News – Page 34 of 37

28Jan

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Road safety petition launched after 13 year old girl was killed in Ashford.

A friend of a teenager who was killed in a fatal collision in Ashford over Christmas, has started an online petition for a footbridge to be built over the A30, to prevent future accidents.Lia Slade, 13, was hit on the Staines bound carriageway of the A30 London road at 5pm on Saturday 27th December, and was transported to St Georges Hospital in Tooting. However, she tragically died in hospital the following morning. Her friend, 14 year old Ella-Louise Ayling of Clare Road in Stanwell, has created a Facebook page titled ‘Build a Footbridge Across the A30 to Save Life’s’ (sic) in honor of Lia. So far the page has gained over 5000 likes, along with an online petition of the same name on the website petition.co.uk, which has now gained over 640 signatures online. Explaining her intention...

28Jan

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Waitrose Egham Finally Opening?

After a series of setbacks, the Waitrose store in Egham seems set to open soon. Waitrose, who have not only made setbacks to the shoppers of Egham, but to their employees as well, have now realised a final construction and opening date for the food chain.The much anticipated opening is now set to happen on 22nd of January, and with construction looking almost ready it seems that they will finally be true to their promise. Waitrose was originally due to open in October 2014 but after various predicted opening dates it seems building has taken longer than planned. The store has employed part time and full time staff, who have been having to commute to other stores such as Staines or Clapham, some even further. Abigail Burrell-Rann, who has previously worked for Waitrose and will be workin...

28Jan

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Fire in Sushi Factory Leaves Students Floundering

Students at Royal Holloway may have been left wondering where their sushi fix had gone, towards the end of last term. The sushi supplier for Royal Holloway had, in-fact, exploded in the early hours of December 1st 2014. The major fire closed Staines town centre, after the blaze broke out in several industrial units, including that of Royal Holloway’s sushi supplier: Tanpopo Japanese Food, at Unit L4 on the estate. Homes were evacuated and about 100 firefighters tackled the blaze at the Renshaw Industrial Estate. Surrey Fire and Rescue Service said the fire, which broke out shortly after midnight, was thought to be due to propane cylinders exploding. Three industrial buildings have been almost completely destroyed. Surrey Police tweeted that the town centre was closed to traffic b...

28Jan

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Egham Station Vendor Forced Out of Business

After 18 years of business at the railway station, selling hot drinks, newspapers and snacks Monday to Saturday, Mohammad Asif Minhas, 60, was was ordered by South West Trains to "move from the premises of Egham Station" by Christmas Eve. Knowing full well that Mr Minhas usually closes for business on Christmas Eve and reopens after New Year, South West Trains forced the vendor to sign an agreement stating the company could evict him from the spot with six months notice: which they did. A spokesman for South West Trains clarified that “As part of plans to deliver major improvements for customers at Egham station, we are introducing a new 'Access for All' funded toilet facility and automatic entrance doors to the main entrance and platform side of the station building.' The current shop ...

28Jan

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Thatcher’s Reforms Revisited Through National Archive Release

In lieu of the recently exposed archives that former Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher had been working on, the Iron Lady and her changes to universities and the higher education system are once again being evaluated. The documents released at the end of last year by the National Archives highlighted Thatcher's proposed changes to the education system. The documents revealed the former Prime Minister's plans to separate schools from local authorities, and her thought's on GCSEs, which she believed would be detrimental and lead to a 'can't fail mentality'. Her reforms are still the basis of the current changes that are being made to the education system, with former education minister Michael Gove attempting to follow her lead. Thatcher’s higher education policies, while incredibly unp...

College Expansion Plans Finally Approved

28Jan

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College Expansion Plans Finally Approved

Royal Holloway’s plans to expand the college over the next 16 years, to facilitate increased numbers of students, have finally been given the go-ahead by Runneymede Borough Council. The plans which will see the University look to build new halls of residence in Englefield Green, and create improved access points to campus, were originally submitted in January of last year. However the so-called ‘Masterplan’ faced several hurdles before its approval earlier this month. Frustrated residents of Englefield Green, and certain councillors, raised concerns over the fact the College had not adequately researched the impact on local traffic nor planned to provide enough parking spaces for the predicted rise in student numbers. The College forecast that the number of students attending Royal H...

26Nov

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Waitrose Egham Opening Further Delayed

The eagerly anticipated opening of the new multi-million pound building which will house Waitrose in Egham has been further delayed. The supermarket was originally due to open in the Spring of this year, but the date was pushed back to the last week of October. However, the project is still yet to be completed. The building will see a new Waitrose supermarket with underground parking and delivery access alongside an 80 room Travelodge. Though Waitrose have not divulged the reason for the delay in proceedings, reportedly it has been caused over the question of employee parking spaces. Waitrose have stated that staff will be asked to park offsite, as the company considers customer parking to be a ‘priority’. This news has been the cause of further worry for Egham residents who already str...

26Nov

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Royal Holloway students design app for Magna Carta Celebrations

*For print and website* Royal Holloway students from the department of Geography have helped to develop an app as part of the celebrations for the 800th anniversary of the signing of the Magna Carta in Runnymede. The app, created for mobiles, will help to guide visitors of Runnymede around the site of the signing of the Magna Carta. Tourists will be able to choose from a range of trails around Runnymede focusing on everything from the arts to ecology. Using the app, students have been able to help highlight the significance of some of the major landmarks in the area. The app was trialled late last month and according to its creators it ‘received largely very positive feedback from those involved.’ Second year Geography student Sally Toon was one of those involved in the process and s...

26Nov

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MP George Galloway visits Royal Holloway

On the 10th of November the Windsor building was host for the night to the PIR Society discussion on the topic "Israel and Palestine: War or Genocide?" Speaking for the night was MP George Galloway from the Respect Party. George Galloway, an infamous figure in British Politics, notably stormed out of a discussion at Christ Church College Oxford about Israel and the West Bank when he came to understand that one of the members of the discussion was of Israeli nationality. At Royal Holloway, Galloway retained his strongly pro-Palestinian stance, reflecting on the human suffering of the people of the Gaza Strip during recent Israeli action. Attentive to breaking news reports from Israel, laying claim to attacks by Palestinian Militants on Israelis, Mr Galloway was quite prepared throughout ...

26Nov

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Watch out, you could be fined £60 for parking!

Since Sunday the 26th of October, changes have been made to the Royal Holloway parking policy which could get you fined up to £60. Regular parking patrols have now been reinstated to prevent illegal parking on campus. ‘Our parking patrols look out for cars that are parked illegally on campus, such as on double yellow lines or in disabled bays without a blue badge,’ says Tom Norris, Campus Communications Officer. ‘Parking illegally like this causes obstructions and delays for everyone, and we’ve reintroduced parking patrols to hopefully reduce the number of parking incidents like this on our campus.’ The parking patrol will cover both the main campus and Huntersdale, Kingswood and areas north of the A30 (such as Penrose and Highfield). Changes have also been made in the way you can...