The 

Cookham Society

Newsletter

Autumn  2000

At the time of writing it seems pretty certain that the planning application for a new car park on Marsh Meadow will be withdrawn by The Royal Borough without further consideration.

But, where do we go from here ? The main problems appear to be associated with lighting and access and are difficult, if not impossible to resolve.

However you, our members, told us in the Society’s own survey, conducted earlier this year, that you wanted improved parking arrangements in the Village. If the cost of these improvements is seen to be too high, then perhaps, we have to make do with the status quo.

If any small improvements can be effected, then the Society will support them if they are seen as improving the status of the Conservation Area, however, options seem few in this respect.

The future of Marsh Meadow will always remain uncertain whilst current arrangements for ’set aside’ remain in place. We would like to work with other Village organisations towards securing its future.

J L Bowley Chairman

Old photographs of Cookham on view

We were able to present a truly magnificent display of old photographs almost entirely due to Pam Knight, a Society member and Leslie Ritson-Smith

Vice Chairman of the Friends of The Royal Borough Museum Collection.

They were able bring together collections, not only from the Society but also from the Royal Borough but most generously from Miss Kathleen Emmett and Mrs Christine Frewing. Val and Bob Bootle also assisted by loaning material for inclusion in the Information Sheets. A big vote of thanks to all concerned.

We have been asked if the collection could be shown again. This is possible but the organisers would prefer to have the opportunity to spread the exhibition over a few days, perhaps a Friday to Monday. This possibility will be investigated

The Society would like some photographic evidence to establish the continuance of the footpath along the riverbank, underneath Cookham Bridge and into the grounds of the Ferry Hotel.

More specifically we require photographs taken in the period before the ferry was withdrawn, say between the years 1936 to 1956, which show the grounds of the Hotel and the Ferry Boat.

If you have any material which might help please contact a committee member.

JLB

Our Community Notice Board is now up and running outside Cookham Railway Station.

We felt that something special was

required to mark the Millennium, hopefully this fits the bill. Apart from a few comments along the lines of “did it descend from outer space? “

It appears to have been well received. The drum design allows notices to be prominent when the board is

approached from any direction, a feature of this site.

So far there has been no problem in filling the display panels, with a good range of local organisations asking for space, so we appear to be meeting a need.

We have almost raised enough money to pay for the board itself but we need another £900 to pay for the

installations. We shall be running some fund raising events this winter but further donations to help us make up the difference would be most helpful. As an incentive we could offer you advertising space in the Newsletters.

Hon Treasurer: Mr John GibbingsGibbings

( P ) denotes Planning Committee members

The Inspectors’ decision following the Public Enquiry on the proposed Telecommunications Mast in Cookham Dean was unfortunately bad news for local residents.

Inspectors for the most part seem to be following government directives to allow these masts where possible. The fact that the site was in the Green Belt, close to a Conservation Area and at the bottom of somebody’s garden did not sway the argument.

 The danger now is that, since this site has planning permission, it will attract other operators to the site to satisfy the “shared mast” principle that is part of The Royal Borough’s policy.

We are now starting to see groups of masts appearing in various locations around the area, and this must be an even worse outcome for Cookham Dean.

The news on masts of less than 15 metres in height is slightly better, these do not require full planning permission but the Royal Borough now say that they will look at this type of installation more closely, particularly in respect to its distance from the nearest highway. This may mean that the installation in Grange Road will not go ahead. The Society will continue to work

towards finding the most acceptable sites for these masts.