Newsletter Summer 1998

COOKHAM SOCIETY Newsletter Summer 1998 THE COOKHAM SOCIETY ~ 30 YEARS ~ 1968-1998
From the Chairman ~ So this is retirement! Profile ~ John Bowley SERPLAN ~ What does it mean for Cookham?	Cookham Bridge ~ Is it falling down? Sir Stanley Spencer & the Society Christmas Cards		Membership Developments at Summerleaze Flood relief scheme update News & Views
From the Chairman ~ So this is retirement!
For the benefit of members who may not know me, I completed a four year stint as Chairman of the Society a few years ago ~ the mistake made on this occasion was to let it be known before the recent AGM that I was shortly to retire! Pressure then followed to take up the mantel again and this was something I gladly agreed to do; I do feel that this is a position that should be regularly rotated to achieve an injection of new ideas into the running of the Society. I would like to express my thanks to the retiring Chairman, Sarah-Jane Roper, for all her efforts during her term of office.		My objectives for the coming year will be to persuade some of our members to join the committee and also to try to progress the provision of a better car park for Cookham Village. The Society is in a healthy financial position, and thanks to the efforts of our membership Secretary our numbers are increasing - however, we do need a more active membership ~ have you considered how you can help us? I hope to meet as many members as possible over the coming year. John Bowley
Profile ~ John Bowley
Ruth and John, pictured here at their Silver Wedding anniversary celebrations, have been Cookham residents since 1969. At that time they were both working at Heathrow, where they first met, and were looking for somewhere within easy commuting distance - the decision to make their home in the village was one they have never regretted.		Both their son and daughter attended local schools and were members of village organisations. John has just retired after 36 years with British Airways and is looking forward to more leisure time, some of which will almost certainly be spent walking the many footpaths the area has to offer.
SERPLAN What does it mean for Cookham?
Members who found the time to read the article in the Advertiser on this topic will perhaps excuse us if we explain that SERPLAN stands for the London and South East Regional Planning Conference, the body that decides how the South East of England should develop in terms of employment and housing. The Conference has determined that Berkshire should be asked to accept an ADDITIONAL quota of up to 41,000 in the period up to the year 2016 - this is over and above the quota that has already been agreed upon. So where on earth are all these extra houses to go? South Reading will almost certainly bear the brunt of the development and Newbury may yet have to pay a very high price for its bypass, but it is just impossible for these two areas to absorb the total influx - after all, 40,000 houses constitutes a community the size of Slough!		We learn from Windsor and Maidenhead Council that they expect to be under pressure to release Green Belt land around Maidenhead to help out. The prospect of North Maidenhead expanding ever closer to Cookham becomes a reality and even if our community escapes without any large developments, we will still feel the effects in terms of increased road traffic, increased pollution and more pressure on water supplies. The Council has asked for our help in fighting these proposals. We will certainly do our best not to let them down. The Society will participate in SERPLAN's consultation process and will help fight Berkshire's corner at the public inquiry which must surely follow.
Cookham Bridge Is it falling down?
Members will no doubt have been shocked to learn that Cookham Bridge is in urgent need of repairs which will effectively close the bridge for up to five months, the implication for traffic movements through the Village are enormous. Are there any gains to be made from this major development? The Society has always been assured by he County Council that the weight limit of 7.5 tonnes was imposed for environmental and not structural reasons. If the bridge is to be strengthened we must ensure that the		weight limit is not raised, village roads simply cannot accommodate large lorries. The District Council in their Local Plan has suggested that the bridge should have a properly constructed footpath, this seemed to be a distant dream until the closure was announced.The Society will press for footpath provision to be made whilst work is underway, providing, of course that this can be achieved without adversely affecting what is, after all, a Grade 2 listed building - we await developments with interest.
Sir Stanley Spencer and the Society
The Society and Cookham at large has every reason to be grateful to its famous son Sir Stanley Spencer. Stanley was born and grew up in Cookham. He really loved the place and as a student at the Slade School he was nicjnamed "Cookham" because he never stopped talking about it. To Stanley, Cookham was a "Village in Heaven". At the time of the Poundfield public inquiry, it became clear that the traffic problems being put forward as the most important issue in the early days, were being eclipsed by the necessity to identify serious environmental concerns. In Society's submission to the inquiry we cited Stanley's Poundfield collection, "The Pound", "Wisteria at Englefield" and the picture "Poundfield" to hammer home the message. The trustees of the Gallery were totally supportive.		When the Secretary of State's decision document was received it became clear that the environmental evidence supported by Stanley's pictures has made the environmental evidence take effect. The Summer Collection at the Stanley Spencer Gallery this year exhibits a view of Poundfield from Terrys Lane. We feel this picture is of special interest to Society members and indeed all Cookham residents. The Gallery in the High Street is open seven days a week, 10:30-5:30 Don't miss your chance to see it.
Christmas Cards		News & Views
The Society is delighted to have received a specially commissioned painting of Cookham. It is anticipated that this picture will be reproduced to provide Christmas Cards for Society members. More information will be available in the Autumn Newsletter.		We need your help! Editor: Jean Stretton Tel: 01628-819107, Fax: 01628-529393
Membership
*The Society now has 830 members!* Through Estate Agents all newcomers to the Cookham receive an enrolment form. We are aware that we still miss people but we also know the best form of recruitment is by personal recommendation. So if you have a neighbour, friend or relative you feel would like to join the Society that saved Cookham from gravel extraction and the development of Poundfield,		please pick up a membership form from CRUNDLES, High Street, Cookham Village or D I MacDonald, Brinsdale, Terrys Lane. We would ask existing members to check when their subscriptions are next due. This can be done with reference to the Society's address label in the Newsletter. If it says '97 your subscription was due in January '98 unless you enjoy a five years membership or pay by bankers order.
Flood Relief Scheme Update Traffic Lights on Widbrook Common ~ surely not!
The day is fast approaching when the Maidenhead Flood Relief Scheme wills tart to have some impact on Cookham. In October of this year work will start on the construction of the channel northwards from the A4 towards Taplow Paper Mill. Spoil from the channel will be moved by barge northwards along the Thames to a temporary wharf to be constructed adjacent to White Place Farm. There it will be transferred to 18 tonne vehicles for onward movement to the Summerleaze Gravel Company's pits in North Maidenhead. To reach		its destination it will have to cross the A4094, Sutton Road, south of Widbrook Common. The crossing will be achieved with the aid of traffic lights and this arrangement will be in place for an estimated two years. Vehicle movements could be up to ten per hour. The Society will try to ensure that this major engineering project is completed with the minimum impact on local residents and also the environment in general in the area of Widbrook Common.
Developments at Summerleaze
Whilst on the subject of the Summerleaze Gravel Company's working between Cookham and Maidenhead; due to the progress of the Flood Relief Channel previously mentioned, there is obviously going to be a lot more activity on the site over the next few years than we have seen previously. The Company has also asked for the land previously set aside for the construction of a northern relief road for Maidenhead, now abandoned, to be released for gravel winning. The retention of this land for road construction did have the merit of dividing the site into two parts, thereby preventing the creation of one huge lake. We must ensure		that this protection is not lost. Huge lakes encourage noisy after uses. We would like to see a series of small lakes developed which will be more environmentally friendly. There may be better chances presented shortly to influence events on this site and the Society should be in a position to take advantage of these opportunities as they occur. These pits will eventually provide a huge natural barrier to prevent the encroachment of Maidenhead towards Cookham. It is vitally important that the Society continues to monitor the situation, particularly in areas which are in the ownership of the company but which will not be occupied by wet pits - it all relates back to how many more houses can Berkshire be expected to take!