this process already has begun, in Cold Ash and elsewhere.

CAPC doesn’t deny that new homes are needed and went through the NDP process in order to address this. Other better sites than these two doubtless exist, however. The issue is being seen by some as something more than a parish council fighting its corner. This is, it is claimed, not only a battle about process and fairness but also a more existential struggle against what could be described as capricious tyranny. One can come to ones own view about that but I can see how this interpretation might be attractive.

The more practical points are how far CAPC is prepared to push this; whether any consultation responses will produce any viable alternatives that WBC can act on to provide a better result; and whether enough time has been left. It seems extraordinary that a local plan refresh process that took about seven years should have an important part of it added to in two weeks. This fact alone might support the idea that the system is defective, a point of view that I’m sure WBC would not welcome. None the less, that’s where we seem to be.

• Thatcham’s market

This takes place on Fridays from 8am to 5pm in the Broadway and has about a dozen stalls: more information can be found here.

I understand that there may be some changes to the participants in the next month or so with some current stalls moving on and others in due course replacing them. A spokesperson for Thatcham Town Council, which organises the markets, told Penny Post on 10 October that the details of many changes had yet to be confirmed but that it was all part of a general process of review and renewal, designed to ensure that the Town Council gets the best outcome from the event and makes the best use of the space. As the body responsible, it’s up to Thatcham TC to make whatever changes it feels necessary.

Such alterations can be unwelcome, particularly at first. Do stick with it, however as the Town Council is committed to making the market as successful as possible. If you have any comments or suggestions, please contact Thatcham TC.

A peacock, a rabbit, and two teddy bears visited the Newbury and Thatcham Repair Café in Thatcham on Sunday 29 September.  They were amongst the 76 items brought in for repair by talented volunteers. Also an important reminder to test your smoke alarms.

The peacock arrived wingless, the bunny music box and teddy bear had internal issues with their battery mechanisms and the vintage teddy bear only had one functioning arm. The families and children were fascinated to watch the repairs – maybe one day the young owners of the toys will become Repair Café volunteers.

There was also an eclectic mix of electrical and electronic items plus wooden items and a mobility rollator, the second one that has been fixed this year, trousers and jumpers were mended and garden tools repaired and sharpened. These repairs reflect the wide skillset of the volunteers and how determined the volunteers are to revive cherished and everyday items.

During the eight events so far this year, nearly 1,000kg (1 tonne) of items have been prevented from going to waste-processing or landfill.  The Repair Café is very happy it can provide this service for the community.

The next event is in Newbury Methodist Church Hall on Sunday 27 October at 2pm. For more details, please contact newburythatchamrepaircafe@gmail.com

• Reduce your risk of a house fire

The Public Protection Partnership and Royal Berkshire Fire and Rescue Service are offering electric blanket and portable heater safety testing at Frank Hutchins Community Hall in Thatcham on Wednesday 30 October 9.30am – 3.30pm drop-in. Also an important reminder to test your smoke alarms.

Around 43 fires a year are caused by faulty electric blankets usually when the heating element overheating. They should be stored flat, rolled up, or loosely folded to prevent damaging the internal wiring. Heaters cause around three fires a day in England. They should be kept away from furniture and curtains and should not be used for drying clothes.

Residents will be given advice and literature on how to keep themselves safe when using an electric blanket or portable heater at home and how to check for themselves if the item has any faults which could make it unsafe to use. Residents will also be provided with information from the Royal Berkshire Fire and Rescue Service about how they can receive a free ‘Safe and Well’ visit at their homes. For more information see here.

Our usual round-up of local news includes poppies, dementia, litter, closures, football and a book fair – plus a local ward member reflects on the Inspector’s final considerations about NE Thatcham, a town-council newsletter and an interview with the Chair of WBC’s Scrutiny Commission. See also below for community notices and news from your local council.

Upcoming Thatcham area events include Handbell Ringers and Thatcham Festival. See below for details, plus regular events and group activities. 

This last week saw the final presentations to the Planning Inspector on the long examination process for West Berkshire Council’s local plan. The ward member for Bucklebury, Chris Read, attended the session on 1 October, which was looking at the North East Thatcham site. The Inspector’s current recommendation (aka instruction) is that this be increased from the 1,500 homes in the draft plan, up to the 2,500 originally proposed (which was strenuously opposed by many local groups and residents).

Chris Read sent us his comments, which we reproduce here verbatim.

Our usual round-up of local news includes buses, repairs, litter, handbells, sustainability and a festival – plus four parish councils meet local MP Olivia Bailey, Thatcham Town Council’s grant awards and a look at the restoration works on Bucklebury Common. See also below for community notices and news from your local council.

Upcoming Thatcham area events include Repair Café and weekly Friday market.  See below for details, plus regular events and group activities. 

• Thatcham’s grants

Each year, Thatcham Town Council (TTC) supports local charities and community organisations through its Small Grants Program, providing vital funding to groups that benefit the residents of Thatcham. In the most recent grant round of September 2024, TTC awarded a total of £7,156.50 to a variety of local organisations, with the amount being generously match-funded by Greenham Trust.

“These funds help strengthen services and projects that make a positive impact on our community,” a statement from TTC said. “The Council meets twice a year to review applications and allocate funding, ensuring that local groups have the resources they need to continue their amazing work.”

Click here to see details of the grants awarded for 2024-25.

• Meeting the MP

This report was provided by Barry Dickens, the Chair of Bucklebury Parish Council.

On 26 September, Bucklebury Parish Council (BPC) hosted a meeting with Olivia Bailey MP. The Chairs of Midgham, Woolhampton and Stanford Dingley were also present, as was District Councillor Chris Read.

The MP was apprised of the parishes’ views on the proposed 2,500-home development in NE Thatcham. While this development would only physically impact on 30 or so acres of Midgham, the ramifications on the communities in all four parishes on traffic, the environment and increased pressure on existing infrastructure would be considerable.

The majority of the residents of this development would join others in West Berkshire in commuting to work. With the A4 and Floral Way already backed up at peak times, hundreds of additional cars will flood into Upper Bucklebury and Cold Ash en route to the M4 and A34. There is no provision in the Local Plan to alleviate this with new roads or enhancement to existing ones. Those commuting south will join the already 30min-plus queues at Thatcham level crossing as there is no plan for the development to contribute to a desperately needed bridge across the railway and river.

Environmentally, the development is in the setting of a National Landscape (AONB as was). The Local Plan’s Sustainability Appraisal is badly flawed as, amongst other things, it fails to show, as it should, that environmental considerations have been given equal weighting alongside economic and social ones.

Olivia’s attention was drawn to the lack of a legally required environmental effects assessment, which might be one of the grounds for a future legal challenge. There is every chance that when the first new homes of this development are due to be occupied in 2031 the necessary schools, medical facilities, community centre and required new sewage treatment plant will not have been completed as even the preliminary work on addressing the funding of this infrastructure has not been done.

In noting all these concerns Olivia asked to be kept in close touch with the parishes on progress towards the eventual adoption of the Local Plan by WBC and beyond.

Other topics raised included the new Royal Berks Hospital (RBH). The MP said a new hospital was essential and she was confident of the robustness of the business case. She has met the Health Secretary and will continue to lobby him on the RBH until the review on its future is complete.

BPC brought up speeding and Olivia learned that Bucklebury had amassed 650.000 datapoints via its Speed Indicator Device deployments. One showed a motorist doing over 90mph in a 30mph limit at 3pm. Although Bucklebury was now part of Community Speed Watch it was proving a struggle to find volunteers to man the speed guns. More enforcement was needed.

The concerns of Midgham PC were aired about potential industrial ribbon development along the Thatcham-Theale corridor.

Stanford Dingley briefed Olivia about many incidents of raw sewage polluting the streets after heavy rainfall and Thames Water’s failure to get to grips with the issue.

Woolhampton PC cited several examples of where the handling of retrospective planning by WBC could be called into question.

This proved to be an informative and useful initial meeting with Olivia on behalf of the residents in the southern part of her constituency.

• Work on the Common

At 860 acres, Bucklebury’s Common is one of the largest in southern England. It straddles a plateau with the Pang valley to the north and the Kennet valley to the south. The Common is privately owned by the Bucklebury Estate, but there are significant statutory rights of way enjoyed by a plethora of users. Traditionally, it was used by over 150 Commoners who had rights for certain activities such as subsistence farming and the collection of fallen wood.

For centuries, therefore, the land was largely managed by its users. One of the results was that the landowner didn’t have all the management costs to deal with. Another was that a few plant species were not allowed to dominate and there was a good level of biodiversity – not that the word was known in those days, though its principles were probably far more widely and instinctively understood than they are by many today.

Times change, however. Subsistence farming all but vanished during the 20th century. A more abrupt alteration was caused when the the Common was seconded to the US Army during WW2 for munitions storage, about as far from its traditional use as can be imagined. From these dramatic changes the Common has not since recovered.

In the decades that followed, the Common became enclosed by trees that encroached the valuable heathlands. Over the last 150 years England has lost 85% of its heathland and much of its wildflower meadows. Once abundant bird species also started to decline. All in all, the Common is not what it used to be.

Of these problems the landowner was acutely aware: the issue was how any restoration work was to be funded. In recent years, the government has fortunately taken more pro-active steps to assist with such projects, mainly through its 25-year Environment Plan. Working with a range of other organisations, a scheme was devised by the Estate which would provide a number of important long-term benefits.

These include expanding the heathlands, creating wood pasture, haloing veteran trees, creating and restoring ponds, creating glades and gullies, installing leaky dams to slow water run off, thinning stands of trees, removing non-native plant species, increasing bio-diversity and providing greater access for the community and visitors. Quite a shopping list.

The work started in 2023 and is being funded by the government’s Species Survival Fund. This was developed by DeFRA and its arm’s-length bodies, and is being delivered by The National Lottery Heritage Fund in partnership with Natural England and the Environment Agency.

The Bucklebury Estate will be running some information sessions, starting with a chance to meet the Estate team (including the newly appointed Bucklebury Common Ranger) on Saturday 5 October at 10am sharp at Upper Bucklebury Memorial Hall, then walking to view a site of recent restoration. For those coming by car please consider lift-sharing as there is limited parking at the Hall.

Those wishing to help keep the Common clean and tidy can pop over to the Cottage Inn for refreshments (book ahead for lunches) then reconvene at the Memorial Hall for a 2pm start for litter collection (litter-pickers and rubbish bags provided). Bring strong boots and a weather-proof coat.

More information on the Common’s restoration works can be found at this page on Sundew Ecology’s website. You can also sign up to receive updates on the progress of the work.

• Reminder about the roadworks at the M4 Junction 12 roundabout where overnight closures will affect parts of the roundabout until Friday 11 October. You can find details about the whole project here which is expected to be completed in March 2025.

• Thatcham Council’s Town Guide for 2024 can be read here. It contains information about Thatcham’s history, annual events as well as local services.

Our usual round-up of local news includes a thermal camera, buses, football, the festival and coffee – plus help needed by a local group with mock interviews in the Kennet School, Bucklebury’s update on the local plan and this weekend’s Newbury Show. See also below for community notices and news from your local council.

Upcoming Thatcham area events include Air Ambuance Charity Event and Repair Café.  See below for details, plus regular events and group activities. 

• Mock interviews

• Would you like to volunteer your business expertise to help Education Business Partnership prepare our local young people for work? EBP runs many in-school sessions for all ages as well as organising work-experience placements and careers fairs. It is running mock interviews at Kennet School on Thursday 14 November and needs several Business Ambassadors from a cross-section of organisations to conduct the interviews.

For this event, you will be interviewing Year 11 students and sharing with them your expertise. These interviews give students the opportunity to put new skills into practice with business professionals, in a supportive and familiar environment. And it is a great opportunity for ambassadors to invest in the workforce of the future. See here for more details and how to apply.

EBP is also looking for work experience placements in a variety of sectors for Year 10/11 students for up to one day per week, over a six-week period this autumn. Local organisations and businesses are also invited to join its Destinations Expo 2024 on Thursday 10 October. As West Berkshire’s largest interactive careers fair, this event is dedicated to Year 11-13 students from West Berkshire and North Hampshire, and is held every year at Newbury College.

• Bucklebury’s campaign

The following was taken from the minutes of the 9 September 2024 meeting of Bucklebury Parish Council (BPC) under the heading “Update on the local plan”:

“The Planning Inspector has requested additional hearings to start on Tuesday 1st October. Cllr. Southgate has agreed to attend with Andrew Black, the planning consultant, representing BPC. BPC has already submitted a letter to the Inspector, following the Inspector’s latest interim report. The Inspector, in the interim report, has said that for the Plan to be sound, the NE Thatcham site must contain 2,500 homes, not 1,500 as in the submitted plan, and additional sites. The final version of the report is expected in early to mid November.

“Andrew Black [BPC’s planning consultant] is of the opinion that the Inspector’s interim report may be open to legal challenge on the grounds that he has largely disregarded the comments of Thatcham TC (TTC) and BPC. A King’s Counsel opinion is expected to cost in the region of £7,000, but this would determine whether there might be value in going to Judicial Review. TTC has not financially contributed to opposing NE Thatcham to date. District Cllr. Read has spoken to Cllr. Owen Jeffery (deputy leader of TTC) and made it clear that BPC has expectations that TTC will join BPC in setting aside funds to oppose NE Thatcham. Cllr. Dickens will be writing to the other councils within the Bucklebury Ward asking if they would be willing to make a small financial contribution.

“To date, BPC has spent £19,736 on opposing the NE Thatcham development, which has been funded by public donations, a donation from Midgham PC and BPC precept. A sum of £9,204 remains allocated to opposing NE Thatcham. It was questioned whether it was appropriate to add the £5,000, added to the precept for grass cutting, in response to WBC’s budget consultation which has not resulted in any obvious change to grass cutting in the parish, to the sum for opposing NE Thatcham. Another Public Meeting needs to be scheduled, but it is currently a little premature.

“It was agreed that Cllr. Pask would take on responsibility for the Local Plan, working alongside Cllr. Dickens and Cllr. Spours.”

• Reminder about the roadworks at the M4 Junction 12 roundabout where overnight closures will affect parts of the roundabout until Friday 11 October. You can find details about the whole project here which is expected to be completed in March 2025.

• There is a Macmillan Coffee Morning being held on Tuesday 24 September, from 11am to 1pm at William House, The Moors, Thatcham. Everyone is welcome to come along. Also they are looking for any local businesses that may be able to donate a prize for the raffle. If you can help please contact with Abbie at abbie.carmichael@mccarthyandstone.co.uk.

Our usual round-up of local news includes closures, coffee, jumble, buses and parking – plus another look at the impact of recent government planning announcements on Cold Ash, a litter pick with a difference, Thatcham Town Council’s latest newsletter and the Newbury Show draws closer. See also below for community notices and news from your local council.

Upcoming Thatcham area events, which include Rugby Club Jumble Sale & Thatcham Litter Pick.  See below for details, plus regular events and group activities. 

• An inspector calls

This piece appeared in This Week with Brian for 12 September as the main issues are of district-wide importance. I’m repeating it here as it’s of particular relevance to Cold Ash: two of the four sites are in the parish. Cold Ash has also very recently completed its neighbourhood development plan which is, as a result of the issues discussed here, now in an uncertain state. 

The recent community forum organised by West Berkshire Council (WBC) on a number of planning and development matters covered the question of the Planning Inspector’s letter to WBC in July. The main point was that he asked that about 800 more homes be added to the current local plan as, due to delays, it needed to be extended to 2041. He gave WBC a very tight deadline for responding. The Council took the request to be an instruction and considered that any prevarication would immediately lead to WBC having its planning powers removed. It therefore plucked four possible sites off the shelf and offered them to him.

Many feel that it wasn’t necessary for WBC to roll over in this way. One response could have been to request more time to consider the implications and perhaps to consult: we were, after all, talking about a change of direction for the plan. I understand that no such request was made.

It would also have been possible, as I suggested before, to request a shorter timescale for the plan to avoid changing the housing numbers. In Tunbridge Wells, the Inspector himself suggested reducing it from 15 years to ten to deal with a similar delay. It would thus have been quite in order for WBC to have proposed this (I presume it was aware of this precedent).

Moreover, does Whitehall really want to take over WBC’s planning powers? This is not a step to be taken lightly. WBC is not a badly-performing council. It has a current plan which hasn’t expired, has a draft plan under examination, has accepted the Minister’s demand that this draft plan not be withdrawn, has a good record at meeting housing targets and has a 5.8 year housing-land supply figure. This surely represents a bank of goodwill which could have been drawn upon.

One of the advantages of having an up-to-date local plan and land-supply is that it avoids what’s known as development by appeal, where application refusals are likely to be overturned by the inspector if the applicant can claim that the need exists and there’s no policy to prevent the application. The proposers of these four sites must have been surprised and overjoyed to see them back on the table. Although better ones almost certainly exist, the fact that they’ve been offered to the Inspector would, I imagine, give grounds for an appeal if they were then withdrawn; exactly the opposite of the non-litigious approach that a local plan is meant to accomplish.

There’s also a final irony. The Lib Dem administration (for good reasons) wanted to withdraw the local plan submitted by the Conservatives in March 2023 but was prevented from doing so. The delay means that it’s being considered now. If the local plan had proceeded as originally scheduled, it would probably now have been adopted, perhaps with only 1,500 homes in NE Thatcham and certainly without these extra four sites. I still think the Lib Dems were right to be concerned about what they inherited. It’s unfortunate that the results might now be even more unwelcome.

The NE Thatcham site was introduced as a result of the Grazeley scheme being killed off by the expansion of the DEPZ zone around AWE Burghfield. Many argued that it was a bit of a knee-jerk reaction to the problem. Exactly the same could be said about the response to the Planning Inspector’s recent requests. There’s perhaps another irony in that, after all those years of work, the two most significant aspects the local plan will have been arrived as a result of rapid reaction to external circumstances. Many might look at all of this, and the wreckage of any NDP such as Cold Ash’s which has been collateral damage, and wonder if there’s any point in doing a local plan or an NDP at all.

• Not your average litter pick

Eco Friends West Berkshire is teaming up with Thatcham Litter Pickers and Surfers Against Sewage this Saturday 14 September to take part in the Million Mile Clean initiative. The initiative aims to pick up all litter and record the brand offenders, which will be published in the Surfers Against Sewage annual report. Everyone is welcome to join in what will be a rewarding day helping our local environment. Please meet at 10am on Saturday 14 September at the Moorside Community Centre. All equipment will be provided. More details here.

The object of the exercise is not only to remove litter from the environment but also to analyse the components of the litter and then introduce appropriate schemes such as water refilling stations to reduce the use of single use plastic bottles as part of the Plastic Free Thatcham and Newbury initiatives.

• Thatcham’s newsletter

Click here to see the latest (September 2024) newsletter from Thatcham Town Council which includes news, events (including goalposts, toilets, thermal image cameras and Burdwood Community Hall), events (including a barn dance, markets and the festival) and council information (including committee meetings and councillor surgeries).

• The Newbury Show

Saturday 21 and Sunday 22 September are the dates for the diary for the 2024 Newbury Show. More information can be found by clicking here.

Recently updated news include arable farming in action, a driving experience, tweaks to the layout, early-bird parking advice and the 2024 Showground map.

Other news

• Recycling your household batteries just got a whole lot easier. From this week, they will be collected right from your kerbside by the council.  To learn how to bag and where to place them click here for more information.

• Last chance to nominate a Charity, Volunteer, Trustee, Fundraiser or Community Event of the Year. The official deadline for the Greenham Trust Charity Awards 2024 is Friday 13 September – however Greenham Trust has advised us they will in fact accept entries submitted over the weekend by Monday 16 September. See how to apply here. The Charity Awards Ceremony is on Thursday 7 November at Newbury Corn Exchange with the After Party at The Waterside Centre.

• National Highways have reported that they will need to close part of the M4 Junction 12 roundabout, in a project that is expected to last several months and completed over two phases, including some slip road closures onto and off the M4. You can find details about these phases here. Overnight closures will affect parts of the roundabout starting from next Monday 16 September until Friday 11 October. The overall project is expected to be completed in March 2025.

• There is a Macmillan Coffee Morning being held on  Tuesday 24 September, from 11am to 1pm at William House, The Moors, Thatcham. Everyone is welcome to come along. Also they are looking for any local businesses that may be able to donate a prize for the raffle. If you can help please contact with Abbie at abbie.carmichael@mccarthyandstone.co.uk.

• This Saturday 14 September there will be a Jumble Sale at Thatcham Rugby Club, on the Henwick Worthy Sports Fields from 10.30am until 1.30pm. Details can be found here.

• Last chance to have your say on proposed changes to parking charges in West Berkshire. For an outline of the new the charges being proposed, including the introduction of evening and weekend charges, we suggest visiting this West Berks Council webpage. Then complete this brief survey by midnight on Friday 13 September 2024.

Our usual round-up of local news includes grants, a busy month, training, buses, parking and trees – plus a decade of swings and smiles, a look at Cold Ash’s response to increased housing allocations, a decision on Brimpton’s recreation ground, a double appeal over a traveller site and the imminent Newbury Show. See also below for community notices and news from your local council.

Upcoming Thatcham area events, which include Police Training Open Day & Rugby Club Jumble Sale. See below for details, plus regular events and group activities. 

• 10 years of Swings & Smiles

Congratulations to the local Swings & Smiles charity that supports children with special needs and their families on their 10th birthday which they are celebrating this Saturday 7 September at Lower Way, Thatchm.  Next time you stop by at the Newbury Tesco Extra, please vote for Swings & Smiles by dropping off your blue token given at the checkout in the collection box – so they can receive grant funding from Tesco.

,They also welcome donations especially at this time as part of their Escalator Challenge with Greenham Trust which means that if they raise £10,000, the trust will give them a further £30,000. You can donate here for their latest fundraiser which will be added to the pot: swings-smiles-sponsored-walk.

• Cold Ash’s response

Cold Ash has recently been stunned by the news that, despite having recently had its neighbourhood development plan (NDP) made, it is being expected to accept two developments of about 270 homes. Cold Ash’s objections have nothing to do with refuting the need for more homes in the district, but everything to do with the way these have been chosen (with, it seems, intemperate haste), the likelihood that better and more justifiable sites exist elsewhere, the heavy demand that’s already being placed on the immediate area by other proposals, and the fact that it has an NDP.

You can read more on the general background to this issue by clicking here (see “Housing targets”). On 3 September, Cold Ash Parish Council (CAPC) wrote to the Inspector to request that it be involved in the next phase of the regulation 19 inspection of the local plan and that they NDP be included in the examination documents (as it should be).

It adds that it’s particularly concerned with the Henwick Park (CA12) and Regency Park (CA17) sites and also with wider matters “as there are strategic issues, and questions for the wider infrastructure, tied up in the new proposals.”

CAPC in in particular concerned by the “significant change of direction” compared to the previous consultation, the proposed extension of the plan’s timeframe, the lack of local consultation, the lack of consideration for wider infrastructure needs and the ignoring of the Cold Ash NDP. It also draws attention to another local plan elsewhere in a similar situation when the planning inspector took what could perhaps be summarised as a more collaborative approach rather than, in WBC’s case, a short deadline by which 0ver 800 new dwellings needed to be allocated.

Having a pause would, CAPC suggests, enable other site options to be considered in the new plan, let local landowners with the opportunity to submit further sites for consideration, assess the sights in the light of the new guidelines in the NPPF and permit “real community engagement” and a consideration of the infrastructure implications.

The letter recognises that some of these points may have been considered by the inspector but ruefully adds that because of “the absence of any local or community engagement from WBC on the proposed changes” but “have not been shared further.”

All in all, the letter’s subtext is is “hello – remember us? We’ve just spent five years working with WBC on a neighbourhood plan which seems to have been completely ignored.”

The letter concludes with a number of questions. Principal among these is the very important one of what other options have been considered by WBC, particularly considering “there’s no evidence that WBC has taken a robust and diligent approach in developing the new proposals.”

The next hearings into the local plan will take place on 1, 2 and 3 October. CAPC awaits hearting whether it will have a seat at the table during these. In the meantime, as I suggested in the above-mentioned article, WBC would seem to have some work to do  in identifying some better sites (or explaining why the ones it’s so rapidly selected are the best) and also considering whether it wants even at this late stage to push back against the inspector’s demands. The letter suggests a few ways it might accomplish this.

• Brimpton’s options

The minutes of the 6 August meeting of Brampton Parish Council had this to say from Charles Brims, the Chairman of the Recreation Ground Trustees:

Other news

• There will be a meeting of Thatcham Town Council’s Grants Sub-Committee at 7pm on Monday 9 September in the Council Chamber, Brownsfield Road, Thatcham RG18 3HF. Public attendance at the meeting is welcomed. The agenda and further details can be found here.

Our usual round-up of local news includes ducks, forests, swings and smiles, trees, wildlife rescue – plus a blow for Cold Ash’s new neighbourhood plan and the countdown to Newbury Show. See also below for community notices and news from your local council.

Upcoming Thatcham area events, which include The Great Thatcham Duck Race and Rugby Club Jumble Sale. See below for details, plus regular events and group activities. 

• A plan in tatters

Cold Ash recently completed its neighbourhood development plan (NDP). This takes many years of hard and technical work and, in effect, involves the local community working with the planning authority to write the part of the local plan which affects the parish. Once “made” as the technical term has it, residents could perhaps be forgiven for thinking that the hard work was done: the residents had expressed their wishes, WBC and the Inspector had agreed and development in the area would be both controlled and understood.

Sadly not. WBC’s planners may well have thought exactly the same thing when they finished their local plan. Higher powers can, however, decide otherwise. In WBC’s case, these higher powers were the Planning Inspector and the new government, who between them said that more homes would be needed. West Berkshire will, as a result, have to double the number of homes it provides over the 15-year life of the plan.

This therefore has an immediate knock-on effect on all the 60-odd parishes in the district. Previous assumptions, including those enshrined in an NDP, don’t apply any more. As a result of WBC’s rapid scrabble to find some ready-made sites to appease the immediate demands of the Planning Inspector, Cold Ash and the surrounding area may now be required to provide more homes than the NDP envisaged.

Frustratingly, this is always a possibility, particularly given the unfortunate coincidence of this having been completed round about the time of a local plan examination and the arrival of a new government. The question for Cold Ash is what can be done about this.

I understand representatives of Cold Ash Parish Council (CAPC) have recently discussed this with members of WBC’s Executive and has asked questions about how the sites to the north of Thatcham have been allocated, with answers being promised. CAPC will certainly be considering the matter at its next meeting and a statement may well be issued soon afterwards. Watch this space.

• Countdown to showtime

The weekend edges closer and the countdown is underway for the Newbury Show on 21 and 22 September 2024. Click here for more information, including on stalls, tickets and sponsorship opportunities.

The above post looks at some of the attractions in the main arena, over the two days of the event including hunts, hounds, heavy horses, machinery old and new, livestock, scurry driving, mounted games and a hot-air balloon display.

• Other news

Our usual round-up of local news includes inclusivity, rugby, closures, a forest school and hedging plants – plus more homes for Thatcham, donating to a local charity with escalator funding, rail news, counting down to the show, nuisance complaints and a parking consultation. See also below for community notices and news from your local council.

Upcoming Thatcham area events, which include Festival of Inclusivity and Charity Rugby event. See below for details, plus regular events and group activities. 

• More homes

As mentioned last week, West Berkshire has been hit with two separate demands to increase its housing numbers.

The first comes from the Planning Inspector examining the local plan who has, as a statement from WBC puts it, “requested the Council to suggest a number of additional housing sites for inclusion in the Local Plan 2023 to 2041.” “Request” effectively means “ordered”. If WBC doesn’t comply then it may find that it has someone from Whitehall turning up and allocating them on its behalf.

WBC has recently suggested four sites, who of which are in Thatcham:

• Approximately 225 homes on land near Henwick Park on Bowling Green Road.
• Approximately 45 homes near the Regency Park Hotel on Bowling Green Road.

Few would argue that more homes are needed and Thatcham will certainly be getting its fair share (the mega development to the north east of the town now seems set to be increased back up to 2,500). The question is whether the infrastructure exists, or can be provided, to support this.

WBC appears to have no obvious covers about this. The above-mentioned statement refers to the West Berkshire Strategic Vision 2050 (SET3a) which “recognises that due to the highly constrained nature of the District, options for growth are limited. It recognises Newbury and Thatcham as settlements which should be strategically planned for in the longer-term and identifies areas of search for future growth to the north of both towns as they are identified as having the least constraints and influences. These locations benefit from their close proximity to the main existing main urban areas with a wide range of services and facilities.”

I wonder if all residents of Thatcham will recognise this last phrase as describing all aspects of the town.

• Other news

Our usual round-up of local news includes a closure, nature discovery, ducks, candles, wax, charity rugby and a forest school – plus a look at where matters stand with the now re-enlarged proposed development in north east Thatcham and a reminder about a local charity’s fundraising drive. See also below for community notices and news from your local council.

Upcoming Thatcham area events, which include Thatcham weekly Friday market and family fun at Thatcham Discovery Centre. See below for details, plus regular events and group activities. 

• Other news

Our usual round-up of local news includes bees, ducks, an open day, rugby and make & take – plus a look at a local charity which is set to benefit from Greenham Trust’s Escalator funding, the latest on September’s Newbury Show, noise and traffic issues for the Wasing Estate’s Medicine Festival and insights into flooding issues in Bucklebury. See also below for community notices and news from your local council.

Upcoming Thatcham area events include Afrofest and Swings & Smiles Community Open Day. See below for details, plus regular events and group activities. 

A Thatcham disability charity has announced it has been chosen to take part in the Greenham Trust’s Escalator project in a bid to boost its funding.

Swings & Smiles, which provides accessible play spaces for local disabled children as well as respite care and support for their families, has been selected by the trust to benefit from its scheme to quadruple the funding the charity can raise in four weeks.

The task for the charity is to raise £10,000 between 19 August and 13 September: if it does, Greenham Trust will donate a further £30,000. The money raised will go towards the charity’s teenage programme which will give young people with special needs a meaningful place to socialise and gain independence. As a result, Swings & Smiles is encouraging supporters to get involved by hosting their own fundraising events during August and September.

“Whatever you want to do to fundraise, it will make a big impact,” Corporate Fundraising Lead Richard Falkus-Holder said. “You might want to do something Olympics-themed, take on a challenge, run a pub quiz, a raffle or bake sale. The charity intends to use the money to design and build an outdoor space with a fire pit where young people can bond with others and build their confidence during their formative years.

“We designed The Escalator challenge for initiatives exactly like this,” Head of Grants at the Greenham Trust Rob Daniels said. “The aims are to supercharge a project, bring a community together and make a real difference. This project ticks all those boxes and more.  We wish Swings & Smiles the very best of luck as it takes on this exciting challenge.”

One fundraiser that’s already been confirmed will see siblings Connor and Grace, who come to Swings & Smiles, take on a six-hour bounce in late August. Connor’s mum Karen is in no doubt about the value of the support that Swings and Smiles provides: “It’s a place I can leave Connor to gain independence and learn to trust other grown-ups to help him,” she explained. “The feeling of not being alone and understood is so important.” 

For information about about fundraising projects, keep your eye on the Swings & Smiles website.

• The latest from Newbury Show

Launching into the air with spectacular style at the Newbury Show this September, the Extreme Bike Battle fuses multiple disciplines together for the ultimate adrenaline fuelled show. The event promises jaw-dropping stunts as these world class performers push their limits to perform an amazing spectacle.

Click here for information on tickets for the show, with advance-sale discounts still available.

Sponsorship opportunities are also still available, providing the ultimate marketing opportunity for your brand. This is your opportunity to reach a captive audience of over 33,000 people in just two days by partnering with the one of the biggest outdoor celebrations attracting visitors from across the country.

For more information, please click here.

• Swales, floods and water levels in Bucklebury

The following is taken from the minutes of the meeting of Bucklebury Parish Council (BPC) on 8 July and concerns an address given to the meeting by Piers Allison on “the swale, the level of the River Pang and flood risk”.

“BPC was updated on the plans to construct three ponds at the top of the field to the west of Waven and a bund at the bottom of the same field to reduce the flow of water from Red Hill Copse towards Bucklebury Village. Water in the ponds and behind the bund will drain naturally into the chalk aquifer.

“If flooding does occur, there is no duty on anybody, however there is a civil liability if landowners don’t maintain their ditches, streams and rivers. Between the road ford and the byway ford, the north side of the river is owned by WBC and the south side by a private landowner. The river level is determined by the groundwater level, rain events, the weed level and Thames Water clean discharges (but this is only when the river is low).

“The Bucklebury flood channel is designed for 10 cubic metres of water to flow in the river and swale [shallow channels that are used to collect and/or move water and also remove pollution from it] combined per second. This is enough capacity for the predicted 100-year flood event. The flood channel operates when the Bucklebury gauge (downstream of the swale) is at 39cm, or lower if there is a high level of weed.

“This year, water has been flowing in the flood channel continuously from January until the end of June. This has been caused by 12 months of above-average rainfall to April 2024 and high ground water levels for a prolonged period of time. Where water has been running in the swale over the road in sunny, warm weather, algae has formed making the road surface slippery. Breeze blocks have been put in place to act as stepping stones, allowing pedestrians to cross the swale without getting wet feet or slipping.

“The flood channel is owned by Bucklebury Estate and New Barn Farm, but it is an asset of the Environment Agency (EA). WBC lowered the level of the road in the swale when it was constructed, and being part of the highway it is their responsibility. Climate change is predicted to bring bigger summer rain events, but less rain in total over the summer so will not impact ground water levels. However, winters are expected to get wetter.

• Other news

Our usual round-up of local news includes a garden party, rugby, music, summer activities and sustainable choices – plus two reactions from Bucklebury on the Planning Inspector’s verdict on the north-east Thatcham proposals, a look back at another successful repair café and the launch of a new monthly newsletter from Thatcham TC.  See also below for community notices and news from your local council.

Upcoming Thatcham area events include Mayor’s Summer Garden Party & Berkshire AfroFest. See below for details, plus regular events and group activities. 

• Local reaction in north-east Thatcham

Two announcements in the last couple of days will require West Berkshire Council (WBC) radically to re-think the number of homes it needs to build over the next 15 years.

The announcement by Deputy PM Angela Rayner confirmed a number of points about the planning system, a shake-up of which the new government had said would be one of its first priorities. From WBC’s point of view, the most immediate impact is that its housing allocation has been more than doubled: whereas the local plan previously allowed for 515 new net dwellings a year, it will now be expected to provide about 1,060.

WBC’s planning portfolio holder Denise Gaines described the news as “rather a bombshell” and that it “feels like a real blow to local democracy that means the course for future development and the number of homes built in West Berkshire will be determined by Westminster and not by us”.

This announcement coincided with the interim report from the Planning Inspector into his examination of WBC’s somewhat contentious local plan. The most contentious aspect of this was the plan to build 1,500 homes in north-east Thatcham.

Rather than declare this unsound, which is what many had hoped, he said that the plan “should be modified to refer to up to around 2,500 dwellings, with the final number to be determined through the masterplanning process [see below]. This would make it effective in ensuring that there is [the number originally envisaged by WBC in 2021] a reasonable prospect of a significant number of homes being developed on the site by 2041 and that all of the proposed physical, social and green infrastructure would be provided.”

You can read a statement from WBC on both these matters here.

Few communities will have been as dismayed by this than residents of Bucklebury. “Bucklebury Parish Council (BPC) is aghast at the Inspector’s decision in his interim findings to recommend the NE Thatcham development should be 2,500 dwellings,” BPC Chair Barry Dickens told us on 31 July. “This far from sustainable development will have a significant adverse impact on traffic levels in Upper Bucklebury and Cold Ash, on biodiversity and on The North Wessex Downs National Landscape.

“BPC is pleased to note the Inspector requires a masterplan to be produced by WBC before any planning application is started. BPC will vigorously engage in the masterplanning process and will offer constructive evidence-based representations to challenge any justification put forward for 2,500 dwellings in NE Thatcham.”

These sentiments were echoed by local ward member Chris Read. “Saying that I am very disappointed by this devastating directive from the National Planning Inspector would be a massive understatement,” he told us. “However, all the hard work by the Parish Council, by the Say No to NE Thatcham Campaign and objections from local residents, all with very valid points, should not be wasted.

“I will work hard pressing the administration to ensure the developer and WBC Planning engage the community in production of the masterplan before application is submitted, and ensure we are not sold short in protecting our existing services, including utilities, healthcare, traffic planning and education.”

As well as an over-arching masterplan (the lack of which caused so many problems at Sandleford), the Inspector has also requested that a Supplementary Planning Document be produced, which I understand neither WBC nor the developers have previously chosen to do. These should help tease out much of the detail and help to establish if the total homes are to be “up to 2,500” or 2,500.

Doubt has also been expressed about the provision for a secondary school on the site. By one estimate, it appears that this is not viable even if 2,500 homes  were built. This will particularly be the case, certainly in the short term, if this is built at a later phase of the project as the new residents with children will by then already have found another school. It is WBC’s responsibility to build the school (even if the developers fund it0 so it can if it chooses build it first, dipping into its CIL reserves to pay for it and topping these up from developer contributions later. It’s been suggested that a far better option would be a sixth-form campus for Kennet School.

• Other news

Our usual round-up of local news includes volunteers, trees, a walk, children’s activities and sticks – plus a parking consultation and a reminder about the forthcoming repair café.  See also below for community notices and news from your local council.

Upcoming Thatcham area events include Comedy Club and Repair Cafe. See below for details, plus regular events and group activities. 

• Other news

Our usual round-up of local news includes an Afrofest, trees, a charity walk, leaders and a consultation – plus a look ahead to a repair café and a forthcoming garden party.  See also below for community notices and news from your local council.

Upcoming Thatcham area events include Mum2Mum market and Comedy Club. See below for details, plus regular events and group activities. 

• A garden party

The Mayor of Thatcham, Councillor Suzanne Adamantos invites the community for a cuppa in the Jubilee Sensory Garden on Tuesday 6th August, 2pm to 4pm, to help raise funds for two local charities: Thatcham Youth and Cruse Bereavement Support.

Guests can look forward to live music, charity stalls, cake sale and a prize-winning raffle. Please remember to bring cash to support these vital causes.

“We are thrilled to invite everyone to join us for this wonderful afternoon,” The Mayor said. “It’s a great opportunity to come together, enjoy each other’s company, and make a positive impact in our community.”

Thatcham Youth was established in 2010 when a local young resident approached Thatcham Vision to ask for a youth club for his age group, he was 10 at the time.  After meetings with lots of partners and a lot of hard work, Vision Youth Club opened its doors in April 2010 and continues to run today.

Cruse is the UK’s leading bereavement charity and helps people through one of the most painful times in life with support, information and campaigning.

• Other news

Our usual round-up of local news includes a market, wildlife, a charity walk, hedges and a garden party – plus repair cafés, speeches after the count, and an invitation to Buckelbury. See also below for community notices and news from your local council.

Upcoming Thatcham area events include Mum2Mum market and Comedy Club. See below for details, plus regular events and group activities. 

• Speech day

Congratulations to long-term Thatcham resident Lee Dillon who is now the Lib Dem MP for the Newbury constituency. Congratulations also to Laura Farris for having offered what appeared to have been very gracious words of congratulations to him. This can never be easy, particularly at five in the morning and after a six-week campaign. Her remarks certainly stopped a long way short of those that had a few hours before been uttered thirty or so miles to the west by former MP Robert Buckland in Swindon. he was equally gracious to his victorious opponent, reserving all his ire for the incompetencies in his own party. If Laura Farris shared these views she clearly decided that this was not the moment to express them.

One unfinished piece of business for Lee Dillon is what do about his seat on West Berkshire Council. There’s no law that says that an MP has to resign such an office but I’d be very interested to see how he can represent the residents of Thatcham North East in two different ways. A by-election therefore seems in prospect.

This will represent the first electoral test for the Lib Dem administration elected in 2023. Maybe before this is called (and pre-election purdah descends once again) the administration might ensure that it’s made some real progress on more matters in its own manifesto. Many of these have, I freely admit, been dealt with or started. Others have not. We all appreciate that you can’t fix real or imagined problems that you inherited overnight. However, when a problem is still in the pending tray after fifteen months it starts to look uncomfortably like one of your own.

• Repair Cafe

At Newbury and Thatcham Repair Cafés, you can get a wide range of items fixed including electronic and electrical goods, clothing and textiles, pottery, wooden items, toys, etc.  Mobile phone and IT advice is also available, and they can sharpen tools and other blades such as scissors. Skilled volunteers repair these items with the visitors if a repair is feasible. Repairs are free, but donations are appreciated to help fund future events.

The Repair Cafés run once a month, alternating between Sunday mornings in Thatcham’s Frank Hutchings Hall and Sunday afternoons in Newbury Methodist Church Hall. The next  Repair Café is in Thatcham on Sunday 28 July between 10am and 12.30pm.

Please take only one clean item for repair. Later in the event, there may be time to rejoin the queue and have a second item repaired depending on how busy the fixers are. For electrical and electronic items, please bring the lead/charger/batteries with you; for clothing, please bring any buttons or zips, etc. that need replacing.

Some items are not suitable to repair due to safety reasons such as microwaves, petrol-driven items, and gas appliances. Items should be light/small enough for one person to carry.  It is also worth checking the warranty of your item to see if it can be fixed by the manufacturer in the first case. If in doubt, please email NewburyThatchamRepairCafe@gmail.com. They would also like to hear from potential volunteer fixers to join their amazing team.

• Bucklebury’s invitation

Chris Read, the ward member for Bucklebury, has written an open letter to Olivia Bailey, the recently elected MP for the new Reading West and Mid Berks constituency, to pay a visit to this area which also includes Stanford Dingley, Midgham and Woolhampton as well as Bucklebury.

He promises her the chance to “see the beauty of the Kennet and Pang Valleys, one of the largest commons in Southern England, (almost) the most public rights of way of any ward in England, sites of special scientific interest, ancient churches, thriving and welcoming pubs, community groups and clubs, and diligent and hardworking parish councils.”

There’s a slight catch, however, as he would also like to tell her about some local challenges. These include:

• A rural economy under pressure;
• Young families facing significant accommodation costs (either rental or mortgage);
• Pressures on education, healthcare, lack of rural and free home to school transport;
• Water and sewage issues;
• Rural roads that need significant investment;
• Rural crime and anti-social behaviour including significant fly-tipping, speeding and unauthorised off-roading.

He could also have mentioned the over-arching problem of the proposed plan to construct at least 1,500 homes between Thatcham and Bucklebury which, although it might in time help with the second and perhaps the first of these, won’t do much for any of the others. The matter is, however, to a certain extent sub judice as this and every other aspect of WBC’s local plan is currently being considered by the Planning Inspectorate.

He might also not want to tempt her into making, as her predecessor in this part of the constituency Laura Farris did, a statement that appeared to oppose the proposal following a public meeting in Bucklebury. A different statement she released a week or so later seems strongly to suggest that she’s been given a rap across the knuckles by Tory HQ for intervening in a local planning decision being taken by a local (Tory) council. As Olivia Bailey is, of course, of the red persuasion and as it’s still the WBC Conservative’s plan which is being considered, she may be more outspoken. She may, of course, agree with this proposal: in which case Chris Read is probably wise not to invite her to opine on it.

He also makes the wider point that WBC “currently has to send over £60m per year of local business rates to Westminster. We as a community think all that should be re-invested back into our local communities to keep our rural and local services operating.” It’s worth pointing out that these funds are then re-distributed to councils which do not raise enough from business rates. However many, including a Commons Select Committee, have recently questioned whether this system is working as well as it should.

• Other news

Our usual round-up of  local news includes litter, darts, fetes, comedy and a leisure survey – plus a look at a Upper Bucklebury’s village status, two reports on the local plan relevant to the SP17 development and choose to refuse during Plastic-free July  See also below for community notices and news from your local council.

Upcoming Thatcham area events include litter picking & charity dartathon.See below for details, plus regular events and group activities. 

• Upper Buclekbury’s status

The minutes of the 10 June meeting of Bucklebury Parish Council contained the following observation in the ward member’s report: “Upper Bucklebury appears to have become a service village, despite there having been no consultation with the parish. District Councillor Read is investigating the situation.”

I spoke to Chris Read about this on 4 July and he confirmed that this was from one of the many documents which had been looked at as part of the examination of the local plan. I believe that it is this one.

Section 1.2 explains that “The local plan review includes a re-assessment of our existing settlement hierarchy. The settlement hierarchy will guide the broad location of new and sustainable development. It provides a snapshot in time of the facilities and accessibility to services within the different settlements of West Berkshire to help establish their level of sustainability.”

There are five categories of settlement: urban areas; rural service centres; service villages; smaller villages with settlement boundaries; and open countryside.

The status which a community is allocated has relevance for a number of planning matters: in essence, the more facilities and amenities there are, the higher the status and therefore the more likely it is that development will be approved. Communities will be keen to ensure that they are not allocated in an inappropriate category.

Residents of Upper Bucklebury may thus have been surprised and alarmed to read that their community had seemingly been upgraded despite there recently having been next to nothing in the way of infrastructure improvement to support this. It appears, however, that this  is merely an intermediate ranking – a case of WBC “showing its workings” – and the actual designation has not been changed (see the table at the very end of the document). I understand that there will be consultation if this is to happen; also that nothing will be formalised in this respect until the refresh of the current draft local plan in about five years’ time.

If the NE Thatcham plan goes ahead – probably the main matter that the local plan examination is considering – then of course the character of the whole of Bucklebury will be changed for good. This might result in more infrastructure; which might result in a later re-classification; which might then result in more development. One thing at a time though as we currently await what the Inspector thinks about the robustness or otherwise of the NE Thatcham plan. Residents of Bucklebury, Upper and otherwise, will continue to watch this matter with interest.

• Inspecting the plan

The first of these reports from Bucklebury Parish Council (BPC) was written shortly before the hearing at the Local Plan Inspection on 26 June and the second just after it. Both of these – and much more besides – can be found the Bucklebury’s magazine, The Oaks. Residents will have copies dropping through their letterbox in the next few days. You can also click here to see this and previous editions of the publication.

First report

A report on the public hearings in May into the West Berkshire Council Local Plan was posted on the PC website. We have now learned there will be a further day where the Inspector will examine WBC’s statement of common ground with the NE Thatcham developers on a realistic timetable for the future development. You can be assured your PC and its consultants will attend and make robust challenge where appropriate. Whatever the outcome of the Inspector’s examination when it is known early in the autumn, BPC will need to respond to either consultation on a modified Local Plan or comment on a planning application for the NE Thatcham site.

Second report

There was a further day of hearings in late June on the NE Thatcham proposed development (SP17) at the Inspector’s request. A good deal of time was taken up with discussion on green infrastructure (GI) and secondary school funding. WBC now intends that a GI buffer should extend further down from top of the SP17 site (ie  away from Upper Bucklebury). The Inquiry learned there are gas and oil pipelines crossing SP17 which constrain where development can take place. The Inquiry was also made aware of a significant funding gap for the provision of a secondary school.

We continued to make the point that there is still no consideration given in SP17 to the impact of much increased projected traffic levels in Upper Bucklebury and Cold Ash.

There is still a lack of common ground between WBC and the developers on the need for a masterplan for SP17 to be written and fully consulted upon before any planning application is submitted. For the developers, the viability of SP17 at 1,500 homes would appear to be in question. It would seem the Inspector has in mind a further day of hearings to see if these points of difference can be resolved.

• Chose to refuse during Plastic-free July

• Other news