Crowthorne and Sandhurst

Bracknell MP Andrew Mackay has hit out against a proliferation of flats being built in Crowthorne by developers.

Mr Mackay said he was "Fighting a series of battles in the war to protect Crowthorne from unwanted planning applications to build blocks of flats."

Now new rules mean English Nature have to be consulted if an application is within two kilometres of a Special Protection Area.

Mr Mackay said the biggest issue in Crowthorne was a plan by Banner Homes to build on the Cambridge Road site, which was rejected by a planning inspector.

But the MP warned there was a need to be constantly vigilant, as developers were continually launching appeals and resubmitting planning applications.

Milgate Homes was appealing against a decision by Wokingham District Council to turn down an application for 14 two bedroom flats in two blocks in The Avenue, opposite Our Lady's Preparatory School, Crowthorne.

And a site in Dukes Ride had been turned down by Bracknell Forest Borough Council after Wimpey and Princegate Estates had applied to replace bungalows with flats. It is going to a planning appeal, but mean-while other applications had been made for the site.

Mr Mackay said developers often made multiple applications in a bid to get the developments through.

"I have made a string of representations to inspectors to reject appeals and back local residents in their fight. If you drive around the area, you see there are too many and developers cannot sell these flats."

He said there was no need for the flats, which overdeveloped sites and did not meet the housing needs of the area. They were often just bought by investors as second homes or by people who bought them to rent out.

ic Berkshire ~ Crowthorne

Alleged race hate cleric Abu Hamza yesterday revealed he kept plans of the Royal military academy Sandhurst, which he admitted would be "very crucial to any terrorist".

Hamza's trial at the Old Bailey was told he was employed at Sandhurst immediately after gaining an engineering degree in 1989, and took on responsibility for maintaining the fence and a variety of buildings.

Giving evidence at the start of his defence case, Hamza said he had kept drawings of the academy after leaving the job two years later.

"It would be very crucial to any terrorist," he told jurors.

The cleric claimed police had not confiscated the diagrams despite finding them in his house during raids in 1999 and 2004.

Hamza, from west London, faces nine charges under the Offences Against the Person Act 1861 alleging that he solicited others at public meetings to murder Jews and other non-Muslims.

He also faces four charges under the Public Order Act 1986 of "using threatening, abusive or insulting words or behaviour with the intention of stirring up racial hatred".

He denies the charges.

Scotsman ~ Sandhurst

A Crowthorne pub was turned into a state of panic on Saturday night when a car careered into the front of the building - prompting fears that Crowthorne village was being targeted for another ramraid attack.

A silver Vauxhall Omega ploughed into the Iron Duke pub in Crowthorne High Street shortly after closing time on Saturday night.

It caused serious structural damage and amid concern that the wrecked wall was going to collapse the staff were evacuated from the premises.

Although the driver left the scene following the incident, part of the car's bumper and number plate were recovered in the rubble which scattered the pub floor.

The driver was later traced and agreed to meet with Thames Valley Police this week.

An investigation into the cause of the crash is still continuing.

Crowthorne Iron Duke landlord Ben Trickett, 28, said: "Luckily we had only just shut so there was only myself and a couple of members of staff - one downstairs and one upstairs.

"There was a bit of panic of course and the police were called but unfortunately there is not much we can do about it here.

"It will hopefully be less than two weeks before everything is sorted and we can be up and running again and I don't think there will be any long term consequences."

He described the trail of damage left after the incident: "The public bar area had been damaged and now there is general mess and dust left. The fruit machine and pool table were also smashed and the bollards, barriers and two park benches at the front of the pub have also been destroyed."

ic Berkshire ~ Crowthorne

Princes William and Harry were caught up in a bomb scare which closed down the Sandhurst military academy.

A huge security alert started when a sandwich box full of modelling clay and a timer was discovered outside the adjutant’s quarters.

All gates were closed into the academy — where Wills and Harry are training as Army officers — and cadets were ordered to remain in their rooms on Saturday.

Royal protection officers were scrambled as the bomb was found just 100 yards from where both Prince William and Harry live.

But after 90 minutes it was found to be a fake specially made for an exercise for cadets.

It fell off the back of a vehicle driven by a colour sergeant as he passed the adjutant’s house. William, 23, who started at Sandhurst a week ago, and Harry, 21, were on the Berkshire campus at the time. A royal source said: “There was a massive security flap and it was a big relief when it was over.

“But most cadets, including the two princes, thought it was a great hoot.”

The fake bomb was made for an exercise which Harry will take part in.

An Army insider said: “There were a lot of red faces at Sandhurst.

“Security has been greatly improved since The Sun smuggled a fake bomb into the Academy last year.

“The bomb looked so like the real thing — we didn’t know if it was terrorists’ work or The Sun testing our security.”

Major General Andrew Ritchie, Commandant of Sandhurst, said: “I am delighted at the way in which people reacted to what turned out to be a false alarm.”

The Sun

The Prince of Wales personally intervened to save the job of the commanding officer of Sandhurst after a serious security breach when Prince Harry joined the military academy.

Prince Charles wrote a letter of support and spoke to senior Government officials to spell out the high regard he has for Major General Andrew Ritchie, the commandant of Sandhurst, and to say that he thought it would be wrong for him to lose his job.

The Sunday Telegraph has learnt that some senior Government officials felt that "heads should roll" after a fake bomb was smuggled into Sandhurst by a newspaper reporter, who claimed to have spent nine hours on the premises.

John Reid, the Defence Secretary, was said to be "seething" over the incompetence of the Army and publicly condemned Sandhurst over the incident, although defence sources say he was not one of those calling for the commandant's dismissal.

According to senior sources, Prince Charles learnt that the commandant's position was under threat and felt that it would be wrong for Gen Ritchie to be made a scapegoat for the failings of others.

The Sunday Telegraph has been told that the Prince was so determined that Gen Ritchie should not be forced to step down that he made "high-level" phone calls of support and followed them up with a hand-written letter to the commandant in which he praised the work he had done at Sandhurst. According to senior officials close to Gen Ritchie, the commandant was "enormously grateful" to have had the backing of Prince Charles during the crisis last June.

"John Reid had given Sandhurst both barrels, but Prince Charles was incredibly supportive at a time when General Ritchie was feeling particularly isolated and vulnerable. The general knew he received the backing of the Prince at a time when he wasn't getting much support from elsewhere.

"The Prince has a lot of respect for General Ritchie and his work. He did not think it was fair that the commandant should bear the full brunt of the backlash. The Prince has never looked upon Sandhurst as an entirely closed, secure facility on a par, say, with a nuclear defence depot. He felt the blame for the incident lay as much with the perpetrators [the Sun] as the academy."

The royal intervention explains the warm welcome that Gen Ritchie gave Prince Charles last Sunday when he went to Sandhurst to accompany Prince William on his arrival at the military academy to begin his Army training. Prince William, 23, was among 270 recruits beginning a 44-week-long training course at Sandhurst at the site in Camberley, Surrey.

The Sun ran a front-page story in June last year, the month after Prince Harry joined Sandhurst to begin his officer training. The newspaper claimed it had exposed the "ludicrously lax security at the base, which makes Harry a sitting duck for a terrorist".

The paper's reporter said he had strolled around Sandhurst for hours carrying a fake bomb and was not seriously challenged at any time. He photographed documents on walls detailing Harry's routine and said he had filmed the Prince marching with other rookie soldiers. The newspaper had gained access to Sandhurst after the reporter posed as a student who wanted to gain access to the academy's library in order to research the causes of the first Gulf war.

Within hours of the newspaper's revelations, Gen Ritchie had taken personal charge of security and was at the main gate at 7.30am the next day to supervise matters. He ordered Gurkhas to be posted at both ends of the prince's accommodation block to protect the royal officer cadet while he slept.

Gen Ritchie ordered a sweep of the academy and its 450 acres of grounds. Officer cadets were seen strolling around the woodland and open ground with SA80 rifles, while other soldiers with mirrors were checking under vehicles.

At the time, Mr Reid did not hide his anger. "I have demanded an immediate investigation into this serious security breach. I have instructed Sandhurst to change their procedures to prevent a recurrence," he said publicly. Privately, Mr Reid was understood to be even more furious over the embarrassment caused by the security breach.

A spokesman for Clarence House declined to discuss Prince Charles's intervention yesterday. "We never discuss the Prince's personal correspondence or his personal phone calls," he said.

A spokesman for the Ministry of Defence said: "Following the incident in June, the MoD, with Maj-Gen Ritchie, took all possible steps to review and tighten security at Sandhurst. Maj-Gen Ritchie had and continues to have the full support of the Secretary of State and senior military.

"He carries out his duties commendably in difficult circumstances under the media spotlight. It is the department's clear intention that the princes do not suffer from further intrusion and media speculation."

The Telegraph

Future king Prince William is joining the Army, starting his officer training at the elite military college Sandhurst.

The second in line to the throne will be among more than 270 new recruits ordered to turn up at the site in Camberley, Surrey, ready for a life in the forces.

William, 23, who will be accompanied by his father the Prince of Wales, is following in the footsteps of younger brother Prince Harry, who is about to begin his third and final term at Sandhurst.

William must bring with him his own ironing board, as well as his uniforms, gym wear and his heavy black military boots.

He is also facing the prospect of an Army-style haircut, which would expose the extent of his premature baldness.

Former Sandhurst recruits recommend turning up with a neat short back and sides, but officer cadets are also treated to a haircut on site. Harry was reportedly berated by a sergeant for leaning against a wall while waiting for his.

The media pack allowed into the grounds will be significantly smaller than when Harry started.

William has just returned from a skiing break with girlfriend Kate Middleton in Switzerland, where he was photographed kissing her in public for the first time.

The pair are now facing more than a month apart, meaning William will miss Kate's 24th birthday.

Like all other new officer cadets, he is banned from leaving the site for the first five weeks of his gruelling training.

This is London

Pupils and staff at a Sandhurst school presented their retiring headteacher with a bookful of memories to take with him.

The book, which was filled with pictures, poems and comments by every child at St Michael's Primary School in Lower Church Road, Sandhurst was given to head-teacher Geoff Boulain to mark his 17 years at the school.

Mr Boulain, joined the Sandhurst school first as a teacher before becoming deputy headteacher and then headteacher. He was presented with the book during a service at St Michael's Church where he was given the seat of honour on the last day of term.

More than 160 people, including expupils and staff, gathered in the school hall and presented him with a telescope.

Mr Boulain said: "When I look through it I will remember all the many good things about St Michael's - the children, staff and parents.

"When I thanked everyone present I said there is something indefinable about the school that makes a lasting impression on people.

"It must be an amalgam of children, parents, staff and the old building itself which creates a feeling of history and permanence.

"Saying goodbye to the children is far more difficult because they are so full of life and fun, they can be so amusing and caring and I have watched them grow up."

School association chairman Jodie Widman said: "He knew every child's name and they loved to go up and talk to him."

Year five pupil Rebecca Jones was among the many children who left comments on the school website. She said: "I'm so sad Mr Boulain's leaving but I wish him good luck in the future."

An Investigation has been launched after more than 100 fish were found dead at one of Crowthorne's top beauty spots last week.

The fish were found by a walker along a 50 metre stretch of a small unnamed stream near Greenfield Way, near where it flows into Heath Lake on Wednesday, December 28.

Heath Lake, Crowthorne is an environ-mentally sensitive area and has been designated a Site of Special Scientific Interest. It is home to wildlife and plantlife, including some rare species.

The dead fish - mainly small roach - were reported to the Environment Agency by the district council.

Investigating officer "JC" Hall said: "We've got a team on site trying to establish why the fish died and we're monitoring the situation to ensure it doesn't get any worse.

"We've taken a water sample from the brook which has gone to our lab for chemical analysis, but at this stage we really can't speculate on what the cause or its longer-term impacts might be."

The slightly acidic lake and stream support a rich variety of aquatic plants including the water-millfoil and the six-stamened water crowfoot, which are both very rare in Berkshire.

Wokingham District Council's environment leader Cllr Rob Stanton said: "I am extremely concerned to hear that has happened to one of our lakes; it's shocking."

Council spokeswoman Jenny Coates said the Crowthorne dead fish were reported to the council by a member of the public.

She said: "A ranger was sent out who found a lot of dead fish in the inlet to Heath Lake, by the pumping station. This was immediately reported to the Environment Agency which has responsibility for dealing with this type of problem.

"It is not obvious what caused the problem. Our rangers say that, fortunately, this kind of thing happens very infrequently."

She added that the Environment Agency was the expert in investigating the cause of such incidents and the council was waiting for its report.

ic Berkshire ~ Crowthorne