Pedestrian crossing and bollards to improve safety );
ROAD safety improvements could be made in Whitchurch high street.
The parish council is in talks with Oxfordshire County Council, the highways authority, about installing bollards along the pavement in front of the Ferryboat pub and a new pedestrian crossing near the junction with Eastfield Lane.
Members would like two trials to be carried out in order to show if the bollards would be effective.
The first trial would involve giving priority to traffic coming from the south as the street narrows to a single lane, where there are “Give way” markings at both ends so there is no clear priority for drivers.
Flooding ‘proves case against new housing’ );
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FLOODING on the site of a proposed housing development in Shiplake is further proof that the scheme should be scrapped, say opponents.
Rainwater pooled up beside the entrance to the former Thames Farm, off the A4155 Reading Road, when last week’s heavy showers brought the worst floods to the Henley area since 2014.
Taylor Wimpey is set to build 95 homes on the
5.7-hectare site, which will be renamed Regency Place, after planning permission was awarded on appeal in 2018.
But opponents say the flooding wasn’t a one-off and, in fact, will happen more often in future because climate change will bring more downpours.
Extension plan for councillor’s home approved );
PLANS by a Henley councillor’s partner to enlarge their home have been approved.
Catherine Notaras was criticised by neighbours for wanting to create more living space at her three-bedroom detached property in Elizabeth Road.
Ms Notaras, who shares the house with Henley town, district and county councillor Stefan Gawrysiak, was forced to scale back her plans.
Now she has been granted permission by South Oxfordshire District Council’s planning committee to build a ground floor annexe with a bedsit with a bathroom and kitchen-diner.
On the first floor there will be a fourth bedroom with an en-suite bathroom plus new dormer windows in the loft.
Revamp of historic hotel welcomed by town councillors );
PLANS to refurbish the Red Lion Hotel in Henley have been welcomed by town councillors.
Grace Leo bought the property from MG Hotels last year and intends to rebrand it as The Relais, which is French for “coaching inn”.
The hotel, which is on the corner of Hart Street and Thames Side, is a Grade II listed building and requires special permission for the planned changes, which will include:
•Refurbishing the bedrooms and bathrooms.
• Moving the dining area to the existing Regatta Suite.
•Decorating the communal areas.
The work, which will cost about £3million, will be done with a view to the hotel re-opening in time for this year’s Henley Royal Regatta.