Turning back the pages: 10 years ago

SINGER Jamie Bruce has apologised after suggesting on Twitter that a young Henley rock band should be working at McDonald’s. The 35-year-old’s comments were in response to an insult directed at him on the site by teenage metal quartet To Burn and Blossom. This followed an incident at the town’s Music on the Meadows festival on Sunday in which Bruce allegedly mocked their performance. The musician, a former The Voice finallist, says this was due to a misunderstanding.

More housing sites are needed in Henley than those named in its draft neighbourhood plan, South Oxfordshire District Council has warned. The planning authority says the nine plots identified in the document may not be enough to ensure the town’s requirements are met. It was responding to a seven-week consultation on the plan, which also covers Harpsden parish. The draft allocates space for between 400 and 485 homes to be built by 2027.

The first smart playground in the UK has officially been opened in Henley. The toddler playground in Mill Meadows combines play equipment with smartphone technology at a cost of £13,000.