Your Letters

So much for helping pubs

The Greyhound pub in Whitchurch has been an increasingly important community hub since local pub chain Oak Taverns took over just over a year ago.

Oak Taverns, based in Thame, runs eight pubs in South Oxfordshire and in the past year has started partnering with local food traders, usually with food trucks or marquees in the pub car park, serving a variety of different food on different nights, tacos on Tuesday etc.

This has been hugely popular and was seen by many as a win-win-win for the pub owners selling more drinks, new business for local food traders and an innovative service for the community.

This came to an abrupt end late last week when South Oxfordshire District Council’s licensing team told Oak Taverns that the food trade needed to stop until all food traders started paying fees as mobile food traders.

Clearly the council’s licensing policies have been developed for good reasons and need to be adhered to.

My understanding is that all of these food traders are fully licensed but were not aware that street truck licences were required in this situation.

Oak Taverns has stated that it is committed to working with the council and the food vendors to comply but the situation is not at all straightforward and it will take some time and co-operation from the council to resolve.

So why are we now in a situation where eight local pubs and up to 32 local food traders across South Oxfordshire are facing another blow from local government during their peak summer season?

Can’t the council find a way of working constructively with the local business involved as partners without shutting it all down?

What happened to its commitment to do everything in its power to support community pubs and its priority to support local businesses? — Yours faithfully,

Jim Donahue

Chairman, Whitchurch Parish Council

Admirable ambition

Sir, — I suspect that Douglas Kedge’s active cycling days are behind him, otherwise he might not have given such a curmudgeonly response to the plan for a cycle path between Sonning Common and Emmer Green (Standard, August 4).

Anyone who has cycled along the B481 into Reading or back — as I have on as number of occasions going to and from Reading station to undertake cycling trips around the country — will know that it is an absolutely horror at all times and alarmingly hazardous at dusk or night.

The proposed cycle route would be of huge benefit both to Emmer Green and Sonning Common and might play a significant part in promoting cycle use by those working in Reading.

Mr Kedge ungenerously asks why Sonning Common Parish Council should be financing a facility that would be used by Emmer Green residents. My answer is another question: does that matter in the least? A cyclist is a cyclist wherever they come from.

The suggested cost is indeed formidable but perhaps grants will be available to make it happen.

Anyway, it is good for a parish council to have high ambitions. — Yours faithfully,

Tom Fort

Sonning Common

Cycleway is much needed

Sir, — Your correspondent Douglas Kedge raises some important points regarding the proposed cycleway, which I am sure the working party has already taken or will take into account.

However, it is surprising that he makes no mention of the fact that it will also provide a much-needed pedestrian access to Reading.

As a commoner who likes walking and cycling but hesitates to use the B481 between Emmer Green and Sonning Common, I would welcome any reasonably direct off-road route which allows both pedestrians and cyclists to have safer access to Reading.

It is important that, as we slowly move away from a total reliance on motorised transport in order to reduce pressure on the environment, a safe alternative route to the major commercial and transport centre of Reading should be provided. — Yours faithfully,

Alastair Morris

Sonning Common

Delivering real benefits

The cycleway working party would like to thank Douglas Kedge for raising his questions relating to the proposed Sonning Common-Emmer Green cycleway and giving us an opportunity to share further information more widely.

Taking his questions in order:

1 and 2 — Regular use by Emmer Green or Sonning Common communities. Fifty seven per cent of the 648 Emmer Green respondents (372) and 57 per cent of the 565 Sonning Common respondents (324) indicated they would use a cycleway “regularly”.

Respondents noted various use-cases, including commuting to work, travelling to school, travelling to play sport or to commute from Sonning Common to Reading and beyond.

The working party is confident that establishing a safe route between Sonning Common and Reading will be to the benefit of all communities and users of the B481.

3 — Viability. Civic funds for projects such as ours are indeed limited and demand outstrips supply.

Nevertheless, Oxfordshire County Council has identified the Reading-Sonning Common-Wallingford link in its strategic active travel network and the working party has achieved positive support from the council’s active travel team.

The project is viable and we intend to continue the discovery and learning activities required to initiate it fully.

4 — Funding. From the outset of the project, the working party has run with a working assumption that necessary funds would be raised from a variety of sources as it was unlikely that a single body would be able to provide the level of funding required.

The advice we have received from civic bodies and experts has validated that assumption and we continue to research all available grant and charitable donation schemes which could be approached for funding.

Our indicative costs include all costs and fees, again validated with experts in the field.

5 — Route ownership and its associated obligations. We do not expect that legal ownership of, or any ongoing maintenance obligation to, the cycleway will lie with the parish council.

Rather, a separate legal entity will be established, potentially partnering with an organisation experienced in greenway construction and maintenance. This is the model for most successful projects of this kind.

Yearly maintenance is generally modest and can be covered via charitable means, sponsorship and volunteering.

6 — Administrative burden during construction and long-term maintenance.

All project work will be managed by the members of the project team. Ongoing maintenance will be managed by the legal entity established by the project team. No support is expected from the parish office.

In summary, we firmly believe that the project objectives are achievable and that considerable civic benefits will be delivered for generations of residents to come.

The working party welcomes new joiners and would particularly value support from volunteers with experience in fundraising, civil engineering, planning and legal matters relating to land ownership and leasing. — Yours faithfully,

Neville Varnham

Sonning Common cycleway working party

Let PM do his job

Sir, — In his indignant comments on Rishi Sunak’s ignored “promises” (Standard, August 4), Steve Dawe fails to recognise a prime minister’s primary responsibility as head of government is the defence of the nation and its citizens.

Such responsibility would naturally include many global matters that affect the nation and its citizens, the climate crisis being of the highest importance.

Ensuring security of the UK’s future sources of energy while supporting measures to reduce the global use of fossil fuels is entirely rational, particularly in relation to the greater vulnerability of an island nation.

Maybe Mr Dawe and the referred to 20 million fellow environmentalists’ time might be better spent, for example, by challenging Germany’s closure of nuclear power stations, which has had the direct effect of increasing fossil fuel usage and the inevitable rise in global contamination. — Yours faithfully,

R Michael James

Lambridge Wood Road, Henley

System has failed us

Sir, — You report that we villagers of Binfield Heath are upset at plans for two detached houses being cramped into the garden of our village shop and post office, adjacent to the popular local playground (Standard, July 28).

This would undoubtedly result in a significant profit for the developer while the local residents could look forward to persistent noise, traffic chaos and road closures for about 18 months with a legacy of less green space, more on-road parking and increased risk for pedestrians and traffic.

Importantly, the viability of the shop, a vital asset for the local community, would be threatened.

It is wrong that consideration of this balance of outcomes forms no part of the planning assessment.

Furthermore, it is already known that the developer has future plans to subdivide the existing shop accommodation, which would exacerbate all these problems and inevitably result in closure of the shop.

It is another failure of the planning system that the current application can be decided without consideration of this wider scheme. — Yours faithfully,

Nick Fairbrother

Binfield Heath

We help rail users too

Sir, — I refer to your article “Rail user group folds…” (Standard, August 4).

Space limitations no doubt prevented you sharing full contact details for the Henley Trains rail community, which continues to actively cover all users of the branch line.

We’ve been very busy helping Henley rail users directly through Henley Community Matters on Facebook and through our local paper (print and online) since 2015.

The group is not short of members (120 for email on bigger issues, 750 for daily support on Twitter) and we welcome courteous new members.

Locals may see us helping on the platforms at critical times alongside Great Western Railway staff, for example, during the uncertainty of major timetable or equipment changes.

We also welcome our town’s visitors and see them off safely again at Henley station during the royal regatta period to bring a local connection to what might otherwise just be “tickets and railcards”.

We support inbound students, workers and visitors as well as our outbound commuters and encourage visitors to visit our local businesses and charities with #comebytrain retweets of events.

We encourage rail users who are looking for a rail-focused active group to contact us and/or join us at henleytrains@gmail.com or on X (Twitter) @henleytrains

See you soon. — Yours faithfully,

Neil Gunnell

Hub for Henley Trains, Blandy Road, Henley

Vigilance required

The Henley Users Group, has achieved a lot since 2014.

The current major upgrade of the track in Shiplake had been an ongoing campaign of the group with local residents.

Other objectives, such as the proposed cycle route from Henley to Shiplake, and the possibility of introducing quieter hybrid trains, remain.

The overriding concern, however, for the organisation that takes over from HBUG is the protection of the branch line and the urrent services. Vigilance will be required, as before. — Yours faithfully,

Dr Ray Wild

New Road, Lower Shiplake

Dangerous vegetation

Sir, — Isn’t it about time that the council cut back the overgrown vegetation and basal growth on the lime trees by the exit of Fairmile Cemetery in Henley?

I frequently visit loved ones at the cemetery and exiting from the dual carriageway end is becoming increasingly dangerous.

As you look to the right, the lime trees have basal growth that needs removing so you can see what is coming. As you move to the left, the mixed species hedge that borders the carriageway either side is in desperate need of cutting so you can see what is coming from the left.

This is a fast road, where car and motorcycle drivers like to “flex their engines”.

I appreciate that councils are stretched but am confident they have adequate staff and machinery to deal with this, hopefully as a matter of urgency. — Yours faithfully,

Ronnie Chalk

South Avenue, Henley

So proud of our gardens

Many thanks for reporting the good news that Caversham Court Gardens have been awarded the Green Flag and Green Heritage Accreditation for 2023 (Standard, August 4).

The Friends of Caversham Court Gardens are proud to add that the gardens have won these prestigious awards every year since 2010 following a major refurbishment funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund and Reading Borough Council. — Yours faithfully,

Vickie Abel

Chair, Friends of Caversham Court Gardens

Second encounter

Editor, — Further to my letter on an enjoyable encounter I had with a gentleman from Hong Kong who was grateful for the UK promise of residence (Standard, August 4), I was pleasantly surprised when I found that I was sitting beside him and his wife at church on Sunday.

After the service he introduced me to his wife and over a cup of tea I discovered that both were journalists who had left behind the press restrictions of their homeland. — Yours faithfully,

Douglas Wright

Caversham

Model of efficiency

Last week I called at the Bell Surgery in Henley and received an appointment for Thursday morning with my designated doctor, who decided on a referral to a specialist.

The next morning (Friday) there was an email in my inbox, offering an appointment on August 16 at Townlands Memorial Hospital, thus avoiding a journey to Reading and the difficulties with parking at the Royal Berkshire Hospital. I then received a reminder over the weekend — a great testimony to the inner workings of all those involved at the Bell Surgery and the NHS appointments system.

And how very fortunate we are to have Townlands in Henley. — Yours faithfully,

Pamela Stuart

Henley

Apt name for letter writer

Sir, — Sitting at home gazing out at the rainy and windy garden, which is reminding us of October rather than August, the (very apt) letter from a reader concerning the jet stream and its effects did make me chuckle — it was from a Mr Fairweather!

I am sure I won’t be the only one to have noticed this. — Yours faithfully,

Ann Spicer

Gallowstree Common

Colour for Christmas

Sir, — Great news that at last Henley will be getting new Christmas lights (Standard, August 4).

Unfortunately, it sounds as if it will be probably white lighting (boring), which is a shame because just for a few weeks a year it would be lovely to see lots of colour, making it fun and cheerful — Blackpool on Thames.

Needless to say that won’t happen as Councillor Kellie Hinton won’t have “tacky”. — Yours faithfully,

Jenny Hadley

Leaver Road, Henley