Premier Inn Hotel Proposal

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The Society has, since its inception, been involved in matters of planning in Henley, and the proposal by Premier Inn (a part of Whitbreads) to construct a 115 bedroomed, five story hotel on the site of the Station Car Park is probably one of the most significant of recent times.

Following the publication of the first application the Society were immediately in touch with Premier Inn’s agents expressing it’s Members concerns , as indeed were Henley Town Council. A poll of our members showed around 70% of respondents were against the proposal as made. Our comments and those of HTC fell on deaf ears and Premier went ahead with their original application. Henley residents reacted in great numbers with the vast majority being against the proposal according to their comments in the local press, and on the all-important SODC Planning portal.

The application was refused by SODC and Premier, after a delay, went to appeal. The Appeal Inspector supported SODC, refused the appeal, and Premier’s next move is awaited.

Friday Street Slipway

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The Society has been at the forefront of a campaign to get the Friday Street Slipway reopened for its use by residents and visitors alike.

The slipway was concreted over by local company Sorbon Estates to create two additional vehicle parking spaces. Their refusal to remove the concrete resulted in Henley Town Council doing the job for them, and sending them the bill. Well done Henley Town Council!

The fight then began to get the pontoons, which obstruct entry to the river, removed, and this too, is taking a long time. After a great deal of pressure involving the Environment Agency, the Information Officer, the River Thames Society, interested and informed locals and the Henley Society, Sorbon Estates eventually promised to start the work of removal in April 2023. For various reasons, some legitimate and others we suspect not, the removal work has been delayed and is now scheduled to start at the end of July.

We shall see, but be assured that we, and the support parties mentioned above, are very much on the case and pressure will not be lifted until the Friday Street Slipway is, once again, fully open for the use of river users.

Solar Compactor Bin Trial

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Spurred on by the untidy streets of Henley being littered with food packaging, cigarette ends and other illegally disposed items, the Society proposed to Henley Town Council that they should finance a trial of two solar compactor bins,  larger in size than the existing bins and capable of holding far more rubbish than the existing bins due to the fact that they were capable of compacting the contents by solar power. In addition the bins are capable of informing base that they are in need of emptying so saving unnecessary trips for the contractors and saving on fuel costs, labour and reducing pollution in our streets. At the time it was made our proposal did not meet with the approval of all Councillors and it took some two years to get the project off the ground.

The trial eventually began in April 2023 and is on going until the end of September, when a review of the success, or otherwise, of the bins will be undertaken to see if the project should be extended.