Howard Woollaston: Parish Matters – May 2022

April/May 2022

Firstly, my apologies for the slight delay in sending out this Newsletter. It was my youngest son’s wedding in Suffolk last weekend which, including the to-ing and fro-ing, took up over three days and has rather impacted on what was in any event going to be a busy week both on the Council and with Lambourn Ward affairs.

My role at West Berkshire Council is changing as of next Tuesday. I am passing over the Internal Governance portfolio to a new Executive Member, Tom Marino, and taking on Housing as well as retaining Leisure and Culture. I have to say that it is a new challenge which I really look forward to.

Anyway, on to what I have been up to in the ward.

Water and Sewers

I chaired the Lambourn Valley Flood Forum last week. This includes representatives of all the villages from Upper Lambourn down to where it joins the Kennet in Newbury. Thames Water was in attendance, and we received a written report from the Environment Agency (to be fair, the EA usually sends someone to attend in person).

Clearly groundwater levels have been far lower than previous years so have not fully tested the repairs and linings that Thames Water has put in place. TW has now completed the repairs needed in Malt Shovel Lane. The big news is the construction of a new main sewer from Bockhampton Road to the main sewage treatment plant at East Shefford. This is a £6 million project due to be undertaken in early summer 2023 and will run through fields to the south of Eastbury and East Garston. Thames Water believes that this will finally resolve sewerage issues in the upper part of the valley and future-proof against any housing development proposed in Lambourn over the course of the emerging West Berkshire Local Plan which once adopted will run up to 2036.

(Outside of the ward, a flood-relief project for Great Shefford has finally been formally confirmed by the Environment Agency and is fully funded – probably also for 2023. As with the Eastbury scheme, this required a significant contribution (£80,000) from the parish.)

I am delighted to confirm that WBC has received a £150,000 grant from central government for property-protection measures on 27 houses and commercial properties in central Lambourn – further information to follow in due course.

Planning

I have arranged to show, in two separate visits, Sue Halliwell (WBC’s Berkshire’s Executive Director for Place, which includes planning and highways) and Eric Owens (the recently arrived Service Director for Planning and Enforcement) around the whole of the ward taking in the sights of Membury Industrial Estate, Upper Lambourn, Lambourn, Eastbury and the Woodlands. Bridget Jones is joining me for both visits to fully explain the Membury Industrial Estate issues.

These follow on from the meeting that I reported on last month between representatives of the Woodland Protection Group, senior Council Officers and me. There has also been a video-conference call with Eric and Lambourn Parish Council so that he could understand more fully LPC’s views and explain what powers WBC has in terms of enforcement.

The Walker’s approved matters application was refused although, as I write this, I am not sure of the reason/s. Otherwise, there have been no really contentious applications this month.

Annual Parish Meetings

I attended the Lambourn Annual Parish Meeting and spoke about the powers and influence that a District Councillor, and in particular one who sits on the Executive, has with council officers. It is in many ways an unusual relationship as the administration sets overall strategy and direction but has little direct day to day control. We can certainly influence heavily and challenge and can always discuss with the Executive Directors and Chief Executive. Strangely it generally works well with everyone trying to meet similar objectives.

I also attended the East Garston Annual Meeting as stand-in for Clive Hooker, whose ward it sits in, who was at a birthday dinner organised by his wife. I was astonished at just how busy and well-organized their Parish Hall is with a bar and various indoor sports going on: it even has a full-sized snooker table. It made me realise what we might be able to achieve in Eastbury with a rebuilt hall – if we can find a way of funding it. Any ideas for generous benefactors gratefully received!

Lambourn neighbourhood development plan (NDP)

I spent Saturday morning at the first of a series of informal consultations on this in the Church at Eastbury with the redoubtable Sue Cocker. These are the last opportunities for input into the NDP before it gets to its draft stage when things become more formal.

I would urge you to come to one of the other meetings and make your views known. Even though the NDP has yet to be adopted, the policies it’s developing are already being taken account of in planning decisions. It will have far more weight once the referendum is completed and the plan formally adopted. The remaining meetings are as follows: –

Woodlands St. Mary Village Hall – Thursday May 19, 7.00pm to 9.00pm.
Jockey Club Estates Upper Lambourn – Wednesday 25 May, 5.00pm to 7.00pm.
Memorial Hall Lambourn – Friday 27 May, 9.00am to 11.00am.
Memorial Hall Lambourn – Friday 27 May, 5pm to 7pm.
Memorial Hall Lambourn – Saturday 28 May, 10.00am to noon.

I will be attending all of them apart from the Friday morning one on 27 May should you wish also to have a chat with me about this or any other issues.

Roads and rights of way

I met the head of the Countryside Team at West Berkshire on-site on Friday 6 May.

The first item was to discuss a solution to the walls in Three Posts Lane in Lambourn. There are two occurrences of the wall having collapsed but the issue is who owns them. They have been repaired over the years in a whole variety of different styles some with coping stones and others with a mix of brick and flint – it actually has a greater charm in my view than a consistent finish. A partially eroded stone says on one part “Restored 2000”. The Council has an obligation to keep the right of way in good repair but not the walls. It was left that more investigation is needed to determine ownership: however, I will be pushing for WBC to take responsibility.

We then moved on to Fulke Walwyn Way in Upper Lambourn, the horse track between Malt Shovel Lane and the High Street allowing horse access to the gallops. Will Riggall of Jockey Club Estates (JCE) joined us, and we agreed provisional timings of this summer to tarmac it. This will be jointly funded by WBC and JCE costing over £20,000 and will resolve a long-standing issue for local houseowners as it tends to be a mud bath in the winter and a dust bowl in summer. As has been pointed out to me several times, neither of these situations are ideal !

Potholes continue to be repaired with Crowle Road next on the list – please do continue to report them. It is far more effective to repair them when it is dry in the summer months.

The Platinum Jubilee

I am delighted that events are planned in both Lambourn and Eastbury – let us hope for some decent weather.

Get in touch

As ever if I can be of any help to residents, please get in touch on 07836 718100 or Howard.woollaston1@westberks.gov.uk

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