Newbury and Thatcham Advertiser

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Newbury & Thatcham Advertiser

Friday, November 26, 2021

NEWS

Calls to cut speed limit in Cold Ash Residents’ concerns lead to proposal to make ‘dangerous’ stretch of road 30mph

£2m boost for hospital West Berkshire Community Hospital

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

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By HINNA AAMANI hinna.aamani@newburynews.co.uk @hinnaa_nwn

THE West Berkshire Com- munity Hospital has been given a cash boost for a new building with diagnostic fa- cilities. The Newbury and That- cham Hospital Building Trust has helped donate a total of £2m to the Royal Berkshire Hospital for the construction of the new building in That- cham. West Berkshire Communi- ty Hospital and Thatcham Ro- tarian trustee Dr Rob Tayton said that the plan is for the construction of a new build- ing close to the hospital. It is hoped that the building will house two MRI scanners and a new PET CT scanner. The donations were made with the help of Greenham Trust, the Peter Baker Foun- dation and the Storey Chari- table Trust. He said this would mean that people from West Berk- shire will not have to travel to distant hospitals to get scans. Dr Tayton said the trust is “very supportive” of the plan

to make the community hospi- tal a diagnostic hub for West Berkshire. He added: “The Hospital Building Trust and, indeed, all the patients in the area were very grateful for the do- nations from all the trusts. “They had already contrib- uted a considerable amount of money to The Rosemary Appeal which resulted in the building of the renal dialysis unit and the cancer unit at the hospital three years ago. ” Dr Tayton added: “We are all very proud to have one of the most modern community hospitals in the UK in West Berkshire with marvellous facilities for all the patients.” The facilities provided at the hospital include outpa- tients facilities, in-patient facilities for rehabilitation and palliative care, X-rays, physiotherapy, renal dialysis and provision of cancer care, including chemotherapy. It is hoped that building will start soon and will be op- erational by June 2022.

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 driv- ers. 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 been made 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.

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. “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?” 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.

Councillors are looking into reducing speed on Cold Ash Hill

“They are asking us to take action. As councillors we should be taking on their con- cerns 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 scepti- cism.

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.

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Thatcham Santa Fun Run (52909304)

Santas are under starters orders again SANTAS will be sprinting again this year as That- cham Rotary Club’s San- ta Fun Run comes back to town. tions. “It will be great to see a larg- er amount of Santas again. “It creates a nice atmos- phere, people enjoying them- selves, dressed up. Mr Champion said: “Small charities have had a hard time, their fundraising events have not been able to take place.

Fetch the Santa hats and running shoes for the fami- ly friendly festive 5km run, which returns on Sunday, De- cember 5. Beginning at Thatcham Broadway, the runners will assemble at 10.45am ready for an 11am start. Coronavirus measures have been put in place and the race will be staggered, with all runners assembled into groups in order to keep safety a top priority. Rotarian Bob Champion said: “It’s exciting to have the event back. “We believe we can do it in a way which is safe and we are asking people to take precau-

“This is an opportunity for people to raise money for their own charities. “To help with this, we are offering to give back the entry fee, to help them help their charities.” McCarthy Stone has agreed to sponsor this year’s run with three members of staff, based at the new retirement home in Thatcham, taking part in the race. Santa suits can be collected prior to the event. This year there will be no sign up on the day – all regis- trations must be in advance on the Thatcham Rotary web- site at www.thatchamrotary. org.uk

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“The community enjoy it and we raise money for char- ity.” With 2019 seeing around 160 runners take on the challenge, Mr Champion is optimistic about the event’s return this year, noting that there once was a total of 200 Santas tak- ing part. Thatcham Rotary is encour- aging participants to consid- er raising sponsorship for a charity or good cause they wish to support. If participants let the team know how much they raise, their entry fee of £10 will be added to the amount they raised.

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