25 years ago

RESIDENTS of New Street, Henley, should be exempt from parking fines, claimed a man who appeared before the town’s magistrates on Tuesday. Peter Chalkley, who lives in the street, pleaded not guilty to leaving his car longer than two hours in a restricted area outside his home and said if he got a parking ticket then everyone in the road should. Helen Chambers, prosecuting, said his comments were mitigation, not a defence in law. After he was fined £20, Chalkley said he would consider an appeal.

Air rifle shootings in the area continued this week when a prized show cat was shot at Remenham Hill. The cat, which belongs to Scott McGregory, looks likely to survive despite being shot in the chest on Friday. The attack came a week after a gunman shot a 15-year-old boy in the leg with an air rifle in woods behind the Swiss Farm camp site.

Plans for four local golf courses have been thrown out and a decision on a fifth deferred by local planners. But proposals for an 18-hole golf course close to the Pack Saddle pub at Mapledurham have been given the go-ahead. The development, which was given outline permission early last year, means a change of use of 153 acres of mostly farmland.