| Newbury.net spends hours around town every week to bring you the latest on the stories that matter. It’s been an eventful six months for all of us, but we would like to wish everyone of you a happy 2005. In the meantime, if you’re new to the site, here’s a recap of our year.
June – Waitrose opens in Newbury after a 10 year wait, creating a fourth supermarket for the town.
The lottery bid to refurbish Shaw House as a teacher training centre and wedding venue was accepted by the National Lottery. The deal is dependent on building houses on the Trinity playing field.
July – Plans to install speed cameras on the A34 meet with approval, after a study reveals the Beedon to Newbury stretch is the most dangerous.
Work begins on the new St Johns Roundabout, and the annual Waterways Festival and Summer Proms add to a packed year in the town’s social calendar.
The Kennet Centre cinema plan gets the go-ahead from town planners, raising further questions about how far the scheme should be subsidized.
August – Newbury.net is first with the story on how the River Lambourn is being badly affected by development, farming methods and water board activities. Other scoops include news that Lib Dem activists are preparing for a November 4 general election, and we also broke the story that Bar Cuba had closed.
September – Council officials move fast after Newbury.net reveals that one of the three bidders has pulled out of the Park Way shopping centre bid. However, Liberal Democrats are red-faced when Charles Kennedy’s HQ names and shames West Berkshire Council for its “dangerous” potholed roads.
Vodafone axes 200 jobs in Newbury, shortly after revealing it makes £16,000 profit a minute.
Jobless figures reveal that Newbury is one of 13 towns in the country to have more jobs than workers.
October – We reveal how the Sunflower clothes boutique in Cheap Street has closed, after blaming council policies for turning away shoppers.
The town is shocked after a 17year old boy is stabbed in the back while attending the Northcroft Michaelmas fair.
A probe into West Berkshire’s recycling problems recommends a green wheelie bin to reduce landfill waste.
November – A train is derailed at Ufton Nervet by a car parked on the level crossing, killing seven and injuring scores.
Sainsbury’s plans to add 25% more floorspace in Newbury get the thumbs down from town planners.
Newbury comes to a standstill as the funeral of rail crash victims Anjanette Rossi and her 9-year-old daughter Louella Main travel on a cortege from Speen to Wash Common.
The 5.15pm Newbury to Lambourn bus is reinstated after protests at Liberal Democrat cuts to local bus services.
December – A thief snatches a case full of cash from a security guard in Northbrook Street, making off with £14,000.
Four town post offices get the chop, despite thousands of signatures to save them.
Newbury.net fans vent their anger after new traffic lights at Pound Street cause gridlock throughout town. Traffic experts reconvene to see where their plans went wrong.
…….and that’s it! Newbury.net has brought you more than 300 stories in our first six months. For the latest on restaurant and nightclub openings, shopping news and crime updates, Newbury.net has brought unrivalled coverage to your desktop. | 
