Community group closes after 40 years of service

A community group which has helped shape developments in Burnham for more than four decades is due to do its last good deed.

The Burnham Society took the decision to close this month after falling numbers of members.

Secretary Brian May, of Lincoln Hatch Lane, said: "Our members are ageing and we've found it hard to attract new ones, so we're just not able to do the things we set out to do anymore.

"It's sad but these things happen to groups like ours."

The 78-year-old said the group was set up in 1971 with the aim of improving Burnham village, especially the High Street which he described at the time as 'tacky' and 'rundown'.

The group's notable campaigns include fighting to get conditions put on gravel extraction in Burnham Beeches and turning the lower part of Burnham High Street and Huntercombe into a conservation areas.

More than 15 environmental awards have also been given out by the society since 1984 to buildings which add to the village scene.

Brian said the group is due to present its last award plaque to the former Electric Theatre, in Lincoln Hatch Lane, later this month.

At its peak, in the late 70s, more than 700 villagers were members.

More than 50 present and former members attended a final function at the Pines Hotel in Wymerswood Road last month including long-serving chairman Peter Adams.

Brian, who once worked for the Met Office in Bracknell, said other community groups have been established with similar interests to the society but added there will be 'nothing quite like it'.

He said: "We've achieved a lot in 40 years and our legacy will remain in the town for years to come."