Howard Woollaston: Parish Matters – January/February 2023

Howard Woollaston
West Berkshire Council Conservative member for Lambourn Ward
Executive Member for Housing , Leisure and Culture

January/February 2023

As I anticipated in my last Parish Matters, December was a particularly quiet month, but things have warmed up in the new year (as the outside temperatures are now also doing)

Firstly, a very belated Happy New Year to you all. Let’s hope that 2023 proves to be a happier one all-round than its immediate predecessors.

Lambourn Parish Council

I’d like to congratulate Vicky Reunier for being elected as Chairman of the Parish Council. I wish her well and look forward to working with her for the benefit of the Parish.

Lambourn Community Interest Company

More congratulations are in order, this time to the Lambourn CIC for having secured some significant funding from the Berkshire Community Foundation to help support the Lambourn Junction Youth Club.

The Lambourn Neighbourhood Development Plan (LNDP)

There were six public consultations in the last couple of weeks, one each in Eastbury, Woodlands and Upper Lambourn and three in Lambourn.

I attended four of them and was impressed not just at the numbers who came but the genuine engagement and interest. After the “call for sites” exercise, nine possible development locations had been identified. These were presented to residents for their views at these events and there were clear opinions both ways on them all.

There are two allocated residential sites in Lambourn for a total of 65 units at Lynch Wood and Newbury Road. The NDP is tasked with identifying sites for a minimum of a further 25 units. Please bear in mind that this is over the plan’s life to 2039 so there is no need to be concerned about a sudden influx.

The steering group is meeting shortly to bring together the comments and after that the consultants will start drafting the formal plan. This is expected to go to West Berkshire Council and then the Planning Inspectorate for approval before being returned for a parish-wide referendum. Assuming all these hurdles are crossed it will then come into force, probably in early 2024.

The Draft West Berkshire Local Plan

Final public consultation (known as “Regulation 19”) has recently commenced and is open for comment until 3 March. If a community is, like Lambourn, producing a neighbourhood development plan then this will, once it has passed all its stages, be slotted into the Local Plan. The Local Plan will then go to the Planning Inspectorate and then the Secretary of State. All being well it will come into force in 2024.

As well as the residential sites (see the NDP section above) there is also a further commercial site allocated at Membury by the grain silos: however, this is not for distribution but small-scale light-industrial use that should generate local jobs.

I do urge you to take a look at the draft. It will impact on us all and this is your chance to make your views known.

Sewage and Flood Risk

The groundwater levels are right back, up by two metres since the new year as evidenced by the return of the River Lambourn to its upper reaches. So far so good with no flood issues. I chaired the Lambourn Valley Flood Forum last week attended by over 20 people including representatives of West Berkshire Council, The Environment Agency and Thames Water as well as flood wardens for most of the villages in the valley. Key issues that came out were:

• An ATAC machine (effectively a mobile sewage treatment plant) is being deployed behind the Lambourn Fire Station as a precaution.
• Pipes are being laid along the appropriately named Drain Lane in Upper Lambourn with pumps as a precaution against flooding.
• Work on the new main sewer from Bockhampton to East Shefford will commence imminently. The £5m project will be completed by the end of the year.
• The Great Shefford Flood alleviation scheme will similarly be completed by the end of this year.
• So far, the sewer pipe lining seems to have worked.
• I am setting up a working party to look at the Lower Lambourn from Speen to where it joins the Kennet.

Speeding

This remains an ongoing issue. I see in the weekend papers a move to reduce speed limits in built up areas to 20mph which I would certainly support, as I have done before.

I am still waiting to hear a date for the speed limit review for the B4000 Ermin Street which I will be attending to explain residents’ views.

Lambourn Primary School

I was delighted to be invited to attend the assembly for Years 5 and 6 last week to explain the role of a District Councillor followed by a Q&A session. I was meant to be there for 15 minutes, but it went on for nearly a half hour. What a delightful bunch of well-behaved and confident young people – the school should be proud of themselves, as should their parents.

Not surprisingly the things that most concerned or pleased them were: –

• Lack of Scouts and Cubs in Lambourn
• Excitement over the new Lido in Newbury which will be open in July.
• For those going to JOG in September, the new 3G pitch will be open at the start of term.
• Wish for a new hard area and basketball net at Mill Lane
• Annoyance at anti-social behaviour by teenagers damaging play equipment.

Potholes

I’m in no doubt that they are worse than ever, particularly on the B4000 and the valley road. I have asked for action but we in West Berkshire have over 800 miles of highway – that’s more than in Reading and Wokingham combined and about the distance from Land’s End to John O’Groats – so West Berkshire Council’s contractor, Volker, clearly has a massive task in hand to repair these, as well as doing the gritting. I am sure that much of the reason is the extreme weather that we have had both in the summer and over recent months.

I can assure you that the increase in the number of potholes is not the result of any financial squeezing by the Council. There is a fixed contract with Volker and they are being put under pressure to get these sorted. Please do report major potholes – they do get mended faster if you do. The best way to do this is via the Report a Problem page on WBC’s website. Hot off the press is news that the approach to Great Shefford from East Garston is finally being dealt with in February.

Membury

As ever it continues! The Walker reserved matters application (which includes conditions) comes to the Western Area Planning Committee on 8 February. Annoyingly, I shall be away: however, I have arranged a substitute from a rural ward who understands the issues and I have got agreement that my statement can be read out.

There are numerous objections from local residents. Most revolve around the fact that consent was granted for a warehouse and aircraft museum but that has now converted to an aircraft hangar with flights from the runway. This seems to be a very major, and unwelcome, change.

There are also proposals for more hard standing by Trinity Grain, which operate the silos there. Objections here revolved around water run-off and potential flooding.

The Membury Business Group

I welcome the recent creation of the Membury Business Group. Currently about 12 of the businesses in the estate, including Walkers and Fort, are on board and others are encouraged to join. This will enable the members to speak with one voice on local issues. I look forward to discussing these issues with the group in due course.

Eastbury Issues

• Street lighting. In January over 40 people attended a meeting in the Church to discuss the options. These were: (i) have no lights at all; (ii) have a limited number at key points; (iii) perform a complete replacement of all existing lights including those not currently working. The clear majority supported option (ii) and Steve Mead will be conducting a village-wide survey before a final decision is made by the Parish Council.
• Village Hall. I arranged for a builder to come to do a sanity check on whether it is repairable, but he confirmed the previous advice that there is no possibility. Chris Capel and his trustees are looking at ways to finance a replacement – all ideas welcome.

Local Election

This will take place on 4 May. It seems amazing that it is nearly four years since you elected me as your District Councillor. We have had seen some fairly momentous events since then, the pandemic not least. Since June 2020, I have also for most months been sharing the contents of my in-box as regards ward matters, which you can find on Penny Post or Lambourn.net.

As you’ll see, there are a number of recurring themes, and this is set to continue…

I am delighted to have been selected as the Conservative candidate for Lambourn and look forward to meeting as many as possible of you over the next couple of months.

Get in touch.

I am away from 1 to 17 February. We have people staying here looking after our dogs, but neither they (nor the dogs) will probably be of much help with ward matters.

Rest assured, however, that I will still be looking at my emails once a day and picking up calls so you can still contact me on 07836 718100

My thanks as ever to Brian Quinn of Penny Post for bringing his journalistic expertise to my ramblings.