Slow worms in way of homes );
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SLOW worms living on a field in Henley may be relocated to make way for new homes.
The town council, which owns a grass verge that would serve as the entrance to a proposed development off Fair Mile, has agreed in principle to move the creatures to a new home under a deal with developer Thames Properties.
If the company is given the go-ahead to build 52 houses and 20 flats on the 4.6-hectare field, the council could sell the verge, or “ransom strip”.
Lawyers for both sides have been in negotiations but must wait for South Oxfordshire District Council, the planning authority, to make a decision on the firm’s application.
Proposed ban on HGVs backed by county councillors );
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A BAN on heavy goods vehicles using Henley as a “rat run” has moved another step closer.
Oxfordshire County Council, the highways authority, has agreed to complete studies into the effect of a 7.5-tonne weight restriction on traffic within a five-mile radius of the town.
More than half of the 63 members voted for a motion put before the council last week by Stefan Gawrysiak, who represents Henley on the council and has campaigned on the issue since 2019.
The motion said the town suffers from “significantly high” lorry traffic and air pollution, which in some areas has exceeded Air Quality England and the World Health Organisation’s safe limits for more than a decade.
MEASURES are being put in place to ensure polling stations will be Covid secure ahead of local elections next month. Voters will have to wear a mask, use hand sanitiser and observe social distancing when voting at West Oxfordshire District Council (WODC) elections on May 6. Voters are also encouraged to bring their own pen or pencil on the day. Meanwhile, some polling stations have had to change so voters are being urged to check their poll cards to make sure they know where their polling station is. Keith Butler, returning officer for WODC, said: “We are taking all the steps needed to make sure voters this year are safe at the polling stations and feel comfortable voting in person.
Artist appeals over order to tear down new ‘studio’ );
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AN artist is appealing against an order to tear down an “unlawful” studio he built in the countryside.
Clive Hemsley says the three-storey building in a field near Rotherfield Greys is not much bigger than the one he had previously proposed and which was approved by South Oxfordshire District Council, the planning authority, in 2017.
Mr Hemsley. from Henley, also says council officers regularly inspected the site at Greys Meadow but did not say anything was wrong until after the studio was finished.
They then told him to apply for retrospective permission, which he did last year but the application was rejected.
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