Howard Woollaston: Parish Matters – June 2025

June 2025

I didn’t expect to say, “thank you for some rain”, but I am sure that many of us, with even a small lawn like me, will be relieved that their grass is now looking green again and not, as mine increasingly was, brown.

Local Plan

No, not the Neighbourhood Development Plan this time. The Local Plan covers the whole of West Berkshire and runs until 2041. It is meant to give clear planning guidance on where development should take place over that timescale for both residential and commercial property. The plan has been over four years in the making, primarily by the previous administration.

It has become controversial, as a result of delays in submission to the Government Inspector caused by the change of policy with the incoming administration. In that interim central government-imposed a near doubling of the annual housing allocation to well over 1,000 each year during the plan period. As the local plan has now been adopted (see below), these higher figures will not need to be applied immediately.

The Inspector increased the allocation in Thatcham Northeast and added sites near J12 of the M4 in Theale and beyond the IKEA store as well as smaller sites such as in Cold Ash and Chieveley.

It came for approval to Council on 10 June and it passed by a small margin. I voted to approve it: my reasons were…

• There are only four sites in the ward and two of those already have planning consent anyway.
• Lynch Lane in Lambourn had been identified in the previous plan but is now confirmed as 60 units rather than the 105 that the developers were seeking.
• The other site is at Membury Industrial Estate between the Walkers scheme and the grain silos. It is allocated for about 55,000 sq. ft. and is an infill site. I was part of the group at WBC which put the plan together and I managed to get it allocated as B2 or E use – that’s light industrial, or office type use, rather than big warehouses. So, any application that emerges should, if approved, mean less HGV traffic and genuine local employment opportunities.
• Through all of the Neighbourhood Development Plan consultation, it is clear that Lambourn Residents accept the need for more local housing, particularly affordable and social housing, so the younger members of our community are not priced out.
• Without a Local Plan in place, it becomes a field day for developers to put in planning applications on often unsuitable sites using the argument that West Berkshire does not have a 5-year land supply.

We have already seen a few of these coming through the system but the adoption of the plan puts a stop to it.

Devolution and reorganisation

Change is coming to the way councils work across the country, and the Council is trying to make sure it’s done in a way that truly benefits our community.

Ridgeway Council is the proposed new unitary authority that would combine West Berkshire, South Oxfordshire, and the Vale of White Horse districts. This initiative is part of a broader government plan to replace two-tier local government structures with larger, single-tier unitary councils.

Public consultation has started and there are a number of drop-in sessions. The nearest to Lambourn is on June 25^th at Hungerford Library between 11am and 2pm.

It’s not just black bins that are changing…

Don’t worry – the green garden-waste bins will still be collected every other week. However, the charges will change. Those in Council Tax bands A to C will see a reduction. Band D will stay the same and Bands E to H will see some increases.

Speed cameras

Massive congratulations to Steve Mead and the Parish Council. I came down Hungerford Hill this week and as I came towards the village, there was a speed awareness camera – and, yes, I did get a smiley green face…

I understand from Steve that others are proposed, including in Eastbury, subject to Parish Council budget approval.

Asphalt plant

The appeal was lodged on June 12^th. I was the subject of a formal complaint by the applicant to West Berkshire Council. I stated in my response that I was merely reflecting the views of all but one of my residents and that I regarded that as my absolute democratic right. The complaint was thrown out, although I did apologise for an error of fact in my statement to the committee.

They are now having a go at one of our Parish Councillors and I will be providing full support. I regard this as intimidation at best and probably bully tactics.

Lambourn Annual Parish Assembly

I attended, gave a speech and took questions at this event on May 21st. There was a lot of useful information provided but turnout was not great. This is not a criticism of the good folk of Lambourn but merely a gentle suggestion that involvement in local matters benefits us all.

For those of you who were unable to make it, I attach the full text of Steve Mead’s address to the meeting. This provided a summary of what the Parish Council has been up to in the year past and some of its plans for the year to come.

I was kindly invited to join the Parish Councillors for a brainstorming session over some delicious pizza in the Memorial Hall afterwards – a useful exchange of ideas.

Casework

You will understand that I cannot share specific details for peoples’ personal reasons but there are some real issues out there ranging from housing issues to internet connection problems. I try to do what I can through my contacts at the Housing Team at West Berkshire, the local Police and Sovereign or other housing associations.

Get in touch

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

My continuing thanks to Brian Quinn of Penny Post for his journalistic assistance.