20052021

Thursday, May 20, 2021 13

Newbury Weekly News

NEWBURY NEWS

Anger at huge rise in gas bills Residents in Greenham flats hit by 300-per-cent hike

‘Forest bathing’ returns to woods A THERAPEUTIC organi- sation will soon be offering special ‘forest bathing’ ses- sions in local woods.

At around 12.30pm on Mon- day, May 10, the victim, a man in his 50s, was walking his dog on Stroud Green when they were approached by another dog. This dog, a black Rottweil- er-pitbull mix, was not on a lead and had no collar. It grabbed the harness of the vic- tim’s dog and started swing- ing it around. The victim tried to inter- vene and the black dog bit A NEWBURY man was caught behind the wheel after drinking nearly three times the legal limit. In the dock at Reading Mag- istrates’ Court on Wednes- day, April 28, was Benjamin Charles Jaques. The 45-year-old, of Dickens Walk, admitted driving a mo- The sessions – hosted by Adore Your Outdoors – en- courage participants to im- merse themselves in nature, to put aside all technology and soak in the atmosphere. Nature therapy – shin- rin-yoku – is a Japanese im- port, and Great Pen Wood in the North Wessex Downs was among the locations being used by Adore Your Outdoors until lockdown restrictions were first imposed. In the interim, organiser Sonya Dibbin has hosted a number of virtual groups, sub- stituting the forest with peo- ple’s back gardens. Now, physical sessions are set to resume, with social dis- tancing restrictions observed. Mrs Dibbin hopes the ses- sions will foster positivity and mental wellbeing in partici- pants. She said: “In forest bathing, there are no baths involved, so you can most certainly keep your clothes on.

By DAN COOPER dan.cooper@newburynews.co.uk @danc_nwn

SOVEREIGN Housing has said it will look into the way it sets gas charges after tenants living in a block of flats in Greenham were hit by an almost 300-per-cent hike in their bills. Residents at Springhurst House, on The Nightingales estate, claim the housing provider miscalculated a bill from Octopus Energy – the company that supplies gas to the properties – and is now making them pay for the er- ror. Sovereign said it was “sorry for the concern expressed by residents” and acknowledged that the current system for setting bills was “imperfect”. Alan Brown, one of the 35 residents who have been af- fected, said: “Sovereign have acknowledged that they made a mistake, but they are still passing on the extra cost to their tenants, so we are the ones paying for that mistake. “They just said ‘oops we paid the wrong bill’, then sud- denly our payments shot up from £3.45 a week to £12.57 a week. “I just think to give us back credit and then hit us with an increase isn’t on. “A number of us have made formal complaints to Sover- eign. I don’t know what can be done. “I’m hoping they can reim- burse us with the money that we shouldn’t be paying, but to be honest I think the chances of that happening are slim. “It is like taking your car to the garage to get serviced and when you come to pay they say ‘oh by the way you owe us for the work we forgot to charge you for two years ago’. “Trying to get a resolu- tion is like hitting your head against a brick wall. There is

Adore Your Outdoors organiser Sonya Dibbin

“It is proven to result in sustained increases in health and happiness, a more pro-en- vironmental behaviour and is just waiting to be discovered.” To find out more, email Mrs Dibbin at sonya@adoreyour- outdoors.co.uk Spaces will be limited.

“We’ve all suffered from the most recent lockdown, being stuck inside within the same four walls during the dark winter months. “We have all benefited from a stroll at lunchtime, a week- end walk or simply getting outside in the garden, but na- ture connection takes it a step further.

Police appeal after dog attack A MAN was bitten while protecting his dog from a Rottweiler-pitbull mix in Newbury. his hand, causing three small puncture wounds. The victim’s dog was not injured. wounds to his hand. Thames Valley Police is ap- pealing for witnesses.

Springhurst House

very little explanation.” Mr Brown said Sovereign recalculated the bills and is now charging tenants £7.75 a week, but feels “even the cor- rected amount in my view is double what it should be”. He added: “Sovereign are not helping tenants by getting the best possible deal. “I feel they are not provid- ing a duty of care or the best service they possibly can. “This is not just about me – it is 35 tenants who are not happy and about half of them have complained to Sover- eign. “There are people here on benefits and that extra £10 a week is a lot of money to find.” Trying to get a resolution is like hitting your head against a brick wall. There is very little explanation “

Sovereign head of financial services Karen Leach said: “We’re sorry for the concern expressed by customers at Springhurst House over the recent rise in their gas charg- es. “Our customers’ bills are estimated on a yearly ba- sis, where their bills are set against the previous year’s es- timated usage. “At the end of the year, these costs are checked to see if they were the same as the usage. “This can result in a de- crease in payments, or some- times an increase, but does en- sure that only the actual costs incurred are paid. “We recognise that this is an imperfect system and we are investigating changing the way we set gas charges. “We would urge any resi- dents who are struggling to pay their bills to contact us on 0300 5000 926 to discuss the ways that we can support them.”

Investigating officer Pc Stu- art Davis, based at Newbury police station, said: “I am ap- pealing for any witnesses of this incident, or anyone who has seen this dog and its own- er in the area, to get in touch. “You can make a report on- line or by calling 101 and quot- ing reference 43210199877. “If you wish to remain 100-per-cent anonymous you can also call Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.”

The victim then approached the owner of the dog, a white man who was wearing all black, and asked him to ex- change details. The man became verbally abusive towards the victim and left the scene without ex- changing his details. The victim required treat- ment at the Minor Injuries Unit of West Berkshire Com- munity Hospital for the

Driver was nearly three times the limit tor vehicle in Newtown Road, Newbury, on December 15 last year after drinking more than the legal limit. penalty and ordered to com- plete 100 hours of unpaid com- munity work.

In addition, he was ordered to pay £85 costs and to pay a victim services surcharge of £95. Finally, Mr Jaques was banned from driving for two years.

Tests showed 93mcg of alco- hol per 100ml of breath in his system. The legal limit is 35mcg. Mr Jaques was made sub- ject to a 12-month community

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