25 years ago

PLANS to move Henley railway station to a site further down the track have been unveiled. Railtrack is considering moving it a quarter of a mile towards Shiplake to land adjacent to the River & Rowing Museum and the new Perpetual Park building. A Railtrack spokesman said the idea was being “floated about” among Henley businesses.

A power cut shut down the whole of Henley on Monday afternoon. Up to 8,000 homes were affected with some residents being without electricity for up to three hours. An equipment failure at the Belle Vue Road substation was blamed for the power cut after a cable fault caused a number of high voltage circuits to trip out. Dave Beck, who lives opposite the power plant, described hearing a loud bang and seeing flames just after 3pm.

Henley Magistrates’ Court will close at the end of March, despite a hard-fought battle to keep it open. The Lord Chancellor has dismissed a last-ditch appeal to prevent the court from being shut, saying that the workload can be “readily absorbed” at other court houses. Henley MP Michael Heseltine had protested at the proposed closure.