Plans for Wokingham District Council’s new offices in Shute End were unveiled in the summer of 1986 and it was revealed that tenders for the construction cost ranged from £4million to £6million.

Clauses safeguarding the existing 18th century structures were included in the outline plans which councillors were eager to protect and the new 60,000 square feet of space would be open plan and allow for further expansion in the future.

A dramatic explosion and fire wrecked Supersave-Sunninghill’s only supermarket-31 years ago and it was feared arsonists were to blame.

Bracknell News:

CHECK MATE: Crowthorne had a UK chess champion

Fire chiefs were at one stage facing a fire so fierce that the whole of the High Street was under threat as the intense heat travelled over the rooftops to adjacent buildings including the Sunninghill Bakery whilst workers were preparing the first bread of the day at 3.30am.

Speaking to the Bracknell News bakery owner Catherine Worth said: “I think the workers were quite shocked when they heard the blast.”

It was all change further down the High Street when Sunninghill’s Picture House closed to make way for a new theatre complex and local planners stressed that the iconic structure would maintain its iconic ‘unique features’.

Nine-year-old Jody Saunders from Crowthorne was being tipped for stardom as she became the British Girls U9s Chess champion at a national contest in Southampton.

Fifty-two players aged under nine from all over Britain competed during seven rounds of chess games and Jody scored three and a half points out of seven which was the highest score of any entrant and some experts were comparing her style of play to Gary Kasparov the internationally famous player.