http://www.newbury.net/forum/forum/ http://www.eblah.com en http://www.newbury.net/forum/forum/m-1368643951/ http://www.newbury.net/forum/forum/m-1368643951/#num1
At 9.45am this morning (15th May) a man in his eighties was walking past Costa Coffee in Northbrook Street when he was attacked from behind and his briefcase was stolen. The offender ran towards the canal towpath along Hambridge Lane.

During the robbery the victim sustained head injuries and was taken to the Royal Berkshire Hospital, where he remains in a stable condition.

The offender was in his late thirties and was short with short grey spiky hair. He was wearing a navy blue top and jeans.

The briefcase stolen was made of black fabric and had the letters IPPCR in white letters on the front.

Investigating Officer, PC Jason Watkins said: “This was a nasty attack on a vulnerable, elderly gentleman who has been left very shaken by the incident. There were a lot of people around at the time and we appeal to them to come forward if they think they saw the attack or the man running away from the scene”.

Police are appealing for anyone who saw the robbery or who has seen a man with this description to contact PC Jason Watkins at Newbury police station via the 24-hour non-emergency number 101.

If you don't want to speak directly to the police you can contact the independent charity Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111 or online at crimestoppers-uk.org.

No personal details are taken, information is not traced or recorded and you will not go to court.]]> Wed, 15 May 2013 19:52:31 Administrator http://www.newbury.net/forum/forum/m-1368101906/ http://www.newbury.net/forum/forum/m-1368101906/#num1 Gridlock in Newbury Town Centre this morning (Thursday)

The whole of Newbury Town Centre ground to a halt just before 9.00am this morning (Thursday). Traffic was completely stationary in the Market Place, Northbrook Street, Bartholomew Street and was even backing up the Andover Road towards the Gun public house.

This problem is now happening on a regular basis and is caused by the traffic lights in the Market Place (adjacent to the old Barclays Bank). The hold-ups occur primarily during the morning and evening rush hour.

The traffic lights in question are controlled by movement detectors on the top of the traffic light array. Most traffic lights in Newbury are controlled by sensors in the road; this is not possible at this location because of the cobbled surface.

Queuing traffic in Cheap Street heading for the police station roundabout tends to block the exit from the Market Place. In consequence no movement is being detected from traffic queuing in the Market Place.  The gridlock situation remains until the vehicles at the head of the queue decide to jump the lights. The sensors then activate and traffic returns to normal.

This morning, the car at the front of the queue was reluctant to jump the lights. In consequence, the traffic built up through the Market Place and Mansion House Street and blocked the canal bridge with southbound traffic. This in turn prevented the movement of northbound traffic into Northbrook Street from Bartholomew Street. And so it went on until the whole town was gridlocked.]]> Thu, 9 May 2013 13:18:26 Administrator http://www.newbury.net/forum/forum/m-1366107261/ http://www.newbury.net/forum/forum/m-1366107261/#num1
Kennet Radio’s held its latest successful fundraising event, “Live and Local”, at Newbury Rugby Club on Saturday night (13th April).

Presented by local radio DJ and personality Paul Newman, the evening featured five top local music acts, including The Mini Band, a local rock band of 9-12 year olds whose YouTube videos have had millions of views from around the world.

“There is so much young talent in Newbury and Thatcham,” said Mr Newman, who is on the Kennet Radio Steering Group, “and a lot of it was right there on Saturday night.  I felt we could be looking at history in the making, the embryo of supreme musical talent, potentially a bit like the Cavern Club.”  

One audience member, Uwe Balu Fleischhauer, even travelled all the way from Germany.  Uwe is from Legden, near the German border with Holland, and had travelled to Newbury for only the second time.  Speaking after the event he said, “It was a fantastic night.  I love all these incredible kids, [their] music and [their] wonderful parents.”  

All of the performers gave their time for nothing to support Kennet Radio, and Newbury Rugby Club generously donated the room hire.

“We had a fantastic evening, and we’re really grateful to everyone who has given up their time to make this such a success,” said Kennet Radio Steering Group member Marie Townsend, who organised the event.  “Everyone had a great time, and we managed to raise money for Kennet Radio, too.”

A video of the evening’s highlights has been posted on Kennet Radio’s YouTube channel.

If anyone would like to get involved with making programmes or organising events and fundraising, Kennet Radio welcomes volunteers who can get in touch via the Kennet Radio website at http://www.kennetradio.com.  


Kennet Community Radio is a not-for-profit organisation established to set up and run a local community radio station for Newbury and Thatcham.  It is run entirely by volunteers, and is funded only by donations, grants and sponsorship.

The group is already streaming a pre-recorded service online via http://www.kennetradio.com and the mobile TuneIn app, and is in the process of building the team and gathering equipment to begin broadcasting on FM with a Restricted Service Licence later this year, prior to applying for a full time FM community radio licence when the next round of community radio licence applications for the south-east are invited by Ofcom next year.

Kennet Community Radio is a member of the Community Media Association (www.commedia.org.uk).  

For more information about community radio, please see:
http://licensing.ofcom.org.uk/radio-broadcast-licensing/community-radio/

Facebook:  http://www.facebook.com/KennetRadio

Twitter:  @KennetRadioNews
]]> Tue, 16 Apr 2013 11:14:21 Administrator http://www.newbury.net/forum/forum/m-1364471267/ http://www.newbury.net/forum/forum/m-1364471267/#num1 This is a Press Release from Richard Garvie  representing the Newbury Labour Party
It has been reproduced in full without editorial comment

The Labour Party in West Berkshire has stepped up it's fight to stop West Berkshire Council plans to give prime development land to a developer for free in Newbury town centre.

West Berkshire Council want to give land at Market Street to a developer for free, including the town bus station.

Labour's Richard Garvie has been fighting the development but was unaware that the land was to be given away as Conservative and Lib Dem councillors discussed the deal for years under rules which meant that the press and members of the public be excluded from the meetings.

Garvie will now lobby Eric Pickles in a desperate bid to stop the deal.

"This deal is yet another example of dodgy deals and stupid decisions being made behind closed doors. Eric Pickles is now the only person who can halt this deal, and we will be taking a petition to him and the Newbury MP Richard Benyon in a desperate last minute attempt to scrap this development."

Mr Garvie has also called upon West Berkshire Council to refer itself to the Audit Commission.

"If the leaders of the Conservative Party and Liberal Democrats have nothing to hide, they would refer this deal to the Audit Commision, in addition to a similar deal that was done on land at Parkway."]]> Thu, 28 Mar 2013 11:47:47 Administrator http://www.newbury.net/forum/forum/m-1364225512/ http://www.newbury.net/forum/forum/m-1364225512/#num1 NEWBURY TOWN COUNCIL ANNUAL REPORT


As a part of the Annual Town Meeting, Newbury Town Council presents an annual report on the achievements and progress over the last year and the Council’s aspirations for the future.

That Town Meeting is scheduled for today, Monday 25 March 2013, but for those who are not able to attend, the report is now published on the Town Council’s web-site http://www.newbury.gov.uk.  The report can be accessed by following the “Annual Report” menu link in the “About Us” menu, or clicking on this link: http://newbury.gov.uk/pdfs/annual-reports/Annual%20Report-2012-13.pdf

A high resolution version is also available on request from the Town Hall.
]]> Mon, 25 Mar 2013 15:31:52 Administrator