Town planners have given the go-ahead for an empty shop to be turned into a high-class Chinese restaurant.

Despite objections from town councillors, the owner Chen used positive comments from the forum of Newbury.net to support his plans to turn the former Sunflower fashion outlet in Cheap Street into a gourmet restaurant, serving Cantonese and Szechuan food.

The working title for the restaurant is Ning Dynasty, after Chen’s wife, but with much to do converting the shop, the grand opening is unlikely before Christmas.

Commuters get cold shoulder

Newbury’s army of commuters will soon be banned from parking across much of the town centre. Plans to bring in resident-only parking permits are expected for areas like Enborne Road, Newtown Road, Rectory Close, Tudor Road and most of East Fields later this year.

The scheme means residents can pay West Berkshire Council £50 for a pair of permits to park in front of their houses, while London commuters and the estimated 20,000 workers who drive into Newbury every day will have to pay to park or find a space on the edge of town, and walk in.

Be aware of foreign woman

An eastern European woman is wanted for questioning by police after a woman had £90 stolen from her handbag while shopping in Newbury.

The young woman was filmed by CCTV on April 27 in the shop where the woman had a wallet stolen, containing the cash and personal documents. The woman has long dark hair, is 20-25 years old, and has a possibly eastern European accent.

Shopsafe officer PC Phil Eyles said: “Over the last three months there have been a number of thefts which appear to involve at least two women working together, generally targeting elderly people. They approach the victims and ask a question, sometimes about a product on sale in the shop.”

“While the victims are distracted, their purses, mobile phones and documents are stolen from their handbags.”

If you know anything, contact Phil Eyles on 0845 8 505 505