Museum wants to let surplus space to bolster revenue );
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THE River & Rowing Museum in Henley wants to rent out surplus office space to bring in more revenue.
It has applied to South Oxfordshire District Council, the planning authority, for change of use permission for part of the building.
The 253 sq m of space would change from learning and non-residential use to commerical, business and office use.
This would be let to a local architectural practice.
The museum, which is due to re-open on May 20 under the Government’s roadmap out of the coronavirus pandemic, says the move would have no impact on the running of the venue.
Farmer s homes plan rejected );
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AN unspoilt field between Henley and Harpsden where a developer wants to build 100 homes will not be earmarked in the latest draft of the parishes’ joint neighbourhood plan.
Henley Town Council, which is overseeing the revision of the housing blueprint, has declined to shortlist the eight-hectare plot at Lucy’s Farm, on Drawback Hill off Gillotts Lane, because it says more suitable sites are available.
When it invited landowners to submit proposals last autumn, Bloor Homes came forward with a plan for up to 100 units which it said could go in the centre of the field with planting around the edge to screen it from public view.
Villagers are furious at plans to convert the upstairs of a pub into five guest rooms. A planning application to convert the unused derelict office and manager accommodation into guest rooms at the Three Horseshoes pub in Garsington village near Oxford, is currently in the consultation period. In the design and access statement, the applicant explains they aim to “rejuvenate” the first floor of the pub by creating five guest rooms “to promote patronage, breakfasting and dining at the public house.” The applicant also states: “Trade at the public house has declined in recent years in line with the trend in England, Public Houses are becoming obsolete, the business has been struggling and various managers have come and gone but no positive income streams have been achieved.”
CONTROVERSIAL plans for flats at a town restaurant have been put on hold by councillors. A West Oxfordshire District Council (WODC) planning committee met on Monday to discuss the creation of eight flats at the building which used to be Hackett’s in Witney. However, that discussion was shelved after revised plans were submitted. The committee subsequently deferred making a decision to its next meeting, currently scheduled for May 24. Hackett s restaurant attracted controversy last year when it was accused of paying staff late and not in full, owing employees ‘thousands’. Owner Dave Hackett – who was leasing the space but has now left – admitted things had ‘gone too far’ and that he owed some staff ‘a lot of money’.
Campaign for footbridge over river steps up pace );
PLANS to introduce a river crossing between Wargrave and Shiplake are gathering pace.
The committee of the Wargrave and Shiplake Bridge Campaign have had “very encouraging” talks with Mitchells & Butlers, which owns the St George & Dragon on High Street, where one end of the footbridge might be.
Various other potential sites, which have not been named, have also been considered but the pub land is considered to be the most suitable.
A feasibility study found that every single crossing point would either start or finish, or both, on private land, either residential, farming or commercial.