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Thursday, November 18, 2021

Newbury Weekly News

NEWBURY NEWS

Homes plan is rejected again Residents’ victory over Pond Close proposals

news in brief

Shop window gets smashed POLICE are appealing to the public for information after a shop window was smashed in Park Way, Newbury. The incident occurred on Tuesday, November 9, although no specific information on the time or address has been disclosed. Anybody with information of potential relevance to the investigation should contact the Police Enquiry Centre, quoting crime reference 43210506520. By-election NOMINATIONS for a West Berkshire Council by- election close tomorrow (Friday). Tilehurst South and Holybrook will go to the polls on December 16. The Tilehurst seat is open following the death of Conservative councillor and former council chairman Peter Argyle, who served for 24 years as a councillor, having been first elected as ward member for Theale. He represented the Calcot ward from 2003 and Tilehurst and Holybrook from 2019. Rogue traders THAMES Valley Police targeted rogue traders on Monday. The Pangbourne Neighbourhood Team carried out the joint operation with Trading Standards, carrying out checks, gaining intelligence and giving advice to safeguard vulnerable people.

By NIKI HINMAN niki.hinman@newburynews.co.uk @newburytoday

RESIDENTS in Pond Close, Wash Common, have won their battle to stop new homes being built on the estate. Fourteen local people blocked the proposal, on land occupied by disused garages, claiming it would be over development of the area. They argued that park- ing spaces would be lost and road safety would be compromised, with limited access for emergency ser- vice vehicles. Three previous attempts to try to build on the site in the last 10 years have been refused. West Berkshire Coun- cil officers recommended that the scheme for a pair of semi-detached two-bed- room houses and flats split over two floors of a detached building be ap- proved. But the district’s west- ern area planning commit- tee criticised the developer for reducing the number of homes from a previous plan to avoid having to pro- vide affordable homes. “These flats are three- bed – and double bedrooms – so what kind of family would need three double

here,” said Hilary Cole (Con, Chieveley and Cold Ash). “The site is a der- elict site, and has been since 2012. Unfortunately residents have got used to parking here. “I am disappointed the applicant has reduced the number of dwellings for affordable housing and in- stead has created two hous- es for multiple occupancy.” The developer has since fenced off the area, pre- venting access. “I do not think it right that the ‘general ameni- ty’of occupants of these existing 1950s homes – ie access to a convenient nearby place to legally park their cars – should be removed in order to cram in as many new dwellings as a developer can get away with,” said Tony Vickers (Lib Dem, Wash Common). “To my mind, it is rea- sonable for any develop- ment on a former garage block site to have to take account of the need to re-provision those lost spaces before looking at what land is available to build more homes.” Councillors rejected the recommendation to ap- prove the scheme.

beds? “This would back up con- cerns about it being multi occupancy,” said Carolyne Culver (Green, Ridgeway). The developer said it re- duced the number of flats from four to two – saying ‘because they are smaller than other houses in the area they would be more affordable for a greater number of people’. Pond Close resident Ra- chel Reeve told the meet- ing: “We are just residents who want a safe place to live. The close is a very narrow single lane. “If this application is approved it will become a dangerous claustrophobic corridor. “Residents will be forced to walk in the road as cars are parked on the pave- ment.” She added that if the development went ahead, even more pressure would be put on parking provi- sion as the flats’ new oc- cupants would have more cars than there were spac- es allocated. “I am getting deja vu

Award for animal wardens Kira and Nick from the PPP’s animal warden team

THE animal warden team at the Public Protection Partner- ship (PPP) has scooped a gold award from the RSPCA for its stray dog provision. Services for West Berkshire Council, Wokingham Borough Council and Bracknell Forest are provided by a dedicated in-house animal warden team, supported by external out of hours partners. The team has scooped the RSP- CA’s Golden Paw Print award, which recognises good practice from local authorities, housing providers and contingency plan- ners in relation to animal welfare.

Bracknell Forest Council’s exec- utive member for culture, delivery and public protection John Harri- son said: “It is important that this award not only measures the qual- ity of care provided when a stray dog is picked up, but the work that we do in promoting responsible dog ownership, reminding owners to make sure their dog is micro- chipped, tagged and that details are up to date.” For more information on the animal warden provision, visit https://publ icprotectionpart- nership. org .uk/envi ronmen- tal-health/animal-warden/

Mayor’s invitation to afternoon tea

WITH the festive season approaching, mayor Bil- ly Drummond has invited older Newbury residents to meet with him for af- ternoon tea. The mayor’s customary Drive and Tea Party has been cancelled since 2019 as

a result of coronavirus re- strictions. Instead, the mayor is now inviting the public to after- noon tea on Thursday, De- cember 16 (2pm to 4.30pm), at St Nicolas Church Hall. All guests must be above the age of 75 and the occa-

sion is being ticketed and places are limited. Bookings can be made by telephone on 07538 334106, by email via mayor@new- bury.gov.uk, or by post at Mayor’s Parlour, Newbury Town Hall, Market Place, Newbury, RG14 5AA.

Tickets will be posted to attendees. Mr Drummond said: “It was upsetting that the May- or’s Drive wasn’t able to take place this summer dur- ing my mayoral year. It was important that I was able to offer an alternative event.”

Saturday 20th November 2021 10-3pm Lots of gorgeous handmade gifts. Come and support small local independent makers.

Father-of-two, 34, died after drinking at football get-together with his friends watching the Euros

A FATHER-of-two, de- scribed by his wife as the “life and soul” of the par- ty, died in Thatcham at a friend’s football get-to- gether, an inquest heard. Ian Christopher Martin of Faringdon, Oxfordshire, en- joyed drinking with friends, wife Leah Martin told the in- quest, but his drinking hab- its changed as he struggled with his mental health. At the inquest held on No- vember 10, it was heard that Mr Martin, 34, consumed “copious amounts of alco- hol” leading to his death on June 19, though the incident itself was unrelated to his mental health struggles. Mrs Martin said that her husband’s death “could have been avoided if he had been taken seriously” and if his GP had “taken time to speak to him face to face rather than over the phone”. She added: “Maybe my

an alcohol level of 372 mil- ligrams per 100ml of blood – which is four to five times above the drink-drive limit. Around 400 milligrams and over is normally associ- ated with death, the inquest heard. It was heard at the inquest that Mr Martin had previ- ously admitted to having a problem with drinking and had had some contact with NHS services, including cog- nitive behavioural therapy. By November last year, the inquest heard, he was discharged back to the care of his GP and from that point on there was no contact be- tween the patient and his GP in regards to mental health. Though he had been struggling with anxiety and depression, assistant Berk- shire coroner Alison McCor- mick found that Mr Martin’s death was not mental health induced.

water with him, as well as turning on the security light and leaving the door unlocked should he wish to leave – something that was said not to be unusual. It wasn’t until 8.30am the next morning when Mr In- gram came downstairs to check on his friend that he discovered he was no longer breathing, the inquest was told. Mr Ingram’s father David assisted his son in calling the ambulance and per- forming CPR, following par- amedic instructions. He noticed a new empty bottle of gin near to where Mr Martin lay. The South Central ambu- lance arrived in three min- utes, but could not revive Mr Martin. A post mortem report found the cause of death to be alcohol toxicity, with the toxicology report showing

children would still have their father to kiss them goodnight, and see them on their first day of school.” The inquest heard, from a statement given by New- bury police designated in- vestigator Susan Bradshaw, that Mr Martin had attended a get-together in Thatcham to watch a Euro football match with nine friends. The gathering was held at friend Laurence Ingram’s garage, converted to a gym, to which Mr Martin brought eight cans of lager with him, drinking four. Mr Ingram told the police that along with the cans of lager, he also may have con- sumed shots and gin. It was heard that Mr Mar- tin had already fallen asleep as his friends dispersed at around 1.30am. He remained in the ga- rage overnight with Mr Ingram leaving a bottle of