The Henley Society

THE 2021 annual meeting of the Henley Society was held remotely, via the Zoom platform, on April 16 with vice-president Baroness Buscombe of Goring in the chair.

The 70 members who attended were addressed by Henley MP John Howell.

If you missed the meeting, you can read the draft minutes, chairman’s report on our activities for 2020/21 and the chairman of planning’s report on our website, www.thehenleysociety.org

In accordance with the society’s constitution, the executive committee met on Monday, April 26 to elect the chairman and vice-chairman, Geoff Luckett and Julian Brookes respectively. On the same day as the annual meeting, our plans for tree planting on the triangle of land at the junction of Sheephouse Lane and Reading Road came to fruition when the Oxfordshire County Council parks team planted two wild cherry, two rowan, two whitebeam, a field maple and a linden on the site.

This project was led by our executive committee member Catherine Notaras who created the planting scheme and negotiated with our neighbouring parish before the society was given the go-ahead.

Our thanks extend to Harpsden Parish Council and to Councillor Stefan Gawrysiak for his untiring help in assisting with the project.

We have been trying for some years to get permission to plant trees on this site, one of the important gateways to Henley.

We are offering sponsorship of these trees to members at a price of £200 per tree and each tree will be identified by your name on a plaque.

Two trees have been spoken for already by a Henley resident who is dedicating them to each of his two grandchildren.

If you wish to sponsor a tree, please call Catherine on 07474 095807 or email catnotaras@gmail.com She would be delighted to hear from you.

Members will be pleased that there appears to have been a resolution over the Friday Street slipway and Sorbon Estates, which had concreted it over, possibly unlawfully, to make two car parking spaces, has agreed to remove the concrete.

The efforts of the society combined with those of Henley Town Council, South Oxfordshire District Council, the Environment Agency, the River Thames Society and the general public has borne fruit and resulted in this valuable and long-standing amenity being restored to its proper use for the benefit of Henley residents and visitors.

David Whitehead, chairman of our planning committee, is still keen to recruit two additional committee members to help with scrutinising and commenting on planning applications put before Henley Town Council. For more informtion, call David on (01491) 573635.

Geoff Luckett