Review of the Year: August

As Tom Dean returned home, he and all the Royal Borough’s Olympians and Paralympians were granted ‘Freedom of the Borough’ for their successes in Japan.

Whilst we all kept our eyes on the TV, there was also exciting news regarding the big screen as Bray Film Studios applied for its multi-million-pound expansion.

Another multi-million pound project attracted attention as the council made a fresh offer to Maidenhead Golf Club.

First reported by the Advertiser, August – usually a quiet month for local politics – would be dominated by the news of the council’s £15.95million offer to relinquish the lease by December 2025.

In Cookham, archaeologists from the University of Reading unearthed a lost monastery with treasure from the 8th century.

The monastery belonged to Queen Cynethryth, the widow of King Offa of Mercia, and was located on an important trading route in Anglo-Saxon England.

It wasn’t only archaeologists who were digging for answers either, following a controversial planning panel meeting to discuss the approval of 80 new homes in Ray Mill Road East.

Much to the bemusement to the public – including one lady who had returned from holiday to speak at the meeting – the highly-anticipated item was later pulled by the applicant during the meeting.

It later transpired that three Conservative councillors who were due to sit in as substitutes were ineligible due to not hailing from the correct part of the Royal Borough.

Fortunately, there was nothing wrong with our pupils’ geography as young people across the country collected their A-levels and GCSEs.

Some schools boasted record performances, while others opted to keep their results private after a second year of disruption to education.

Tragedy also struck in Taplow, as three people died following a collision with the railway bridge.