| Your Letters |
Charge will hit pensioners
Sir, — I am a pensioner and I’m appalled that Henley Town Council should propose to charge for parking in Mill Lane.
This car park is used by old age pensioners, families with children, dog walkers and those wanting to get exercise in a pleasant environment. We need easy access to the joys of the river, amenities and the lock.
Many of us have not been using the Marsh Meadows car park on a regular basis because of its extortionate pricing and the Mill Lane park has been our salvation. Now this, too, is going to be denied us.
The Mill Lane park is not used by shoppers or business people and during the week spaces are usually available, so there is no need to ration its use by charging. However, I would agree to the banning of commercial vehicles and coaches. — Yours faithfully,
David Booth, Elizabeth Road, Henley.
Bureaucratic greed
Sir, — Because of its proximity to the meadow and river I am a regular user of Mill Lane car park both during the week and at weekends.
As such, I seriously question the basis on which Henley Town Council now seek to impose parking charges. Apparently this has been done to ‘relieve and prevent congestion and to preserve local amenities’.
Can the town council tell us what evidence they have to substantiate this statement? What studies have been carried out on the ground, by whom, and over what period?
Throughout the many times that I have used the car park in the last year, I have never once seen little men skulking around in the bushes with boards under their arms, so I suspect the answer is none.
The fact is that the car park, which at a pinch can accommodate just under 60 cars, is rarely if ever full on weekdays but tends to be full for a short time at weekends if the weather is good and a match is being played on the adjacent football pitch.
Congestion in the proper meaning of the word does not occur and, as for preserving the amenities, I do not see how charging £3 to park will preserve anything except a lasting resentment.
Instead the main users, senior citizens (I am one) and mums and children, will be penalised for what is essentially a sad and shabby example of needless bureaucratic greed.
I hope the Henley electorate will remember this when the time comes. — Yours faithfully
Michael van Brugen, Badgers Walk, Shiplake.
Don't have car park here
Sir, — It is with surprise and dismay that I read Mr. Edwards’ letter in your paper regarding the proposal to impose parking charges in Mill Lane car park by Henley Town Council. Their reasoning for doing this is hard to believe.
Relieve congestion! Where from? Certainly not from the town centre and the only time there is congestion in Mill Lane is when there is a football match and I fail to see how parking charges will cure that.
It seems unjust to penalise local residents who have already contributed to the local exchequer. Local residents will be hit, however, because from Monday to Friday, Mill Lane is used by local mothers who walk their very young children through the meadow, middle aged or retired couples strolling along the riverside and dog walkers. Perhaps the council consider these people are getting some advantage over the other residents and therefore must pay a further charge.
It is also questionable what revenue the council will make from this if it has to monitor the area from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. seven days of the week. Paying the salary of at least two attendants will most certainly outweigh the income because the extensive hours for monitoring is longer than can be worked by one operative. And where will these employees be based, not in a little hut at the site surely? So where will he/she walk from, and how often will they visit the site to catch offenders?
I find it surprising that these difficulties were not raised at council meetings, or if they were, what made councillors think that this scheme is worthwhile in the face of all the possible problems that may arise.
I implore the councillors to reconsider this proposal. The net income cannot be worth the bad publicity it will get. — Yours faithfuly,
A. E. Badcock, Gillotts Lane, Henley.
Let’s have free prescriptions
Sir, — I am writing to support Macmillan Cancer Support’s campaign for free prescriptions in England. No one should be in a position where they can’t afford to pay for their prescriptions, yet for one in ten cancer patients aged 55 and under who have to pay for their prescriptions, this is exactly what happens.
The Government is due to publish a consultation to review prescription charges soon, but it has already said it is not prepared to spend one extra penny on prescriptions.
This means that any reform will inevitably involve some patients losing out — in effect, robbing Peter to pay Paul. I am extremely concerned that this consultation will be nothing more than tinkering with an inherently unfair system and I call on the Government to make prescriptions free in England. — Yours faithfully,
Mrs. Suzanne Davis, Berwyn Close, Basingstoke.
Travel agency may re-open
Sir, — I would like to clarify a few points concerning the closure of the Henley Travel Agency in Market Place, Henley.
I have taken over the agency from A. G. and K. M. Spiers Ltd., and I am currently exploring the option of operating the business from an alternative address in the town. — Yours faithfully,
Karen Spiers, Henley.
Ragwort must be controlled
Sir, — Many supporters have contacted us recently to voice their concerns about ragwort, a weed which is blooming at the moment. As every horse owner and farmer knows, ragwort contains toxins which can have debilitating or fatal consequences if eaten by horses and other grazing animals.
Ragwort has its place in the countryside; it supports a wide variety of invertebrates and is a major nectar source for many insects, but it must be controlled, especially where there are horses and livestock. Land stewardship and animal husbandry are both huge responsibilities and I know that they are taken seriously by farmers, but it is important that the dangers posed by ragwort reach the widest possible audience.
There is a growing concern that some public bodies who own land, such as local authorities, are not taking the problem seriously and managing their land appropriately, but there is no excuse; a Code of Practice on how to stop the spread of ragwort is available from DEFRA.
The Countryside Alliance will be writing to all local authorities and other bodies in the coming weeks to remind them that they have a duty to control ragwort on their land and must be vigilant, especially where their land abuts farmland.
The threat ragwort poses to animals cannot be underestimated and is something that all landowners, whether public or private, must take seriously. — Yours faithfully,
Simon Hart, Chief Executive, Countryside Alliance, Kennington Road, London.
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Take a look at the Henley Standard video broadcasts.
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Dennis Devier tallks to Standard reporter Nick Edmondson. |
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Good, clean, West Country fun comes to Henley...
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Standard pushes the boat out to keep town blooming. |
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Take a peek at what films are coming to a cinema near you.
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