Misguided rejection

Misguided rejection

Sir, — The arrogance and complacency displayed by South Oxfordshire District Council’s head of planning, Adrian Duffield, in refusing the proposed housing development at Maiden Erlegh Chiltern Edge School in Sonning Common is breathtaking (Standard, November 17).

This, remember, is a development supported by the parish council and by the community through its overwhelming backing for the village’s neighbourhood plan.

Mr Duffield could, if he had wanted to, referred the application to his council’s planning committee.

It could have been discussed. Elected councillors could have questioned the planning officer involved. The public could have watched and listened. That is local democracy.

Instead he chose to issue what is, in effect, a decree. Why? I can only assume it was to prevent any discussion or scrutiny and the possibility of the elected councillors listening to the people and going against him.

The first — and presumably primary — reason he gives for refusal is that the development would mean “the loss of a significant area of playing field, which is not considered to be surplus, and no mitigation is proposed for the loss”.

Both statements are simply wrong — the playing field in question has not been used for school sport for many years and mitigation on a significant scale has been proposed.

My hope now is the school and its agents decide to lodge an appeal.

I believe Mr Duffield would find it well nigh impossible to justify his course of action to a planning inspector.

When I think of the work that I and so many others put into drawing up our neighbourhood plan over more than 10 years, and the way the village committed to it, only to see it thrown to one side by Mr Duffield as if it counted for nothing, I want to weep. — Yours faithfully,

Tom Fort

Sonning Common

Save our beds (again)

I did once think we lived in a democracy but that now seems to be a fading memory.

Having read your articles about the decision to close the Chilterns Court respite care beds at the end of December by an out of touch and non-accountable group of health chiefs, I am more convinced than ever.

The most shameful part of this decision is that our doctors and interested parties were not even consulted.

This is obviously a money-saving exercise without any regard for those who will be affected and this at a time when there is a chronic shortage of carers and nurses who are now being run ragged to cope with their existing workloads as it is.

Plus that old chestnut about care in the home does not suit all occasions.

Perhaps the great and the good of Henley naysayers who have lost the plot over the proposed lights on the bridge should sharpen their minds and deeds before it is too late. I can remember, not so many years ago, when we took to the streets to oppose the complete closure of Townlands Hospital and, after a very long campaign by local GPs and the Townlands Steering Group, we won the day.

However, on the hospital’s completion there was a sting in the tail, which was that the promised 12 respite beds for patients to rehabiliate and to help ease the bed blocking at the Royal Berkshire Hospital in Reading were no longer going to be provided.

This provision was part of the old hospital’s remit and after much more fighting by the steering group it was agreed to provide beds in the new Chilterns Court facility for this purpose.

Unfortunately, this closure decision by health bosses will mean patients being shipped to Wallingford and elsewhere in Oxfordshire where there is spare capacity, miles from family and friends and with all the transport and lengthy journeys this will incur.

So, Henley residents, wake up to this reality as this could happen to a loved one or someone you know.

Forget the bridge lights and complain about something that really matters and is happening in the very near future.

You never know, our MP may get involved if he can find time away from all the various committees he works on. — Yours faithfully,

Dave Palmer

Swiss Farm, Henley

Question for all drivers

I read the report about the deaths of two young men caused by drink-driving with great sorrow (Standard, November 17).

A long time ago the Royal Air Force carried out some serious research on the effect of alcohol on the performance of aircrew using simulators instead of real aeroplanes.

We all have a little alcohol in our blood as a result of digesting food.

The RAF found that as soon as an increase in blood alcohol could be detected, the aircrew’;s performance deteriorated significantly.

I suggest that all drivers ask themselves, “Although my driving skill is fantastic, can I responsibly drive after deliberately impairing that skill by drinking alcohol?” — Yours faithfully,

Tom Geake

Red House Drive, Sonning Common

Prioritising potholes

Sir, — I was interested to read the correspondence about potholes (Standard, November 17).

As an Oxfordshire county councillor, I receive more emails about roads and drains than anything else — by a massive margin.

Most other councillors are in a similar position, so you would expect these matters to be a priority for Oxfordshire County Council, but no, this is not the case.

The Liberal Democrat administration that runs the council lists its nine priorities on the council website and roads and drains don’t even get a mention.

In fact, one of the objectives is to reduce car journeys, not make roads better. It’s fine for residents in the city of Oxford but no use to rural residents who are dependent on their cars.

Officers have to work within the priorities that are set by the administration and the budgets available; they do this to the best of their ability.

As roads are not a priority, they are maintained purely in accordance with basic statutory requirements. Trying to shift the blame on to central government is disingenuous, especially in the light of the recent announcement directing more road funding to councils. — Yours faithfully,

Councillor David Bartholomew

Conservative, Sonning Common division, Oxfordshire County Council

Here’s where money went

Sir, — The spokesman for Oxfordshire County Council, in reply to Vic Angell’s complaint about unfilled potholes, claimed that the council does not have adequate funds to do what is necessary.

However, £8 million has been spent by the council on establishing 20mph speed limits across Oxfordshire, even though the police have refused to enforce this new restriction.

On Saturday, I spent an hour in Wood Lane, Sonning Common, the most hazardous road in the village for pedestrians, where the speed limit is 20mph.

I estimated the speed of all the vehicles using the road at that time. Out of a total of 191 vehicles, 179 were clearly going at about 30mph and 12 at 20mph to 25mph.

I made a similar one-hour survey in Kennylands Road on the border of the village (also with a 20mph limit) on Monday. Out of the 182 vehicles passing at that time, 169 were clearly going at between 30mph and 35mph and 13 between 20mph and 25mph.

The argument that in time drivers will learn to obey the new signs is naïve, to say the least.

I appreciate that my surveys were without a speed camera and were obviously subjective but after 50 years on the road I think I have a reasonable sense of speed levels.

Perhaps those who will question my findings should make similar surveys on one or two 20mph roads close to them. I am sure that they will find that the picture is much the same.

It seems clear that the whole 20mph project is an expensive farce, the money-wasting product of councillors who live in a world largely unrelated to the realities of life.

How many potholes could have been filled for £8 million? — Your faithfully,

Douglas Kedge

Lea Road, Sonning Common

If Reading can do it...

Sir, — Recent letters about potholes are nothing new.

And the answer from the highways department at Oxfordshire County Council was rather depressing but why paint a white line over a badly potholed road?

In Wood Lane, Sonning Common, a year or so ago, we were enthused by signage saying we were going to get the road redressed.

But that work only covered the first couple of hundred yards with a gap in the middle. There was no resurfacing up to the shops, or onward towards Kennylands Road.

Then last week, the signs went up again. This time, the council has authorised the white lining, which is important but still ignored by some.

However, the potholes are still there in the lane and in fact have got worse and will get worse this winter. I remember when Rishi Sunak became prime minister there was a great photo of him with northern Mayors rather glumly staring at potholes in the North-East, declaring councils would have funding to repair them.

Reading seems to have managed it. Go into Reading and many roads have been systematically resurfaced in significant stretches, a project spread over some weeks which appear to have been well-planned and implemented. Why can’t Oxfordshire do the same?

There are so many roads in our community which require care and attention. Next year the council is sure to publish its enthusiastic report that appears to try to soften the impact of an annual council tax increase but many of us use the roads and these seem to be perennially neglected.

Has the council now lobbied as effectively as Reading Borough Council? — Yours faithfully,

Nick Room

Peppard Road, Sonning Common

Poor state of our roads

I hear that the Government is to allocate a huge sum of money for “local road maintenance”.

This, of course, is our money. I would urge your readers to walk around their parishes and look at the potholes that pepper our roads and note how many of these are the result of the failure of utility companies to make good after opening up the road surface.

They will see drain covers subsiding, jointing failing and a host of other faults resulting from poor workmanship.

The highways authority (Oxfordshire County Council) claims there are checks and penalties but I have yet to see any evidence of these.

Are we paying to repair work that should be the responsibility of utility companies?

Might our parish councils come together on this and develop a system of recording highway works in their areas and checking the “repair” for future failure?

It would seem perfectly simple to notify parish council of any permissions granted for utility companies to open the highway surface. — Yours faithfully

Martin Wise

Goring Heath

Ban petrol leaf blowers

Sir, — While I applaud Dr Will Hearsey’s One Week idea to save energy (Standard, November 17), I could not think of anything more unappealing in these gloomy winter months.

We surely do not need to challenge ourselves to save the environment to the point of unnecessarily cruel hardship — cold showers and eating a cold meal by candlelight sends shivers down the spine.

Instead, it’s perhaps time to think more laterally, especially about a particular bugbear of mine — the scourge of the petrol leaf blowers used by professional gardeners.

They cause serious noise pollution, especially in a road like ours where you hear it not in just stereo but from all directions on most days.

Petrol leaf blowers, for which gardeners have to wear ear defenders, not only produce 11 times more carbon monoxide than the average family car, according to Challenge 25, but also need as much as half the car’s fuel tank capacity to operate.

They are also extremely damaging to wildlife, decimating their natural habitat for the sake of a manicured lawn.

At this time of year, the exercise of leaf-blowing seems particularly pointless as the leaves appear again the next day, or get blown on to the roads and paths or someone else’s garden.

Add to this the emissions and noxious fumes from bonfires burning said leaves and you have the recipe for environmental disaster.

Just let the leaves alone and allow the hedgehogs and other animals to enjoy them as they seep into the ground by spring, completing the natural cycle.

Personally, I’d rather ban these awful machines, which the Government is proposing to do by 2025, than endure a cold shower followed by a cold meal by candlelight. — Yours faithfully,

Eveleen Hatch

Lambridge Wood Road, Henley

Kitchen cleanliness

Thank goodness we still have newspapers.

Your article about the Bird in Hand pub in Sonnong Common and its dirty kitchen was a real eye- opener (Standard, November 10). It’s a shame that couples like the Daleys think they can just enter the catering/hospitality industry without any training. “Roses round the door” dreamers beware. These idealists do us all a great dis-service.

Most of us in catering have trained for years and “kitchen clean down” is an expression known to us all.

Operators with dirty kitchens endanger us all as innocent customers know nothing of what is happening behind those kitchen doors.

Thank you, Henley Standard, for bringing situations like this to our attention. — Yous faithfully,

Elspeth Mac

Devizes, Wiltshire

Rare view from bridge

Sir, — I have seen many photographs of Henley Bridge, St Mary’s Church and the river but I have never seen one taken from the angle like the one accompanying your article about nutritionist Kate Taylor’s new book (Standard, November 10).

Was it taken from a drone or possibly a helicopter?

The article about the importance of children eating healthily was very good and it applies to us all. — Yours faithfully,

Peter Giles

Earley

The editor responds: “In fact the picture was taken from a private location.”

Thanks for news service

Sir, — I would like to say a big thank-you to the Henley Standard for your Caversham news page.

We learn far more about what is happening in Caversham and Emmer Green than online or in our Reading newspaper.

It is most useful and much appreciated. — Yours faithfully,

Stephanie Clarke

Richmond Road, Caversham

Cadet was my boy

In your report of the Henley Remembrance Sunday service you featured a picture of my son saluting the parade (Standard, November 17).

Unfortunately, you got the incorrect name. You put Cdt Angus Timblicka-Statham when it was actually Cdt Tom Anderson, my son. I don’t know where you got the name from but it was wrong. — Your faithfully,

Jamie Anderson

Director, Flight Beyond Sight, Maidenhead

Successful collection

Grateful thanks to all those who contributed to the Poppy Appeal this year in Shiplake, Binfield Heath and Dunsden. Together, we raised £4,580.

A big thank-you in particular to the door-to-door collectors who also delivered the benefice Christmas cards. — Yours faithfully

Rosemary Jones

Poppy Appeal organiser, Shiplake & Dunsden branch, Royal British Legion

We’ve lost a character

My near neighbour of 38 years died very recently.

Margaret Grant was a friend to me and my family but, much more than that, she was interesting, sincere and had real humour. She was a real character.

Despite losing her husband, Reg, several years ago, she got on with life, meeting people and even joining a keep fit class despite being in her Eighties.

Margaret enjoyed meeting people and if you stopped to say “hello” to her, you knew it might take more than a few minutes but her very many friends and acquaintances enjoyed her company and will be extremely sad to hear of her passing.

Henley has lost a real character. — Yours faithfully,

Terry Colby

Peppard Lane, Henley

My ode to England

In Albion’s embrace, where cobblestones hold tales,
I, Clive Bassett, share verses of hills and dales.
From the highlands to the bustling city streets,
A poetic ode to England, where every heartbeat beats.

The Queen’s Guard stoic, in scarlet and black,
Tea-drinking gentry, in manners never slack.
A tapestry of accents, a linguistic spree,
From Yorkshire’s grit to London’s eloquent glee.

Rain-soaked afternoons, umbrellas unfurled,
The Union flag flying, in a proud, swirling twirl.
Fish and chips on the pier, seagulls in flight,
Oh, England, my homeland, in your glory so bright.

Shakespearean echoes, in Stratford they ring,
Cricket matches played in the summer’s sweet swing.
In every village green, a sense of history,
A nation’s story woven in every mystery.

So here’s to England, its people, and lore,
From the moors to the Thames, a resounding encore.
In my retired reflections, as the day softly ends,
I toast to this land, my country and friends. — Yours faithfully,

Clive Bassett

Mill Lane, Henley