20052021

Thursday, May 20, 2021 17

Newbury Weekly News

Your views talk to us POST: Newspaper House, Faraday Road, Newbury, RG14 2AD EMAIL: editor@newburynews.co.uk Pet of the Week Email letters to editor@newburynews.co.uk with your full name, a terrestrial address and daytime phone number. DEADLINE: MONDAY NOON

1,300 families still lack superfast broadband BROADBAND – what broadband? I read with interest the article saying 98 per cent of homes now have access to high-speed broadband ( Newbury Weekly News , May 13). So, with approximately 65,000 homes in West Berks that means at least 1,300 homes do not – 1,300 families who still do not have access. You might think this is all rural and remote, but it is not. As someone that lives between Newbury and Thatcham (just 2km from the town centre) and a few 100 metres from Hambridge Lane industrial estate the maximum I can get is 3MB. Yep, you read that right, just three, so no streaming service of any kind. If we look at the Government schemes, then the vouchers on the surface look good, but in reality both Gigaclear and BT charge huge amounts to install. This makes the voucher a drop in the ocean when a line can cost £10k or more. Finally, if you are brave enough to club together and get community broadband the monthly costs are two to three times what others pay. But according to West Berks Conservative Howard Woollaston,

the rollout of ultrafast broadband is complete. I assume he got his fibre then? ADRIAN ABBS Liberal Democrat councillor for Newbury Wash Common West Berkshire Council We’re still waiting for Gigaclear installation WE thought it worthwhile responding to the self congratulatory piece by Gigaclear’s South Central manager Laura Jones ( Newbury Weekly News , May 13). We live in a small community of four houses in Stockcross. We first registered with Gigaclear in June 2020 and our three neighbours followed suit shortly afterwards. Since then our joint applications have been the subject of 12 separate surveys by various subcontractors, endless phone calls to different departments in Gigaclear, and emails to the managing director himself. Unfortunately, we still remain in the dark as regards any progress. On April 7, Gigaclear informed us we had been approved for a standard installation which we, of course, knew was probably wishful thinking. Predictably, a contractor arrived

and informed us that the digger was on the way from Taunton in Devon as the local machine had broken down. An enquiry from ourselves as to whether right of access had been approved catalysed a call to head office, soon after which the contractors disappeared. Who knows how much grant finance (taxpayers money) has been expended by Gigaclear on this extraordinary display of incompetence. PETER AAGAARD Stockcross More dog owners not picking up the mess I READ with interest your article about the lady who picked up dog poo bags from Greenham Common. I must say a big thank you to this lady. What concerns me too is the increasing amount of dog poo itself that is not being picked up by owners. I really enjoy walking on the common and do not have a dog, but the pleasure is being ruined by irresponsible dog owners. Two weeks ago a dog did a poo near me. The owner came over to look, but had no intention of picking it up.

I stood there and it was obvious the owner did not have a poo bag. So she picked up a dry cow pat on put it on top of the dog poo and walked off. NAME AND ADDRESS SUPPLIED Could birds now copy electronic sounds? I WOULD like to thank all those who responded, by phone or letter, to my request to help identify the bird making high-pitched single notes. About five different birds were suggested and I have recently seen starlings, not suggested, on my rooftop making even higher pitched single notes. I have come to the conclusion that some birds make these sounds at different phases of their development. I wonder why my attention has not been drawn to this type of birdsong before. Two possibilities spring to mind, either I have had more time to get absorbed with nature during lockdown, or bird song has changed. Are birds being influenced by the electronic sounds they hear in their environments or have they always made these sounds? KATE OPPEL Dene Way Donnington

Name: Bluey Wallace Owners: Erin, Oscar, Clare and Simon

Likes/dislikes: Bluey Wallace likes treats, sleeping all day, being nice to people only when hungry. Bluey Wallace dislikes going out in the evening and doors that are shut. Would you like to nominate your pet as our Pet of the Week? Just send a nice picture with your pet’s name, breed, your name, where you’re from and your pet’s likes and dislikes to: editor@ newburynews.co.uk

Keep safe, keep testing Everyone inWest Berkshire is invited to have free, twice weekly lateral flow tests for Covid-19. People can have no COVID-19 symptoms and be spreading the virus without knowing it.

Help keep yourself and loved ones safe by taking regular rapid lateral flow tests. It’s easy, quick and there are different options on how to access tests. You can find all the details at https://info.westberks.gov.uk/lateralflowtesting