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Thursday, November 18, 2021 31

Newbury Weekly News

THATCHAM NEWS

THATCHAM Keeping in touch

Call to change speed limit on Cold Ash Hill

THATCHAM Town Council is asking West Berkshire Council to consider a speed reduction on Cold Ash Hill, taking the limit down from 40mph for the safety of drivers. People in the area have raised concerns with That- cham councillors over the speed limit on the stretch of Cold Ash Hill beginning at the roundabout where the road meets Heath Lane. Specific concerns were raised over exiting Southend while cars were travelling at around 40mph. Pulling out of that junction has been deemed “dangerous” and calls have beenmade to re- duce the speed at this stretch of road down to 30mph. Lee Dillon (Lib Dem, North East) said: “The reason why we are asking West Berkshire Council to take action is that’s what our residents are telling us they want to see happening. “They are asking us to take

action. “As councillors we should be taking on their concerns and giving solutions.” Mr Dillon raised these worries in a Thatcham Town Council planning and high- ways meeting in October, but was met with some scepticism. The matter was discussed again in another planning and highways meeting in early No- vember where council mem- bers discussed the need for such a request. Richard Crumly (Con, That- cham Central) opposed the move, drawing upon the costs that they will incur. He said: “The money could be better spent elsewhere.” Mr Crumly also comment- ed, from personal experience driving up Cold Ash Hill, that there was “no weight” to the request. He said: “I know that road well, Cold Ash Hill, I’ve gone up that road thousands of times.

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Thatcham Town councillors are looking into reducing the speed limit on Cold Ash Hill Ref: 46-1921A

Despite Mr Crumly’s com- ments, councillors went ahead to support the request and Mr Dillon will be taking it further with West Berkshire Council.

“I don’t see this as a danger- ous stretch of road, or a dan- ger to anyone else. “What benefit will this bring if it’s cut down to 30 from 40?”

Residents speak out in Pinchington review All parties put their side of the story as licensing debate rumbles on

Tanya Allen at the Dance School ceremony

Principal dances off with leading award THE principal of a Thatcham dance studio netted an hon- our at the 2021 Dance School of the Year Awards in rec- ognition of her services to the art. Tanya Allen heads the Allenova School of Dancing, a studio that has been teaching children ballet since 1985. The Dance School of the Year Awards were set up by danc- er and business figure Anne Walker MBE to promote the art across the UK and beyond. At a ceremony in Exeter on October 29, Mrs Allen was pre- sented with the International Dance Teachers Association Special Award for Artistic Endeavour. This related to her work with the school, teaching young dancers from West Berkshire and elsewhere. Mrs Allen said: “It was an amazing evening – just like being at the Oscars!” Town’s streets are closed for footway resurfacing WEST Berkshire Council is closing several Thatcham streets throughout November for footway resurfacing. The works will be carried out by Volker Highways in con- junction with JPCS as a part of the council’s Footway Improve- ment Programme. The council has said that information boards will be put up on site and, while these works are subject to weather condi- tions, efforts will be made to complete them as scheduled. It also said that efforts will be made to maintain access to properties directly adjacent to the repairs, but due to the na- ture of the work, some inconvenience will be inevitable. The works will be carried out between 8am and 5pm on the following dates: Victor Road work began on Tuesday and is expected to end on Monday, November 22. Works will be carried out on both Bourne Arch and West- field Crescent from today (Thursday) through to Tuesday, No- vember 23. Works on Northway are expected to commence on Monday, November 22, and continue through to Wednesday, November 24. Resurfacing will begin on New Road from Tuesday, Novem- ber 23, and is due to end on Monday, November 29. Any revised timings will be updated on information boards. Alternatively, updates can be found online at https://one. network

CROOKHAM residents had a chance to raise their concerns over Pinchington Hall in a licensing review last week. Following a bid for the prop- erty to become a wedding ven- ue, which was refused by West Berkshire Council in Septem- ber, neighbouring residents have raised concerns over the noise levels emitted from the venue. The review, heard on Friday and attended by representa- tives from Pinchington Hall, Thatcham councillors and residents close to the building, was a chance for each party to provide a 10-minute speech outlining their thoughts on the licence remaining in place. Pinchington Hall, owned by Phoenix Apartments, is now awaiting a decision on wheth- er the premises licence will be revoked. The application to revoke was made in October by res- idents of Wellingtonia Drive and others living close to the hall, under section 51 of The Licensing Act. The review is being sought on the grounds of the “under- mining of the licensing objec- tives” of the following key is- sues – the prevention of crime and disorder, public safety, the prevention of public nui- sance and the protection of children from harm. The meeting was also at- tended by Thatcham coun- cillor Simon Pike (Lib Dem, Thatcham West), and a writ- ten piece was provided by Thatcham mayor John Boyd, who was unable to attend. Mr Boyd said: “The meeting was to see if the licence should be reviewed. I assume there will be another meeting.” Phoenix Apartments di- rector Linda Beechey-Smith

Pinchington Hall

coming such a big thing.” The review has been dis- cussed in recent Thatcham Town Council planning and highways meetings, in which ward councillors have sup- ported efforts made by resi- dents to review the licence. Richard Foster (Lib Dem, Thatcham Colthrop and Crookham) has been follow- ing the application “since the beginning” and said the neigh- bouring houses are now “grad- ually becoming occupied”. He added that support must be given by Thatcham Town Council “on behalf of not just those residents, but also the other residents who have been there a lot longer locally as well because it has shown it- self to be a real nuisance”. Resident Mike Bloomfield has lived in the area for 23 years and said he is about 300 metres away from the hall and feels that the building should

called the review “strange” and said: “We have not held any licensable activities, we have never operated the li- cence at all. “However some residents are asking for the licence to be revoked.” She added: “I do not know which way it will go, I stated my case but it’s a very difficult situation. “I have suggested that we have a meeting with residents, but they don’t want to talk to me. “I don’t know why it is be-

not be a “party venue” giv- en its proximity to “family homes”. He said: “We should not be putting party events where people will make noise, get ex- cited and at times get drunk.” Nigel Bryant is another resident who said he had also been subjected to noise and disturbance from the hall, and mentioned that guests can sometimes be heard “drunk, having breakfast at five in the morning”. In September, Ms Beechey- Smith said that there had only been “two wedding recep- tions” and “two occasions” of private hire for the filming of music videos at the venue. She said: “We hold a prem- ises licence and have so far not held any licensable events, but do operate strict house rules and these are also under- pinned by regulations through Airbnb.”

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I have suggested that we have a meeting with residents, but they don’t want to talk to me