Grove Poll Result & Local Community Grants

The result of the Parish Poll which took place last Friday 27th July in Grove is now published on the Vale of White Horse District Council's Website here. I believe the Parish Council was going to discuss the matter at its meeting this evening, but unfortunately I was unable to attend because I was at the Vale's first meeting of the South East Area Committee. We considered applications for various community grants and have been able to award money towards the following applications:

Wantage Diving Club
East Hendred Community Centre
Wantage War Memorial
Milton Community Centre
The Farmoor Reservoir Pontoon Project

The Vale Community Strategy was also discussed in preparation for the new white paper on the future of local government 'Strong and Prosperous Communities'. This is also going to be a topic to be discussed by the County Council at its meeting of Full Council in September.

Flood Feedback

Today, I have been visiting residents in Grove who were affected by the recent flooding to deliver forms asking them for feedback on their individual experiences. It will be useful to have as much information as possible, whilst memories are fresh, to ensure that Letcombe Brook does not flood so easily again and the effects of any future flooding are minimised.

I was very conscious of the fact that when I visited people last Sunday after the flooding, many had either left to stay with friends or relatives or were busily dealing with the aftermath. However, everyone was keen to share their dilemma and appreciated my call. It is clear that some houses in Denchworth Road, Kingfishers, Bosleys Orchard, Cane Lane, Sharland Close and Vale Avenue suffered badly.

During this week, floods have hit many other parts of Oxfordshire, including Abingdon and Botley, making my journeys into County Hall each day very difficult. One thing that has come out of all this is the need to have a better co-ordinated response next time. For example, having local supplies of sandbags on hand for residents would have helped. Preventative measures, such as better maintenance of waterways, is another hot topic.

The Vale of White Horse District Council will collect bulky items damaged from flooded homes free (instead of the usual £28 charge). Click here for further information. BBC Oxford and the CSV Action desk have also set up a Good Neighbour Appeal for volunteers to help people who have suffered from the floods. Further information, whether you need help or can provide help, can be found at this link or by phoning 08459 311 222.

If anyone would like to pass on their comments to me who has not received a form, please either email me at zoe.patrick@oxfordshire.gov.uk or leave a comment here.

Role of local councillors

Yesterday, I visited Warwick University for a regional event organised by the Councillors' Commission. This has been set up by the government to look into the role of local councillors. It is chaired by Dame Jane Roberts, former leader of the London Borough of Cambden and she was there to lead the debate.

We had some interesting workshops where we could all share our ideas and experiences and see if we can help find ways of improving the system. The key function of the commission is to make recommendations on incentives to help, and also explore barriers which prevent, people standing as councillors. The aim is to encourage more women, ethnic minorities and younger people to come forward.

Only 29% of councillors are women, according to the latest surveys and even less are from ethnic minorities so more must be done to make our elected councillors more representative of their communities. The task of the Commission is to submit a report to the Secretary of State by the end of November 2007.

Anyone who would like to submit views to the commission can be emailed at:
councillorscommission@communities.gsi.gov.uk

Water, water everywhere....

What a day of rain we had yesterday! This picture shows the road between the Bay Tree and the village green at 9pm on Friday. I do hope that it has not caused too much damage and trauma to those who have been flooded.

Flooding information can be found on the Vale of White Horse District Council website at http://www.whitehorsedc.gov.uk/. The Vale Duty Officer can be contacted out of hours on 01235 524886.

Further information is also available on the county council website at: http://www.oxfordshire.gov.uk/wps/portal/publicsite

Updated travel news can be found at: http://www.bbc.co.uk/travelnews/local/oxford.shtml

Grove Parish Poll

A parish poll is to be held in Grove following a request from residents for a vote on housing plans for the village. This will be held on Friday 27 July. The question being asked is "Should Grove Parish Council oppose all housing developments on the former Grove Airfield before agreement is obtained from a majority of Grove households."

I welcome this initiative by residents taking an interest in the future of Grove, especially with major housing development being planned.

Polling is between 4pm and 9pm in the Old Mill Hall in Grove.

Further information can be found at: http://www.whitehorsedc.gov.uk/council_and_democracy/council_news/DetailPage11767.asp

Diamond Light Source

Yesterday, I visited the open day of the Diamond Light Source at Rutherford Appleton Laboratory.

This was a fascinating event where the public could walk around part of the electron synchrotron and see how X-rays are produced by "wiggler" magnets. This giant machine produces light which is around 110 billion times brighter than a hospital X-ray machine and 10 billion times brighter than light from the sun.

The light source is being used to study a wide variety of things ranging from potential cures and treatments for diseases such as cancer, to testing aircraft components. It is a wonderful opportunity for us in Oxfordshire to have the largest UK funded scientific facility built in the last 40 years right on our doorstep. This has happened thanks to investment in science by both the public sector and The Wellcome Trust. Now whenever I drive past the shiny 'doughnut' ring at the front of the Chilton site, I will be heartened to know what is going on inside!

Horton Hospital

Today the County's Joint Health Overview and Scrutiny Committee met in Banbury to discuss the proposed change in services at the Horton Hospital. The proceedings were recorded by BBC South Today and we heard statements from GP's, the Oxford Radcliffe Trust, Oxfordshire PCT, clinicians, midwives, South Central Ambulance Trust, Tony Baldry MP, the 'Keep the Horton General' action group and many more.

It was clear to us all by the end of the meeting that this was a downgrading of services which would have an impact on patients in the area. The main areas of contention were around services for children (including new born babies) and maternity services. The committee was concerned about transporting women in labour or sick babies and children to the JR. The ambulance trust unfortunately could not give us assurances that travelling time from Banbury to the JR in an emergency could be guaranteed, especially during the rush hour. We also heard how the training needs of junior doctors under the new working directive appeared to be driving much of the agenda.

We decided to refer the matter to the Secretary of State.

Grove School

Good news for Grove to start my blog! On Tuesday, Liberal Democrats on Oxfordshire County Council received an apparent commitment from the Cabinet member for Schools Improvement, Michael Waine, that the new school destined for the village will become an 11-19 school of 1,250 pupils after all.

We can now get on with the important business of ensuring that this is properly planned in right from the start with developers in time for the new housing. The date of delivery was given as 2012, so we shall look forward to seeing progress on this front.

What a pity these assurances were not dealt with in the first place at the Cabinet meeting on 20th June and thus avoided the call-in to the Childrens' Services Scrutiny Committee.

Submissions to the meeting:

http://www.oxfordshirelibdems.org.uk/speeches/000035.html

http://www.oxfordshirelibdems.org.uk/resources/index/Additional%20Material