Howard Woollaston: Parish Matters – Feb 2026

January/February 2026

Is it never going to stop raining? According to the Meteorological Office it rained every day in January and rainwater levels were 50% higher than the seasonal average. On the plus side the snowdrops at Welford Park seem even more spectacular than usual and well worth a visit. I will shortly be off to hopefully warmer and drier climes for a few days and cannot wait!

The Asphalt Plant Appeal

This trundles on. The applicant made further submissions which did not really meet the Inspector’s requests. The Woodland protection Group have obtained further evidence on the impact on equine health. I arranged a meeting between them and the Planning Officer responsible for the appeal to share this with him and further submissions were provided to the Inspector. Hopefully a decision by Easter.

Public issues

Last month I wrote about the pedestrianisation issue. “The public consultation has completed with over 3,500 representations, which is high, so it has obviously struck a chord with the public. WBC are now processing these with a likely announcement next month.”

Well, they are still processing them so there really must have been a lot, hopefully more next month!

Planning Issues

 At the request of local residents I called in the application for Frenchmans View in Upper Lambourn. Calling in is what a ward member can do with an application so that it is heard by the Planning Committee and not just dealt with by delegated powers to Officers. It has to be fairly rare and on planning policy grounds. The application was for a significant expansion of an existing yard including two new American Barns, a horse walker and some residential accommodation for stable staff. The concern at the time was that there was no proper system for the removal of horse waste nor a plan for dealing with water run-off possibly contaminated into neighbouring resident gardens. Nutrient Neutrality also reared its ugly head.

I am delighted to say that the applicant has resolved both issues conclusively with an effective system of a glorified sceptic tank, which also dealt with the Nutrient Neutrality issue. It was passed unanimously by the planning Committee which I also sit on. A huge boost for racing in Lambourn.

Lambourn Valley Flood Forum

The Flood Forum met last week, chaired by Vicky Reunier, as I have stepped down to Vice Chairman as I think it needed a new injection of energy which Vicky has brought in her usual manner. Thames Water, Environment Agency and West Berkshire Council were all represented together with Flood Wardens and other interested parties of the villages down the river.

The Forum hoped that it was not premature but thanked Thames Water for what appears to be a successful programme of lining pipes and sealing manholes to prevent the unpleasant experiences of a year ago.

That said a flooding amber warning notice has just been announced so fingers firmly crossed.

We had a useful almost two-hour session covering a number of local potential issues with good responses from the agencies.

Speeding

The Parish Council and I had a useful meeting with the consultants appointed by West Berkshire Council, WSP. They provided in advance plans of Upper Lambourn, Lambourn and Eastbury showing proposed changes to speed limits, mostly to 20 MPH. Cristian Noll of Lambourn CIC and I went on 4Legs radio together shortly afterwards with the anticipation that we would have strongly differing views with Christian favouring a blanket speed limit and I a more targeted approach. The meeting with WSP changed my mind on practical issues particularly cost.

There are five access routes to Lambourn so the blanket approach seriously curtails the need for major speed limit signs and prevents confusion to motorists on the speed they should be adopting. In practice there is little likelihood of drivers going over 20MPH in the narrow residential streets anyway.

Net result a very amicable agreement on the way forward!

The WSP meeting did achieve the following: –

• Agreement to look at B4000 as well
• Agreement to look at The Shute/Straight Lane Eastbury to become 30MPH
• Proposals for Eastbury and Upper Lambourn were logical with slight amendments to reflect local knowledge.
• Unresolved on speeds on B4000 in Upper Lambourn

WSP’s final report will go to WBC to consider and then come out for public consultation.

Mobile and internet reception

An initiative seems to be at its early stages in Upper Lambourn which may resolve one of the major “not spots “in the ward. Great news if it happens.

Suicide Prevention Summit

I was down to attend this. Unfortunately, I went down with a rather unpleasant stomach bug, but I understand that it was well attended and looked at a number of issues.

Potholes

Having just had my car fail its MOT because of a damaged nearside front tyre, it’s personal!!! WBC have spent over £10M on road repairs over the last year and are budgeting a further £13M in 2026/7. Some of this is grant funded by the way. No surprise then that WBC is one of very few Councils to get a green report recently. Most Councils are amber with a good sprinkling of reds. The difference is clear if you go into any adjoining council areas.

WBC Funding

Which brings me onto the Elephant in the Room. WBC spending is out of control, and the Council will be asking for a further £30M of Emergency Funding to avoid going into effective bankruptcy. I do have some sympathy with the administration as they have wrestled with the costs of things like soaring Adult Social Care Costs. Special Educational Needs and now a reduction in Government Grant but excessive spending needs to be curtailed. Can we really justify that extra £13M on our roads or the £5.5M spent on refurbishing Northcroft Leisure Centre in Newbury? The proposed £20M Solar Farm in the East of the Council area is likely to be scrapped but only because the business case now does not work. This sadly is a story that will run and run. Newbury Weekly News and Newbury Today have all covered this item as has Penny Post.

Sometimes in Local Politics you need to take tough and unpopular decisions to get a balanced budget.

Get in touch

If you have any concerns or need any help, please get in touch on howard.woollaston1@westberks.gov.uk or 07836 718100.