Thatcham Town Council proposes road names for Lower Way development

Thatcham town councillors have been choosing names for flats and a road at a new housing development site.

The Lower Way development, comprising 91 homes, 37 of which are affordable units, was approved by West Berkshire Council’s eastern area planning committee in late January.

The town council has now been invited by the district council to consider proposed road names, along with providing any suggestions.

The Planning and Highways Working Party met on April 5 to discuss the potential new names for one road and four flats.

It was quickly decided that the flats would be suffixed with the term ‘House’, but the names themselves were still up in the air.

Names suggested by West Berkshire Council were broken down by theme, beginning with fish-related names because of the site’s proximity to fishing lakes.

Other themes were health care professionals from local history, following the recent pandemic, based on historical data researched by Dr Nick Young of Thatcham Historical Society, in addition to location specific names and nearby archaeological connections.

Meeting chairman Simon Pike (Lib Dem, Thatcham West) told the chamber: “I suggest we focus on the name and discuss whether it’s a street, lane or close afterwards – as a secondary issue.”

Among the location specific suggestions, the district council proposed Beddals Way, Adams Buildings, Winterbottom Flats, Brook Buildings and Widmead Rise.

Of the names suggested under the heading 'healthcare' were Whitehouse Way after Nurse Whitehouse, the first nurse for the parish to reside at the nurses home in Church Gate, Skeen Buildings after surgeon Robert Skeen, Arrowsmith Apartments after surgeon John Arrowsmith, Reeves Rise for surgeon Thomas Reeves and Knott Flats after midwife Christina Knott.

Fish-related names were Barbel, Pike, Chubb, Tench, Gudgeon and Crayfish. Fishermans Way was also suggested.

Owen Jeffery (Lib Dem, Thatcham Central) made initial suggestions, putting forward Beddals Way, Winterbottom Flats and Widmead Rise from the district authority’s suggestions.

Beddals Way originated from Beddals Field, a large field which encompassed the Crown Acre, owned by the owners of the Crown Inn.

Winterbottom is after Ann Winterbottom, who was the owner in the 1840s of the Crown Inn and Beddals Field.

Widmead Rise is after Widmead Lane, which was a lane that once was part of what is now Lower Way.

Beddals Way was the preferred road name, with Richard Crumly (Con, Thatcham Central) proposing to dismiss Adams Way “since we have an Adams family”, inviting a laugh from the chamber.

Suggestions continued to be discussed and rather quickly dismissed with 'Whitehouse' let go as a flat name on the basis that it would then repetitively read 'Whitehouse House'.

After much discussion, Beddles Close was noted as the preferred road name, with Adams, Winterbottom, Brook and Widmead for flat names. Arrowsmith was chosen as a 'fallback' name should one of the others already be in use elsewhere in the district.

These remain as preferred options and have no yet been confirmed.