OPINION: Letters to the editor of the Newbury Weekly News
I’ve limited sympathy for farmers over tax
I have very mixed sympathies for the farming community who are whining about the new implications of inheritance tax in the budget.
They are businesses like others but there seems to be something hallowed about the land that pleads for special exemption.
Well over 50 per cent of farmers voted for Brexit, which by common consent has reduced GDP by between five and 10 per cent or well above £100bn.
Where will this shortfall come from if not those with the deeper pockets or at least assets which can be taxed?
Farmers are predominantly Tory voters, such is the affinity between land, wealth and power, and, although there may be a few who fare worse, I have little doubt that the majority are even now consulting with their accountants and tax lawyers in circumventing any new inheritance tax implications.
Tom Brown
Gore End
Football ground should have been left as it was
It is great to see the return of Newbury FC to Faraday Road and a new stand installed.
The Lib Dems promised an enhanced stadium in the section of their manifesto marked Building For The Future; elsewhere on the internet there is a report that the cost so far for the new Faraday Road stadium is £400,000.
The cost for the Monks Lane project was £3.78m without the preliminary work.
If the Conservatives had left well alone, the cost to the tax-payer would be nil.
The previous stand accommodated 600 and there was also a clubhouse. The new facilities are well short of that.
I have to give the Lib Dems an A for effort and the Conservatives an F for failing to follow their own Government’s policies.
Ian Hall
Ashampstead
Coffee stall deserves all of our support
I am writing in response to Mr Owen Jeffery’s letter about the coffee stall by the Thatcham War Memorial (Newbury Weekly News, November 7).
I have heard from multiple Thatcham residents that Mr Jeffery is the councillor to go to in times of trouble.
He has a reputation for being intelligent and hardworking, with a knack for finding solutions.
But in this case, I feel he may be misdirecting his anger.
The Frothy Frog coffee stall in the Memorial car park has been there for several years.
It is a small local business, still run by Thatcham residents, despite changing hands recently.
Running a business at the moment is tough and surely they deserve our support.
I agree the trailer is bright, but one person’s garish, is another’s cheerful. An adjective, that also applies to the friendly staff.
Every year, quite rightly, it has been moved for Remembrance Sunday, making space and showing respect, but the rest of the year it pays rent to the Memorial Foundation.
This rent contributes to the upkeep of the Memorial Hall, field, tennis courts and helps support the Scout hut and bowls club.
If Mr Jeffery has any argument, it is with the Memorial Foundation, that decided the position of the stall, installed the electricity point, blocked the pedestrian access next to the war memorial, agreed the rental terms and collects the rent.
It is within Mr Jeffery’s powers to volunteer as a trustee for the Foundation either with, or instead of, the lovely Mr Mike Cole.
In this position he could use his considerable skills and energy to help steer this charity in the future.
A charity, which was created to remember the fallen, and one which controls vital facilities for the living residents of Thatcham.
I realise, he was once a trustee, but I would ask him to rise to the occasion and stand again.
His expertise and ability to care for the people of Thatcham makes him an ideal candidate.
In this way, he could solve his worries, and ours, at the same time.
Vicky Caws
Thatcham
Why have fruit and veg traders had to go?
I was dismayed on reading your article in the October 31 paper under the banner ‘It’s stall over for traders’ to learn that the fruit and veg traders Neil and Karen Miller-Ward, had been evicted from the market by Thatcham Town Council, with notice to leave by November 8.
The notice to the Miller-Wards said, amongst other things, that the council had “recently conducted a review of Thatcham Friday Market, incorporating feedback from residents and regular market visitors. Based on the outcome of this review, it is with regret that we inform you that we will no longer be able to accommodate your market stall at the Thatcham Friday Market.”
I would class myself as a regular market visitor, having used the stall most weeks for at least the last five years, and was not aware of any review taking place, so contacted the council on several occasions, asking when and where that review was carried out.
I have received no acknowledgement of my emails, let alone a response to the questions I asked.
Whilst visiting the stall last Friday, I decided to conduct my own, albeit rudimentary, straw poll of a handful of stall users.
All expressed anger at the stalls closure, and a couple said that they, too, had contacted the council, but received no reply.
The stall is probably the best I have seen in any small market in this country, and on Friday counted well over 110 different produce on display.
One of its attractions is its ability to cater for the large ethnically diverse population in and around Thatcham.
The council say that they have appointed a new trader with effect from November 15.
I wish them well, but wonder why this is necessary, and if they will be able to match the high standard set by the Miller-Wards.
Finally, I was under the impression that one of the purposes of a town council was to act on behalf of the best interests of its community, so would welcome the council’s response to this letter by, perhaps through the pages of this newspaper, publishing the outcome of the review which led to their action.
Dick Henderson
Chapel Row
More damage done to postbox in countryside
This is on the Peasemore to Beedon Common Road – vandalism presumably, as was happening several years ago.
Gerald Jones
Peasemore
