Viewpoint: M&S closure marks 'the death of Maidenhead'

Readers react to M&S closure announcement

Hundreds of readers commented online following our story that M&S is to close in the High Street and open a foodhall in Stafferton Way. Here is a selection:

"Wonderful. There will be absolutely no where to shop in the town centre for clothes then." — Lauren Green

"This is terrible news and the main group that will be affected are older people and those without cars who come into the town by bus or taxi to shop, meet friends for coffee etc. Will lead to more social isolation for those Maidonians." — Julie Prosser

"Where the hell do we buy basic clothes, kids underwear etc locally? This truly is the death of Maidenhead. I take my very elderly nan here weekly too and not just for food. Hopefully the new store will do some clothes?" — Louise Ferriman

"There is nothing positive about this. It’s no good the M&S boss bragging that it’ll be the first market-type food hall or whatever he calls it in the country — big deal! We don't need another supermarket, we need a clothes shop!" — Helen Pearson

"It will be years of disruption before the town is rebuilt when the Nicholson Centre goes. No guarantee it will attract the bigger shops back as it took years to get Bracknell to the current standard and they have it all and it is cheaper to park." — Ann Jesseman

"Pretty much the last shop in Maidenhead that you buy clothes from , especially for children. Absolute joke! Maidenhead town’s last decent shop that has been there for many years."

"Also taking away a place that a lot of elderly depend on weekly to meet up with others and get out from being stuck at home 24/7." — Piffy Jane

"Well that’ll be the death of Maidenhead shopping. Big loss to the high street. I only go to the high street to go to M&S." — Sarah Goodhew

Tell planners initiative is not a ‘petting zoo’

In the Borough there are many small organisations that provide essential services for groups of residents.

We have been privileged to have one such operating on land only 50 metres from our house in Holyport.

It is called Heroes Berkshire, and they provide a very specific service for children and young adults.

They do it through enabling them to work and interact with animals.

The level of interaction will of course depend upon their age and ability. The animals’ range in size from chickens to ponies and donkeys.

One of their clients is the Borough which understands how working with animals helps certain children who can relate to animals and not necessarily adults.

The land that they have used for many years has been sold but the landowners have offered the organisation another area within their farm which is ideal for them.

Unfortunately, they have been told that they need planning permission.

This is strange because it is not a petting zoo but an organisation with a means of helping young people work with animals.

Many of your readers will be aware of Heroes Berkshire and the wonderful couple who run it.

If you have used Heroes, please email planning @rbwm.gov.uk to reassure them that this is not a petting zoo but a fantastic local enterprise which helps many young people.

David Coppinger

Holyport

Support amazing work of children’s hospice

I have written to this paper before, highlighting the amazing work that Alexander Devine Children’s Hospice does and I was so pleased to read the article last week about the launch of the Christmas Appeal.

I’m a volunteer at Alexander Devine and able to help the Care Team, so I’m privileged to know the family featured in the appeal and many others we support and I see first hand how vital our services are to all of them.

Our families are at the very core of everything we do and our main focus is about living and helping them to experience the best and most meaningful life they can possibly have. Even in times of upmost despair, when hope seems lost, at the hospice they still make everlasting, happy memories and this is mostly possible because of fundraising, donations and the generosity of our wonderful community.

In the run up to Christmas you will be spotting Alexander Devine distinctive blue T-shirts and gazebos at a lot of community events; also our very popular pop-up shop has opened its doors this weekend in the Nicholsons Centre and will be there every Thursday, Friday and Saturday until December 20.

Our Santas will de dashing through the streets of Windsor at the end of the month in our Santa Dash and the Christmas Treecycling collection is back bigger than ever at the beginning of January.

So please, if you can, support us again, as you have done so incredibly throughout the years. You will definitely make a difference and what better gift than being able to change our families and children’s worlds for the better, not just for Christmas but for their entire lives.

I read so many negative comments about Maidenhead, on social media and in this paper, but ultimately a town is made by the people who live there and I can say for certain that our town is blessed with a lot of remarkable individuals who make it a place well worth living in.

So thank you Maidenhead for being the fantastic community that you are!

Silvia Little

Heywood Avenue

Maidenhead

Council jumping on ‘diversity bandwagon’

I attended a council meeting yesterday evening (Tuesday, November 18).

Not being a regular attendee of the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead Council meetings I was astonished, if that is the correct terminology, when the ‘Pomp and Circumstance’ proceedings opened with what I can only describe as being similar to a ‘Call to Prayer’ performed by a person dressed in appropriate robes.

I had to remind myself that I was in the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead’s Council meeting and not in either a Tower Hamlets or Birmingham Council meeting.

Obviously our council has taken to jumping on the bandwagon known as Diversity, Equity and Inclusion whereby joining all the other organisations and Institutes across our country. I’m sure all the councillors feel better for it.

I can only assume that all future council meetings will invite other members of local churches, be they Anglican, Catholic, Jewish etc., to perform the opening prayers just so the local councillors feel they have covered the multicultural ‘Diversity is our Strength’ slogan.

Nadine Wilkinson

Blackamoor Lane

Maidenhead

Editor’s note: For context, full council meetings have always begun with a prayer. For many years this was traditionally a Christian prayer led by the Borough Chaplin but now a different faith is invited to say the prayer before each full council meeting to better reflect our community.

Builders must ensure road surface is clean

I live in Cookham and on Thursday, November 13, I visited Maidenhead to do some shopping.

When I turned left at Spencer’s bridge, I was horrified at the state of the road which was covered in mud and there were lumps of mud and some stones on the road.

I would have thought that the builders should wash the road down each day when they finished work.

I think it would take a power wash to get rid of all the mud. Also, who would be responsible if a car had it’s windscreen smashed by one of the stones or clumps of mud?

Jennifer Spooner

Cookham

Give the vital gift of shelter this Christmas

As many people in our communities gather to celebrate the festive season with warmth, comfort, and loved ones, for millions of families around the world this winter will be very different.

People are without shelter, forced from their homes by earthquakes, floods, and conflict — elderly grandparents, mothers, fathers and young children. In places like Syria and Afghanistan temperatures fall below freezing, leaving displaced people living out in the open at risk of dying from the cold. That’s why this winter, at the disaster relief charity ShelterBox we’re asking local communities to give a truly life-changing gift — the gift of shelter — through our urgent fundraising appeal.

We rely on monetary donations to fund our responses across the world — and it’s only a matter of time before the next disaster strikes. When it does, more families will need emergency shelter and lifesaving aid. And, with your help, ShelterBox will be there to support people recover after disaster.

Every disaster is different, so we tailor our aid, so families get what they need depending on their circumstance. It may be a tent,shelter repair, or essential items like solar lights, water filters, and kitchen sets.

• £20 could support families facing cold nights with thermal blankets.
• £60 could support a family with a water filter for safe, clean drinking water.
• £590 could support a family with a full shelter pack to stay protected from the weather.

To give the gift of shelter this Christmas, visit shelterbox.org/lifesaving. It could be the most important gift you give.

Emily Mullen

ShelterBox