These notes incorporate some but not all of the matters discussed at the HTC meeting on 2 June 2025, the agenda for which can be found here. The official minutes of the meeting will in due course be found on the HTC site. Any references below to “the meeting” refer to this event unless specified otherwise. Any such issues are not necessarily covered here in the order in which they were discussed. This report may also include information about HTC’s activities which were not discussed at the meeting.
Full Council Meetings generally take place at 7pm in the Library on the first working Monday of every month, or on the first Tuesday if the first Monday is a bank holiday.
The agenda for the future meetings (as well as for the Council’s various committee meetings) can be found in this section of the HTC website.
See the foot of this post for more information.
HTC = Hungerford Town Council; WBC = West Berkshire Council; WAPC = WBC’s WBC’s Western Area Planning Committee. NDP = Neighbourhood Development Plan. H2036 = Hungerford’s NDP (so-called until October 2023). HNP = Hungerford’s NDP (from October 2023). DC = District Councillor; TVP = Thames Valley Police.
For HTC updates from previous months, please visit the archives here.
The Hungerford Resource Centre
Zoe Williams and her collegues from the Hungerford Resource Centre (HRC) addressed the meeting.
She referred to the fact that the future of the HRC and the two other Centres in Calcot and Newbury were currently uncertain as WBC’s February budget meeting had suggested that these services might be provided in another way. She said that she wasn’t going to cover this point (which was still being discussed with WBC) but rather provide a summary of what the HRC offered.
The HRC was, she explained, “a purpose-built day centre dedicated to providing compassionate support to individuals who face unique challenges in their daily lives including physical, neurological and cognitive conditions, general health issues and those living with dementia or socially isolated.” She went on to stress the wide range of benefits that users derived including “maintaining and developing functional, cognitive and social abilities.”
The HRC also organises activities within the Centre, visits from a wide range of groups including schoolchildren and entertainers, and trips to other places. “Our customers can maintain links with the community,” as she summarised it, “and the community can benefit from being involved in the activities we provide.”
Although she admitted that there were other “wonderful groups and services available locally”, she said that the level of care that Hungerford Resource Centre provides is unique. Staff are trained “to deliver person-centred care that supports customers all-round well being.” They also work with families and carers to ensure the best possible service and also with other organisations to provide “responsive and holistic care.”
She also pointed out the importance of the respite service it provided, enabling carers to “recharge batteries, maintain social connections and in some cases make time for work.”
While this period of discussion with WBC was continuing, she was keen to stress that the centre is “operating as usual. We urge anyone who knows someone who would benefit from this incredible service to contact us either directly or through WBC’s adult social team.”
More information on the HRC can be found here. You can also contact the Centre directly on 01488 682 601.
In response to a comment by the Mayor, she admitted that “day centre” was how she described them (indeed, “Community and Day Centres” is the heading of the WBC web page on these) but that the official name of “Resource Centre”, which didn’t really describe what they did, was one they were stuck with.
The Mayor added that this was one of the (probably few) places in the town she’d never visited during her term in office and Zoe Williams said that she would be happy to organise this for any councillors or ward members who wished to attend. Suggestions were also made by some councillors about other groups with which the HRC could forge mutually beneficial relationships.
More information about the future of the district’s three Resource Centres, including this one, will be provided in Penny Post as soon as this is available.
Actions from the previous meeting
- Vegetation at Station Road car park. WBC had agreed that HTC could do the cut-back of this and that a working party would do the work on Thursday 4 September (the delay being caused by the nesting season). Volunteers are welcome. DC Gaines would organise for certian car-parking spaces to be closed off to facilitate access.
- The wall at Station Road car park. This is in a severe state of dilapidation but it’s WBC’s responsibility to fix. WCS is aware of the matter.
- The bus stop on Salisbury Road south of the Priory Road roundabout. This is in a similar condtition of decay to the above-mentioned wall. WBC has been notified.
- Garages at some Sovereign Houses properties. DC Gaines has contacted Sovereign about this and is chasing for a reply.
- The verge on the A338 south of the Care Home. The owners of the Care Home and WBC have been apprised of the problems and dangers of this “route”, which is used of necessity by some pedestrians. HTC feels that, in so doing, it’s accomplished all it can in this matter.
- A meeting with the North Wessex Downs regarding planning matters. This has provisionally been arranged for 18 or 19 June.
Councillor co-options
Having attended various HTC committee meetigs over the last month, the three candidates for co-option (Nia Day, Simon Mulholland and Jane Brunning) were present at the meeting. All three were co-opted unanimously.
New councillor needed
As a result of the above, HTC still has a vacancy for one councillor. You can find out more information by clicking here.
“All councillors meet for Full Council, usually the first Monday of every month,” Hungerford TC’s website explains. “You would also be required to join at least two other committees, so attending around three meetings a month. There are a variety of committees to choose from and free training is available. Outside of meetings most correspondence is by email but there are also site meetings, civic events and hands on tasks depending on your interest. It is quite a commitment but very rewarding.”
The Mayor’s report
In Memory – Rob Brookman
It is with great sadness that we share the news of the passing of former councillor Rob Brookman. Rob passed away peacefully with his wife Penny by his side.
Rob will be remembered fondly for his dedicated service to HTC particularly through his longstanding chairmanship of the Highways and Transport Committee. He played a key role in ensuring the smooth running of the town’s annual Christmas lights installation, a highlight in the community calendar. Personally, I am grateful for the guidance and support Rob offered me when I first joined the council.
On behalf of HTC, we extend our heartfelt condolences to Penny, Rob’s family, and all who knew him.
Mayor’s Appointment
I was honoured to have been re-elected for my eighth and final (I know, I’ve said this before) term as Mayor of Hungerford. It continues to be a great privilege to serve our town in this role.
I’d like to express sincere thanks to Councillor James Cole for his valued support as Deputy Mayor during the past year. I am also pleased to welcome Councillor Claire Winser as Deputy Mayor for 2025/26. I look forward to working alongside Claire and the full council team in continuing to serve our community.
We also extend our thanks and best wishes to former Mayor Keith Knight, who has chosen to step back from HTC. Keith remains active in his many volunteer roles, and we thank him for his loyal support and significant contributions over the last decade.
As we move forward, we are enthusiastic about welcoming new members to fill the current councillor vacancies and strengthen our team.
Clarification – CHAIN Magazine Article
I would like to address a miscommunication that appeared in a recent CHAIN magazine article. While Hungerford Town Council has a strong and valued working relationship with our local Royal British Legion (RBL), the upcoming events for Armed Forces Day (28th June) and VJ Day (15th August) have been organised by RBL, not HTC. HTC will of course be attending and supporting these events, just as we did at the recent VE Day service.
As in previous years, HTC will co-organise the Remembrance Day service in November in collaboration with the RBL. Our apologies have already been sent in response to this earlier misunderstanding.
Twinning visit from Ligueil
On 23rd May, I had the pleasure of joining Hungerford’s Twinning Association, alongside Constable of the Town & Manor Philip Porter, to welcome seven intrepid cyclists from our twin town of Ligueil. All aged over 70, the group completed their journey to Hungerford, supported on the final stretch by two local cyclists.
The group received a warm Hungerford welcome, followed by a reception and well-earned refreshments at the Hub. I was honoured to receive a beautifully handwritten letter from Ligueil’s Mayor, Michel Guignaudeau, along with a commemorative bronze plaque. In return, I sent a letter and small gift on behalf of Hungerford.
This year marks the 45th anniversary of our twinning with Ligueil, and we look forward to a return visit in July. Special thanks to Constable Philip Porter for his excellent French, which helped make our guests feel especially welcome.
Neighbourhood Plan update
The Regulation 16 consultation period for our Neighbourhood Plan has now closed. The Neighbourhood Plan team will meet shortly to review and consider the responses received. We will keep the Council updated on next steps as the process moves forward. See also the separate section below.
Ongoing matters
Although this report is quite short and later than I wanted to share, there is a lot happening which we will report/share as soon as there is more news. These include:
- Residents’ letters over concerns regarding pigeon numbers – HTC is looking at humane methods available and costs.
- Police –meeting with key stakeholders to address resident concerns; plus understanding the concerns of neighbouring parishes who are equally concerned. See also the separate section below.
- On-going concerns relating to Sovereign maintenance of Hungerford assets.
- Hungerford Community Shed sub-lease.
- Public concerns relating to pedestrian safety on a missing section of footway.
- Britain in Bloom.
Policing in the town
Last month, the Mayor made some specific comments about the changes to the policing in the town. There was agreement that she should continue to lobby, including with PCC Matthew Barber, for a more favourable outcome for the town. She told the meeting that that she had been in touch with parish councils representing other communities and that a similar level of disquiet was being felt elsewhere.
The Mayor’s various responses to this issue since it first emerged in late December 2024 are summarised in this separate article.
She said that a meeting had been arranged which would include all key stakeholders (including the MP and the PCC) and that she’d report back once this had happened.
District Councillor’s report
Only DC Bennyworth was present at the meeting. The points he covered were as follows:
- A personal tribute to Rob Brookman with whom he had worked closely on many HTC-related matters over many years.
- 20mph spped limits. Nothing definite to report but he merely mentioned that WBC was looking into these in some areas. It was currently unclear as to whether the High Street’s being an A road precluded this, as some have claimed (such a limit is currently in force in Marlborough’s High Street, which is also the A4).
- He urged residents who needed to tell WBC about an issue to use the Council’s Report a problem webpage. In a discussion arising from this, it was agreed that there are some matters (such as broken manhole covers and low-hanging cables) at which WBC is at the mercy of utility companies.
- Hungerford Park’s latest planning application. He remarked that this was to have come before WAPC recently but was withdrawn at the last minute.
- High Street street cleaning. He has chased this long-standing matter up again but with no definite news to report. At rhe meeting, he was asked to stress to WBC that having this attended to before the Britain in Bloom judging in July would be very well received locally.
Contact details for the Hungerford & Kintbury ward members (and all the other ones) can be found by clicking here.
The Hungerford neighbourhood development plan (HNP)
The Regulation 16 consultation stage of the HNDP has now closed. Forty-six comments (slightly more than might have been expected) have been received. These, along with the full plan, will be forwarded to Andrew Mead, the Planning Inspector who will conduct the independent examination. HTC was able to choose him from a short list provided by WBC and selected him because of his experience at examining other NDPs in the district, including those at Hermitage, Cold Ash and Compton. He should thus be familiar with many of WBC’s policies.
It remains to be seen when, or if, he will decide to hold any public sessions as part of his examination. Wide publicity will be provided if this is the case.
This aside, the only remaining point at which residents’ views are required will be in a simple yes/no referendum question at a date, likely to be some months hence, to be confirmed. This will also be given wide local publicity. Assuming the vote is in favour, it will then become as much a part of WBC’s own local plan as if it had written it itself. WBC’s own new local plan is likely to be adopted by WBC’s Full Council on 10 June. if approved, the HNDP will then be folded into this.
For more information on the HNP project, see this separate post.
Heritage and conservation
Councillor James Cole said that WBC had finally appointed another a new conservation officer. This might, he suggested, speed up the previously painfully slow process by which buildings of features of historical interest could be added to the list of local heritage assets. This provides some protection for them during the planning process. More information on the process can be found here and the contact form can be found here. James Cole – cllr.james.cole@hungerford-tc.gov.uk – can also provide more information.
He also suggested that this recent appointment should also lead to a re-starting of the town’s conservation area reassessment which could, when completed, feed into the town’s NDP. He said that although he and others would be able to help, a project manager with a strong interest in heritage conservation would be needed. For more information, please contact townclerk@hungerford-tc.gov.uk.
The Men’s Shed
It was agreed that wrapping up the final details of the agreement for the Hungerford Men’s Shed to be granted a sub-lease for, and to make alterations to, the Croft Field building would be delegated to the Clerk, the Mayor and the Deputy Mayor to decide.
The Aldi application
This was briefly referred to at the meeting. Application 25/01203/FULMAJ, which was validated by WBC on 27 May, is for “The erection of a 1,725 sqm (gross) Class E discount foodstore with associated access, parking and servicing areas, landscaping, together with highways improvements at the junction of the A4 (Charnham Street) and the B4192.” You can see details of the proposal and comment on it by clicking here and then entering the application reference.
HTC said that it no comment to make on the matter at this stahe as it hadn’t yet been considered by the Environment and Planning Committee.
HTC’s committees
The following committee meetings have recently taken place (“last meeting” refers to the last meeting for which minutes were available on the day this post was published). Environment & Planning generally meets once a month and the others every other month. See the separate section above for meetings relating to the Hungerford Neighbourhood Plan.
- Highways and Transport. (Last meeting 27 May – click here to read the minutes.) Items covered included: the election of the Chair and Deputy; Christmas trees; SIDs and speeding; Britain in Bloom; safety improvements at The Croft; the High Street phone box; WBC’s devolution proposals; gas works in the High Street; the town’s pigeons; proposed double yellow lines opposite Tarrants Hill; hedge obstruction in Church Way; the Hungerford Newtown verge on the A338; the poor state of garages in Park Way and Orchard View Close; priory Road charging point; and grass cutting.
- Environment and Planning. (Last meeting 12 May – click here to see the minutes.) Items covered included: the election of the Chair and Deputy; five planning applications (three no objection, two no comment); and case officer reports.
- Finance and General Purposes. (Last meeting 14 May – click here to read the minutes.) Items covered included: Hungerford’s account; general financial and compliance matters; the Local Council Risks System; the solar panels on the Library; Hungerford Shed; the War Memorial at Bridge Street; and grant applications.
- Recreation, Amenities and War Memorials. (Last meeting 19 May – click here to read the minutes.) Items covered included: the election of the Chair and Deputy; repairs and maintenance; the RoSPA report; the Triangle Field; St Lawrence’s Churchyard; St Saviour’s Cemetery; the playgrounds; the skatepark; the War memorial Avenue; the allotments; the Hub; the tree programme; the Leisure Centre; and the Cricket Club benches.
Note: if the links above don’t work, this may be because they were linked to unadopted (draft) minutes which have since been replaced by adopted ones. If so, please visit this page of HTC’s website for the most up-to-date information on meetings past and the agendas of those yet to come.
For details on HTC’s committees, including membership, agendas and minutes, please click here (and go to the “Town Council” tab).
The Police
No report was provided for the meeting.
For more on the changes to policing arrangements in Hungerfgord, see the separate section above.
The local police team
The current set-up of the team is one Inspector, one Sergeant [but see above], three Police Constables and four PCSOs to cover the Hungerford and Downlands area. Please see below for how to contact them.
Crime and incident statistics
It was explained at the December meeting that previous discrepancies between the figures reported by the local TVP team and those available for the whole area were due to the former relating only to incidents with which the local TVP team was directly involved.
The total of all reported crimes can be found here. The more you zoom into the Crime Map, the more specific the location of the various crimes will be (within the legal limits of how these can be defined).
Local events
If you have any community events for which you would like representation from your local NHPT, please contact them via the email address below. While local TVP representatives cannot guarantee always to be able to attend, they will make every effort to do so.
General information (including contacts)
- Please report all incidents to the Police or otherwise they will not be officially recorded – news travels fast round a community but if no one reports incidents the police may not know about it. Mentioning an incident on social media does not count as reporting the crime.
- People are encouraged to sign up for Thames Valley Alerts. As well as local crime information, you can receive details of the latest scams.
- Thames Valley Police has a Facebook page.
- The local policing team also wants to draw attention to the ‘what three words’ app which is used to help with the prevention of rural crime by locating people. The app provides a three-word code for each grid which is mapped over the world. By ringing 999 and quoting it, the police can locate you.
- If you believe you have been a victim of fraud or cybercrime, please report it to Action Fraud by calling 0300 123 2040, or visiting www.actionfraud.police.uk.
- You can report incidents online but if it is urgent please continue to call on 101 (non-emergency) and 999 in an emergency.
- If you would like to report anonymously you can do so via Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111 or online.
- The team’s email address is HungerfordandDownlandsNHPT@thamesvalley.pnn.police.uk This is not monitored 24/7 and should not be used in an emergency or to report a crime.
- The local police team is keen to promote the Herbert Protocol initiative which helps us all to try to keep vulnerable members of our community safe.
Contacting HTC
HTC can be contacted in the following ways:
- By email to townclerk@hungerford-tc.gov.uk.
- By post to The Town Clerk, Hungerford Town Council, The Library, Church Street, Hungerford RG17 0JG.
- In person at the above address between 10am and 2pm on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Fridays.
- By phone on 01488 686 195.
Any questions for an HTC meeting need to arrive by 2pm on the day (please allow more time if you have left this on the ansafone).
Members of the public are also welcome to attend any meetings.
Contacting WBC in an emergency
You can also contact West Berkshire Council out of office hours for emergencies. These are considered to include:
- Major incidents such as major accidents or significant flooding.
- Fallen trees and other debris blocking or restricting roads or causing potential danger to road users.
- Traffic lights not working (West Berkshire Council only manages fixed traffic lights, not temporary ones).
- Emergency repairs to council-owned temporary accommodation (tenants of properties should contact their housing association, landlord or agent).
The sections above cover the main issues with which HTC has recently been involved or concerned: it by no means describes all of HTC’s activities. Nor is this an official record of any meeting nor of any other aspect of HTC’s activities. Links to the official minutes of this and other meetings are provided in this post. For more information on HTC, please click here.
If there’s anything that you’d like to see addressed by HTC, and perhaps also covered in this way in future editions of Penny Post Hungerford, please email claire.barnes@hungerford-tc.gov.uk. Any such suggestions should be received at least four working days before the end of the month (and preferably sooner) if they are to be included in the corresponding post for the following month. That is not, of course, to say that HTC will not in any case give the matter its attention and respond personally if appropriate.
This information has been compiled by Penny Post from information supplied by HTC and others. Every reasonable effort has been made to provide a clear and dispassionate summary of the points covered but these may contain expressions of opinion which may not accord with HTC’s official view on the matter. Links have been provided to other posts, on the Penny Post site or elsewhere, to give additional information where this has been judged useful or necessary. The presence of such a link should not be taken to imply that HTC necessarily agrees with, endorses or supports any of the material contained therein.
2 Responses
Quoted from Hungerford Town Council Update – May-June 2025:
Actions from the previous meeting
“The verge on the A338 south of the Care Home. The owners of the Care Home and WBC have been apprised of the problems and dangers of this “route”, which is used of necessity by some pedestrians. HTC feels that, in so doing, it’s accomplished all it can in this matter.”
Ongoing matters
“Public concerns relating to pedestrian safety on a missing section of footway.”
———————————————————————-
It seems appalling to me (a 100% pedestrian and NON-car-driver) that this above mentioned verge on the A338 has failed to be made into a proper paved footway/sidewalk.
It almost amounts to a crime that anyone who doesn’t drive and needs to get to the Care Home, has to, instead, endanger their safety by having to walk along the side of this VERY busy main road.
Surely it’s not rocket-science for the Council to take the trouble to use a little imagination, and to have this verge properly made into a paved footway/sidewalk – even if only as far as the Care Home entrance – (though further would always be even better!).
Sadly though, I guess nearly everyone in the Council is a car-driver – well, as are nearly all people – and so this little bit of humanity in providing safe passage for ‘mere’ pedestrians’ gets deemed as not worth spending a bit of time and money on.
Thanks for your comment.
I can see your concern and it’s one that HTC shared by bringing the matter to WBC’s attention. If you contact the HTC office the staff there should be able to give you a bit more background on the issue and what might happen next. Putting in and maintaining a path would be down to WBC, not HTC and WBC is not minded to take on any more responsibilities: rather the reverse, indeed, as https://pennypost.org.uk/2025/05/service-devolution-to-parishes-2025-communication-is-the-key/ considers.