By Will Davies
Chaos has been narrowly avoided in the lead-up to this Sunday’s Henley Half Marathon after hundreds of entry packs were held in limbo during this week’s postal strike.
Over 1,100 entry packs containing race numbers with safety clips and the crucial chip which attaches to the shoe to time each individual runner, were posted to entrants last week, but it soon became apparent that many would not arrive in time.
Race organisers, Henley Bridge Rotary Club, have been forced to invalidate the chips and reissue new entry packs at a cost of £3,000, which will be borne by the many charities that benefit from race proceeds.
“The RNLI receives 25 per cent of the profits, so they will be most affected,” said race organiser Ian McGaw. The remaining 75 per cent is distributed to a handful of worthy causes selected by Henley Bridge Rotary members, including the Chiltern Centre for Disabled Children, the Citizen’s Advice Bureau and Sebastian’s Action Trust for handicapped children.
Rotary members and friends rallied round to implement a contingency plan on Thursday evening, with a 30-strong team assembled at the home of Henley Hawks rugby club, Dry Leas, to put together the new packs. Organisers are expecting upwards of 2,500 runners. Mr. McGaw added: “This shows Rotary at its best. It’s great to see such camaraderie and broad sense of community spirit.
“A lot of people have been phoning and emailing in a panic. We have put advice on our website and sent an email to every runner, but not everyone gave an email address when they registered. The ironic part is that everyone will receive their pack eventually.
“If your chip arrives before the race, we ask that people bring it along and deposit it in the containers at the entrance to the blue room on Sunday, as we can send them back and get a 30p refund for each chip.”
Race packs containing replacement chips will be available for every entrant on the morning of the race between 8 a.m. and 9.15 a.m.
Tuesday, 16 October 2007
Mews plan gets massive thumbs down by public
By Will Davies
THE RULING party on the town council, the Henley Residents’ Group (HRG), has criticised the proposed redevelopment of Market Place Mews, claiming the plans are ‘not in the best interests of Henley’.
The developer, London and Henley Properties, is making a renewed attempt to get the go-ahead for the £5 million scheme after it was rejected by South Oxfordshire District Council (SODC) last year. And for two hours in the Market Place last Saturday, the public was given the chance to view a scale model of what the controversial redevelopment would look like if developers were to gain planning permission.
Over 500 people viewed the exhibition, and of the 106 people who registered their views, 26 per cent voted for the scheme against 74 per cent opposing it, the latter citing over-development, traffic and parking as their primary fears.Residents were given until Wednesday to air their views to the district council.
Developers claim the second plan is smaller than the original, and would regenerate land that is ‘largely overgrown gardens, undefined space and private car parking places’. If it gets the thumbs up, the mews could have 14 new apartments and a public space for alfresco dining, and would bring ‘day-round life’ to a central part of Henley.
But members of the HRG have branded it ‘too large and too high’, and say the quality of the buildings is poor and ‘do not enhance or preserve the conservation area’. HRG chairman Ian Reissmann said: “We think the district council should ask the developer to think again, and come up with a plan for the area which meets the needs of the town and is properly sympathetic to the nature of the conservation area in the middle of our town.”
Cllr. Barry Wood does not subscribe to the views of his party. He agrees with the revised plans, which he feels will encourage investment and development in the town. He refutes his party’s claims that the current shops and small businesses will be driven out by ‘the same chains that dominate so many other towns and cities in the UK’. He said: “The shops will not be big enough for multinational companies. They will be interesting feature shops. We are not trying to build a mini-Reading but an alternative shopping experience.”
He is, however, more sympathetic with HRG’s concerns over the height of the development, believing it is ‘just about acceptable’, but ‘two storeys would have been preferable to three’. London and Henley Properties also proposes no affordable housing for the site — a particular scruple for HRG which has weighed heavy on the conscience of Cllr. Wood.
He added: “The apartments will all be two or three bedroomed and will cost around £300,000 to £400,000. It is a great shame there will be no affordable housing.”
With or without Cllr. Wood, HRG says it will be supporting the case for the plans to be rejected by both the town council and SODC.
The town council will make a recommendation on the plans this coming Tuesday (October 16th), before they are passed to SODC, with a result likely around the end of November.
THE RULING party on the town council, the Henley Residents’ Group (HRG), has criticised the proposed redevelopment of Market Place Mews, claiming the plans are ‘not in the best interests of Henley’.
The developer, London and Henley Properties, is making a renewed attempt to get the go-ahead for the £5 million scheme after it was rejected by South Oxfordshire District Council (SODC) last year. And for two hours in the Market Place last Saturday, the public was given the chance to view a scale model of what the controversial redevelopment would look like if developers were to gain planning permission.
Over 500 people viewed the exhibition, and of the 106 people who registered their views, 26 per cent voted for the scheme against 74 per cent opposing it, the latter citing over-development, traffic and parking as their primary fears.Residents were given until Wednesday to air their views to the district council.
Developers claim the second plan is smaller than the original, and would regenerate land that is ‘largely overgrown gardens, undefined space and private car parking places’. If it gets the thumbs up, the mews could have 14 new apartments and a public space for alfresco dining, and would bring ‘day-round life’ to a central part of Henley.
But members of the HRG have branded it ‘too large and too high’, and say the quality of the buildings is poor and ‘do not enhance or preserve the conservation area’. HRG chairman Ian Reissmann said: “We think the district council should ask the developer to think again, and come up with a plan for the area which meets the needs of the town and is properly sympathetic to the nature of the conservation area in the middle of our town.”
Cllr. Barry Wood does not subscribe to the views of his party. He agrees with the revised plans, which he feels will encourage investment and development in the town. He refutes his party’s claims that the current shops and small businesses will be driven out by ‘the same chains that dominate so many other towns and cities in the UK’. He said: “The shops will not be big enough for multinational companies. They will be interesting feature shops. We are not trying to build a mini-Reading but an alternative shopping experience.”
He is, however, more sympathetic with HRG’s concerns over the height of the development, believing it is ‘just about acceptable’, but ‘two storeys would have been preferable to three’. London and Henley Properties also proposes no affordable housing for the site — a particular scruple for HRG which has weighed heavy on the conscience of Cllr. Wood.
He added: “The apartments will all be two or three bedroomed and will cost around £300,000 to £400,000. It is a great shame there will be no affordable housing.”
With or without Cllr. Wood, HRG says it will be supporting the case for the plans to be rejected by both the town council and SODC.
The town council will make a recommendation on the plans this coming Tuesday (October 16th), before they are passed to SODC, with a result likely around the end of November.
Friday, 5 October 2007
Students' show of solidarity
College group turns out in support of Burmese monks
“I am so proud of them — they are not bothered about making a fool out of themselves. They know what they are doing is nothing compared to how the monks are being treated.”
By Will Davies
FOLLOWING the brutal crackdown by Burmese authorities on protesting monks and their civilian supporters, dozens of students at the Henley College gathered on Tuesday to demonstrate against the repression.
Wearing saffron-red headbands to display solidarity with the red-robed Buddhist clergy, over 30 members of the college’s Amnesty International student group marched from their Deanfield campus in Deanfield Avenue to the college’s Rotherfield site, picking up protesters along the way.
Burma’s revered monks spearheaded ten days of street demonstrations against the ruling generals, until the army cleared the streets with tear gas, baton charges and gunfire. Although the regime has admitted to killing ten people, pro-democracy groups say the true death toll could be in the hundreds.
“Violence isn’t the answer,” said 17-year-old Amy Hough.
“They are in direct breech of Article 19 of the UN’s Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which guarantees the right to freedom of speech and the right to protest peacefully.
“It’s disgusting how they are being treated. Everyone has the right to peaceful protest.”
It has been widely reported that around 3,000 monks have been detained by Burmese security forces and are being held in police and military camps. Displaying their disgust, the Henley students shrouded their college’s revered statue — the swan man — in robes similar to those worn by the monks.
“We are showing solidarity with the monks,” said fellow student Lizzie Hudson. “It is important to show people this is happening.”
In a brave turn, 17-year-old student Marcus Fletcher, from Western Road in Henley, volunteered to have his head shaved in the college’s reception, witnessed by hundreds of passing students. “This is an important issue and I want to help raise awareness,” he said. "We’ve had a very positive reaction from so many students.”
One of the most active members of the group, Kathy Mangion, 16, said: “The situation in Burma is getting worse, and action needs to be taken to free the monks.
“We have written to the junta demanding their release and for the brutality to stop.”
But the students are realistic, and admit that only international pressure will put an end to the repression. “Only when China, Russia and India put on the pressure will the generals back down,” added Miss Mangion.
The group’s tutor, Sue Bingham, said: “It’s great to see the students so fired up. It normally takes us months to organise a protest, but with such a pressing issue, we managed to set everything up in one lunchtime.
“I am so proud of them — they are not bothered about making a fool out of themselves. They know what they are doing is nothing compared to how the monks are being treated.”
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