217 residents filled the High School assembly hall

At a packed meeting in the High School on Monday evening, 217 residents heard more than 20 speakers voice their genuine concerns about the proposed development of high density housing by Taylor Wimpey on the Market site.

Objections were raised on virtually every aspect of the plans, including major fears over traffic problems, flooding and drainage, further strain on medical facilities and schools, the effect of the loss of the largest employment site in the area and its effect on trade in the town, poor design resulting in a negative effect on the street scene, and concerns over another open space when existing open spaces already have problems with vandalism and intimidation.

Not one of the residents spoke in favour of the proposed application and in a show of hands, requested by Henley NEWS On-line almost 100% of those in the hall voted against the plan.

Not one person spoke against the concept of providing adequate affordable social housing and it could be detected from the atmosphere within the hall that all were in favour of ensuring that there was adequate social housing provision in Henley.

John Stott, speaking on behalf Henley and Beaudesert Society, raised serious concern over the highly questionable accuracy of the modelling in the report on the flood risk, pointing out that no flooding at all was predicted for Prince Harry Road despite an allowance for future effects of climate change that are not yet with us. This, in spite of the fact that areas and properties that were flooded in July 2007 were not predicted to do so by the mathematical model used in the report. The same resident pointed out that there was no proper assessment of traffic flows and that there was no accident and safety audit.

Cindy Britain (pictured left), owner of Henley’s famous Ice-Cream Parlour, said that the loss of the trade from the market site could result in the closure of her business that has existed in Henley for over 100 years.

Following the public’s participation Councillor Stephen Thirlwell gave the background to the Local Plan Review that resulted in the Local Plan being adopted by the District Council in July 2006. He said that this was the “Bible” as far as planning policy was concerned. He continued by saying that in the Local Plan the Cattle Market site had been allocated for mixed use, being residential, industrial and retail. He said that there was currently a moratorium on housing, because the whole of the District would otherwise exceed its planned supply, the exception being where proposals were for 100% social/affordable housing, but that the moratorium did not override the Local Plan that had been through detailed public consultation. He stood by the Local Plan and would vote against the proposed development.

Councillor Laurence Marshall pointed out that the Parish Plan encouraged social or affordable housing in new developments and believed that second and third generation Henley families had a reasonable expectation to live in the area. He nevertheless believed that the key words in the Parish Plan were “appropriate level of social/ affordable housing in new developments” which he would assume to be a level that satisfied local need. He said a Housing Needs Survey had been commissioned last year by the Parish Council to ensure that any new development receiving consent would be truly need driven. The report identified a requirement for only 19 units, some of which had already been satisfied in other developments in the town. Cllr Marshall said that he believed that the consultation process had been flawed, that he had concerns over many issues and that he would vote against the proposed development.

Cllr George Atkinson stated that the development reminded him of an “institutional barracks” and agreed that the Local Plan should stand. He had major concerns over parking and the road situation in the proposals which needed addressing. He believed that the flood risk could not be brushed aside given that there had been two major floods in the last nine years, and therefore the risk assessment of one in one hundred years was wholly unrealistic.

Councillor Debbie Bassett deplored the developer’s statement that the negative effect of the development on house values was “not a planning issue”. Councillor Sylvia Doyle stressed again that there was justification for only 18 units for social and affordable housing, and that within Stratford District Council Henley-in-Arden was towards the bottom in terms of housing need. She thought that the “visuals” were appalling and that large blocks of housing on the Warwick Road were inappropriate for a small rural town.

A sub-committee of the Parish Council is now preparing a paper which will explain in technical terms the reason for rejecting the proposal. This will be sent to the Stratford on Avon District Council who will make the final decision. It is expected that this process may take three months.

Both Councillors Atkinson and Doyle urged residents to write direct to Pat Reid, Director of Planning at Stratford District Council to register their objections. Members of the Council voted unanimously to object to the proposed development.

DOWNLOAD A DRAFT LETTER TO SEND TO STRATFORD COUNCIL

You can then submit your letter on-line to planning.applications@stratford-dc.gov.uk

The Councillors unanimously vote to object to the planning application

The key points for the Council's objections are:

• The Local Plan for the District which is referred to as the 'Bible' for local planning, states in HEN.C policy that the site of the Cattle Market in Henley in Arden is allocated for 'mixed use development which include residential, industrial and small-scale retail'. The current development proposals clearly do not follow the Local Plan and indeed are not in harmony with the Parish Plan published in 2004.
• The erection of 65 residential houses is simply too dense for the site.
• The design of the proposed houses is not in keeping with the houses of the area.
• The statement that there is 1% probability for flooding in the area i.e. 1 in 100 years quoted in the proposed plan is based on a forecast model whose results are not supported by evidence.

As Henley-in-Arden residents debate the approval, or rejection, of the planning application for a housing development exclusively dedicated to social housing, a wider debate could take place on the effectiveness of the entire issue of social housing. Today there are only 4 million social housing units available, but 1.5 million people on waiting lists for social accommodation. It would be logical to say, “build more units”, however, the quantity of units supplied becomes exponentially related to the availability of “tenancies for life” and “tenancies for generations”. The “right to buy” program has been very successful; however, properties are purchased at discounted prices, yet sold at market value, thus removing them from both the social housing stock and the “first time buyer” availability.

In February 2007 Ruth Kelly, Communities Secretary, commissioned a report from the London School of Economics to study the issues surrounding social housing. The findings state a number of weaknesses in the program, one being that isolated social housing estates act as a barrier to social and economic mobility, another being the relationship between social housing and work. Currently over half of working age people living in social housing are not working, generating a culture in which work is not the norm. Where 1 in 8 house moves within the general society are work related, the life long housing security available via social housing generates only 1 in a few thousand moves due to work related situations.
The report suggests linking work schemes to social housing. It suggests that people of working age not be allocated life long social housing, but rather temporary housing that is managed via welfare to work programs, with priority given to work related moves and housing support being allocated through job centres.

Needless to say these are controversial ideas. The reality is that the population is ageing, which will effect the tax base that supports these programs. Change is mandatory, the question is, which is the right direction to take?

Pat Geraght - Resident of Henley

Keith Ford who died on Friday the 26th of October came to Henley in 1966 with his family when he was appointed technical director of Tubeworkers Ltd. of Claverdon.

Trained as a structural engineer he was justly proud of the design and construction contribution his relatively small company made to such iconic engineering projects as the Royal Exchange Theatre in Manchester, the Thames Barrier and Stansted Airport terminals but still found time to take a significant part in the life of the Town.

A lifelong churchgoer he served on the Parochial Church Council as Church Warden using his skills on behalf of the church in a number of reconstruction projects. A founder member of the Rotary Club of Henley in Arden, he served in most of its offices and became President in 1985. Invited to join the Court Leet he was in office as High Bailiff in 1990 when the manorship was sold at Manorial Society auction to Joseph Hardy of Pennsylvania. In 2005, he was appointed an Honorary Burgess for outstanding service to the Town.

After his retirement in 1995, he found time to develop his skills with a pen and his line drawings of many of the best loved buildings in the Town appeared as presents or commissions and on cards of all types.

Asked how he found the time, Keith always said that he couldn`t have done what he did without the support of Pam his wife. She and the family have lost a loving husband, father and grandfather. Henley has lost a gentleman.

Ray Holding, High Bailiff and also a trustee of the Joseph Hardy Trust and curator of Henley's Heritage Centre, has told Henley NEWS On-line that agreement has been reached this week with the Library authorities for the provision of a continuing library service in Henley.

Readers will know that the library beneath the Guild Hall suffered badly in the July floods: it will be some time before that can be restored to use.

Meantime, a library service will be provided at the Heritage Centre, 150 High Street, starting in mid-November. The property has passed scrutiny and a license will be signed by the trustees in the next few days.

Several outraged and many disappointed pensioners were turned away from The Heritage Centre this week as red faced councillors had to admit they had under budgeted for the annual distribution of travel tokens.

The reason – they had a lot left last year and had to anticipate the demand in advance as they had to allocate an amount from their budget. They were staggered at the amount of people turning up this year.

Personally I am disappointed as my husband and I are both eligible and they are useful for taxis and train fares, and I know we are going to have free travel on buses from April 2008. However – many elderly disappointed residents will not have their tokens for emergency hospital visits and the like. I cannot see why the Parish Council cannot apply for a further supply even if it does mean extra cost.

Annette Walker reporting

HADS (Henley-in-Arden Drama Society) finished their run of Fawlty Towers last Saturday. They presented three episodes of the much loved TV comedy:

• Hotel Inspectors
• Communication Problems
• Waldorf Salad

The run was extremely well attended, with all but the first night completely sold out. Those who came were treated to a magnificent production with very slick performances by both cast and crew. Special mention must be given to the four main characters: Rob Ison as Basil, Rosie Hammond as Sybil, Anna Austin as Polly, and Phil Walker as Manuel. They got the characters down to a tee and produced several side splitting moments.

However, a production like this involves a lot of very hard work by a number of people, many of whom are never seen. This production was no exception, and I would like to pay tribute to Marje Earnshaw (props – must have seemed like she was running a restaurant!), Sue Tootill (Stage Manager) and Brian Hammond (Front of House). Finally, Ray Evans who directed the show (and adapted it for Stage) along with Sue Evans who seemed to do everything else (Décor, Food, Make-up, Props – you name it).

It is a trait of the series that no matter how much you see them (and most people know the scripts backwards) they are still funny and never seem to go stale. If you came I am sure you will agree. If you didn’t, you missed a rare treat. Congratulations to all concerned.

HADS next production will be ‘More Christmas Crackers’ on Friday 21st and Saturday 22nd December (at 7.30 pm in the Memorial Hall). More details on tickets will be available soon, and will be available on the Group’s website www.hads.org.uk

Tony Capps - Drama Correspondent

Warwickshire College has been given the go-ahead to build a £1.9 million sports hall at its Henley-in-Arden Centre.

Stratford District Council Planning Committee yesterday (October 25) approved the exciting new plans.

Director of estates projects Chris Paget said: “This is a fantastic opportunity to improve the quality of the sporting facilities at the Henley-in-Arden Centre for our students, and build on our relations with the local community. The sports hall has been carefully designed to fit in with the beautiful landscape around Henley. We are very pleased with the emphasis placed on sustainability at the committee meeting. We are hoping to incorporate measures within the building to save energy, reclaim heat, and harvest rainwater to use within the changing facilities.”

The college will now move forward with a detailed design and the project will be put out to tender within the next few months.