New homes at beauty spot included in West Berkshire Council plan
A proposal to build homes on a beauty spot opposed by at least 2,000 people has been included in a council's strategy for future development.West Berkshire Council's Local Plan, which outlines where major development should take place, was reviewed to ensure it is up to date until 2041.The Liberal Democrats who control the authority had wanted to scrap the Local Plan in 2023 but the then Conservative government stopped that taking place.Pincents Hill, a field and nature area between Savacentre in Calcot and City Road in Tilehurst, has been allocated for 138 homes.
There have been three major attempts by developers to build on Pincents Hill but they failed because the site was not allocated for development.But the plan, including building on Pincents Hill, was approved by West Berkshire councillors on 10 June.Of those, 22 voted in favour of changing the plan, 13 voted against and one Conservative councillor, Dennis Bennyworth, abstained.
You can follow BBC Berkshire on Facebook, X (Twitter), or Instagram.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Telegraph
33 minutes ago
- Telegraph
French police ‘will never stop us', say Channel migrants
Channel migrants have vowed that they will 'never give up' on trying to reach Britain despite a looming French crackdown on illegal crossings. French ministers are set to change maritime rules to allow border police, gendarmes and coastguard vessels to stop boats from leaving waters within 300 metres of their coastline. The new strategy will see 'taxi boats' packed with migrants intercepted in shallow waters off Channel beaches. It will probably mean that migrants trying to clamber aboard are pushed back onto dry land by officers armed with shields and batons. However, migrants told The Telegraph that they would 'never give up' trying to reach the UK on small boats. Young men, teenagers and families with small children said they would try to find a way through to Britain, whatever new methods were adopted by the French. Waiting at a makeshift migrant camp on the edge of Loon-Plage, near the port of Dunkirk, was Jamal, a 24-year-old Sudanese man. He had made the two-month journey from North Africa to northern France by any method he could, including boat and horseback. 'If the police stop us in the water when we try to reach the boats, then we will go back to the beach the next day or the next week,' he said. 'We'll never give up.' Ali, a 27-year-old nursing assistant from Afghanistan, had a similar message for the French and British governments. 'Me and my friends are seeking asylum. As Azeris, we cannot express our ethnic identity in Afghanistan since the Taliban took over. It is terrible,' he said. 'That is why I hope the British will give us asylum. That's why we travelled here from Afghanistan. 'I agree people shouldn't be able to cross illegally – only refugees who really need asylum should be protected.' Ali and Jamal, along with their fellow migrants at the Grand-Synthe camp, have faced a heavier than normal police presence on the beach at nearby Gravelines. The beach, which is more than 1,000 yards long, has been a favourite pick-up point for people-smugglers operating 'taxi boats' over the past week. But early morning, patrols of the sands and surrounding dunes by French riot police ensured that no migrant boats left Gravelines on Friday. From before dawn, foot patrols with powerful torches swept the dunes for migrants who might be hidden. As the sun rose, officers patrolled the surrounding paths and roads leading to the beach through holiday homes and children's playgrounds. Detritus left behind by migrants who had recently managed to board boats could be seen piled high on the edge of the beach – trainers, bags, clothes and some identity documents. There was even a crutch left behind by one migrant who was seen earlier in the week using his remaining crutch to clamber into a boat with the help of fellow passengers. There are signs at Gravelines and elsewhere that French police are taking a more interventionist approach in the migrant crisis, in response to criticism by the British Government. In the past week, migrants emerging from the dunes have been sprayed with tear gas. All vehicles approaching Gravelines beach were searched by early morning police patrols on Thursday, with officers checking for any signs of hidden migrants or inflatable boats. Police are also using drones and light aircraft to spot boats along a 75-mile stretch of coastline. At one stage, a patrol van could be seen parked next to a memorial honouring the sacrifice of French and British marines who took part in repeated attempts to reconnoitre German coastal defences in the run up to D-Day – an echo of previous Anglo-French co-operation. But migrant aid charities have warned that the French and British governments will have 'blood on their hands' if police adopt new tactics of intercepting migrants in the waters off the coast. In the past seven days, 2,066 people have crossed the Channel using 33 small boats, with traffickers taking advantage of good weather to make the crossing. Last Friday alone, 919 made the crossing using 14 boats. That was followed by 489 on Tuesday and 244 on Wednesday. On Thursday morning, six French coastguard vessels took part in the rescue of a small group of migrants whose overladen dinghy had run into difficulties mid-way across the Channel. The dinghy had set off unnoticed from a beach close to the port of Calais. The people on board were handed over to the British authorities after being plucked from their boat. A Home Office spokesman said: 'We all want to end dangerous small boat crossings, which threaten lives and undermine our border security. 'The people-smuggling gangs do not care if the vulnerable people they exploit live or die, as long as they pay, and we will stop at nothing to dismantle their business models and bring them to justice.'
The Independent
34 minutes ago
- The Independent
Campaigners for and against assisted dying make feelings known at Westminster
Campaigners on both sides of the assisted dying debate voiced their opinions as they gathered outside Parliament ahead of a crunch vote on Friday. Dame Prue Leith, Dame Esther Rantzen's daughter, Rebecca Wilcox, and the broadcaster, Jonathan Dimbleby, were among the high-profile figures supporting the Bill to change the law in England and Wales. Members of the Dignity in Dying campaign wore pink and held placards in memory of friends and family members. Those opposed to the Bill included groups dressed as scientists in white lab coats and bloodied gloves and masks, as well as nuns and other members of religious organisations. The mood amongst campaigners was largely calm and respectful on both sides. Dame Prue told the PA news agency she was 'both nervous and confident' about the outcome. 'It's so moving to see all these people with placards of people they've lost or people who are dying of cancer,' she said. 'It's hard not to cry because I think they have done such a good job. Let's hope we've won.' Mr Dimbleby said he believed the Bill would be 'transformative'. He added: 'What it will mean is millions of people will be able to say to themselves, 'If I'm terminally ill, I will be able to choose, assuming I am of sound mind and I am not being coerced, to say 'Yes, I want to be assisted – I have dignity in death'.' Rebecca Wilcox, the daughter of Dame Esther, said: 'It couldn't be a kinder, more compassionate Bill that respects choice at the end of life, that respects kindness and empathy and gives us all an option when other options, every other option, has been taken away, and it would just be the perfect tool for a palliative care doctor to have in their med bag.' Teachers Catie and Becky Fenner said they wanted other families to benefit from the Bill. Their mother, who had motor neurone disease, had flown to Dignitas in Switzerland to end her life at a cost of £15,000. The sisters said they did not get to properly say goodbye and grieve and worried about the legal repercussions. Catie, 37, said: 'We were left quite traumatised by the whole experience – not only seeing a parent go through a really horrible disease but then the secrecy of the planning.' Campaigners against the Bill, who were gathered outside Parliament, chanted 'We are not dead yet' and 'Kill the Bill, not the ill'. A display was erected with a gravestone reading 'RIP: The Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill. Bury it deep', and behind were two mounds meant to resemble graves. Andrew Hilliard, 75, said he was opposed for religious reasons. He was dressed in a white lab coat with a placard reading: 'Protect our NHS from becoming the National Suicide Service'. The chief executive of Care Not Killing, Dr Gordon Macdonald, said MPs should prioritise improving palliative care. He said: 'Most people, when thinking about the practical implications of this, for those most vulnerable, they change their minds.' George Fielding, a campaigner affiliated with the Not Dead Yet group which is opposed to assisted dying, said he attended to represent disabled people. He said: 'This Bill will endanger and shorten the lives of disabled people.'
The Independent
35 minutes ago
- The Independent
Post Office Horizon IT Inquiry to publish first tranche of final report in July
The inquiry into the Horizon IT scandal that led to the wrongful convictions of hundreds of Post Office workers will publish the first tranche of its final report next month. The first volume is to focus on compensation as well as the devastating impact on the lives of victims, and will be released on July 8. Sir Wyn Williams, the retired judge who is chairing the probe, is expected to make a public statement following its publication. The inquiry was established in 2020 to ensure there was a 'public summary of the failings which occurred with the Horizon IT system at the Post Office'. It was converted into a statutory inquiry, giving its chair greater powers to compel witnesses and documents, in 2021. Widely considered one of Britain's biggest miscarriages of justice, the scandal saw subpostmasters prosecuted for stealing after faulty computer software made it seem like money was missing from their branches. Many were sent to prison, shunned by their communities, and faced financial ruin. The report will be available to read on the inquiry's website at noon, and after this it will be laid before Parliament in line with Section 26 of the Inquiries Act 2005. Core participants to the probe, which include affected subpostmasters, will receive a copy of the report in advance.
