Happy New Year!

Merry Christmas

Wishing everyone a very Merry Christmas!

 I hope it is a peaceful and relaxing time for one and all.

Grove Christmas Carol Service

On Thursday evening, it was the annual Grove Christmas Carol Service around the Christmas Tree in Vale Avenue and accompanied by the splendid Wantage Silver Band. The service was led by the Reverend Martin Smithson. This year the collection was in aid of the Grove and Wantage Food Bank. 

Afterwards, we were all kindly invited to tea and a mince pie in the nearby Grove Methodist Church where we could chat and also admire the extended premises.

Concessionary Travel for Unemployed Young People

Last week, I brought a motion to the county council asking for a feasibility study looking into the implications of bringing in concessionary travel for young people in Oxfordshire aged 18-24 who are on Job Seekers' Allowance or apprenticeships.  This was to support young people to get into work by helping with their travel costs when attending interviews, training or work experience. 

Oxfordshire is a rural county, and I know that bus travel particularly around our area can cost nearly £5 a time, making it very expensive for those without their own cars.  Students at King Alfred's Academy had discussed this with me when I visited the school earlier in the month, and a young pupil from Cherwell School in Oxford came to the council meeting to address all councillors in support of my proposal.

Unfortunately, the idea was voted down by the ruling Conservative group, but it was interesting to see a few days later that a scheme introduced by the national bus industry to give job-seeking youngsters a month of free travel had been welcomed by the council on their website.

The ‘Bus for Jobs’ initiative will allow unlimited free travel throughout January for anyone holding a Jobcentre Plus Travel Discount Card, so although not a permanent concession, it will at least help for just one month in the New Year.

Free travel will be available on around 70 per cent of the national bus network, including the majority of local routes in Oxfordshire. The county’s main operators, Oxford Bus Company, Thames Travel, Stagecoach and Arriva have all signed up to the scheme.   Full details of the scheme are available at www.busforus.co.uk

It would be good if this could be allowed to continue, but with tight budgets coming up in February, it will be a difficult challenge for all of us.

Wayland Road Repairs

Over many weeks, residents in Grove had to put up with barriers near to the entrance of Wayland Road. This was because the road was in a bad state and needed repair. The barriers were up for so long, we all wondered when the repairs would actually happen.

When the barriers were suddenly removed, everyone expected to see a good, repaired surface, but the top two photos show that the road was actually left in a very poor condition with a large area suffering from subsidence! Residents quite rightly were mystified as to what was going on and contacted me. Well, I can happily report that after chasing the County Council Highways Department they took swift action and made some repairs as shown in the bottom two photos. I have to say that although this is an improvement there are still cracks in the road and, no doubt, further repairs will be needed in the near future. A false economy in my opinion, especially as a footpath (much used by children and parents to Millbrook School) crosses this area of road.

Wantage Dickensian Evening

Last night, it was the annual Wantage Dickensian Evening and I must say the town centre, especially the Market Square, looked very atmospheric. It was a cold night, but many people turned out to enjoy the stalls and entertainment. Even King Alfred (shown above) looked on approvingly at the new lighting scheme!

King Alfred's New Building Celebrations

This afternoon I had the pleasure of attending King Alfred's East site to see the new building opening celebrations.  It was an ideal opportunity to meet with the students who are all studying hard and enjoying their new surroundings. 

The first building we saw (above left) was the new gym, which means that whatever the weather, the students will be able to keep fit on all the excellent new equipment inside.  They all seemed to be thoroughly enjoying themselves and in the wake of the summer Olympics, the rowing machines were very popular!

The second building (above right) is a very attractive wooden building which holds new classrooms, IT and music rooms.  Again, it was good to see the enthusiasm of the students involved and how much they seemed to be making the most of their new surroundings.  The humanities class were doing an exercise on planning and the Grove Airfield development was under discussion.  The young people were putting forward their own ideas on what they would like to see in the design and layout.  Seeing as it will be their generation who will be experiencing any benefits or problems which may arise, it is an ideal opportunity for them to have their say at this stage.

Grove Airfield and Monks Farm Status

I have heard today that the Grove Airfield planning application for 2,500 houses will now not be considered until the New Year. The Vale Planning Committee was set to meet on 19th December at which the decision was to be made, but because the County Council and the Environment Agency have not yet been able to submit their responses, the meeting had to be postponed. I always thought it was bad timing to have the meeting immediately before Christmas and at a location outside of the Grove-Wantage area.

I have also heard that the proposed development of 133 homes on land west of Old Station Road (see photo above) was considered by the Vale's Planning Committee meeting last night. Unfortunately, despite registered objectors speaking against the development, this application was approved allegedly due to the Vale housing shortage.

This means that we now have developments approved for 200 houses at Stockham Farm in Wantage plus this recent proposal by Monks Farm in Grove.   I am not sure how this affects the airfield development - watch this space! 

Sack House Museum Project

It has been agreed that £1,000 can be used from our County Councillor Community budgets from Cllr. Hannaby and myself to fund the historic Sack House at the Wantage Canal Wharf to have mains electricity to the building.  This will enable the house to be visited as a community museum showing the history of the canal in Wantage and the associated industrial archeology of the area. 

Readers of my blog will remember that I attended the opening of the Sack House in June this year.  The Wilts and Berks Canal Trust are an important community group of volunteers who are committed to making this important recreational facility available for everyone living in the Grove, Wantage and surrounding area.  I look forward to seeing the Sack House again once the power has been connected.

Timely Reminder

Isn't time strange? The photo above shows the construction of the steel frame for the Tesco store on Millbrook Square in Grove. It is now difficult to remember how the square used to look, but amazingly the photo was taken just under 5 years ago on 7th January 2007.

On the other hand, the proposal to build 2,500 dwellings on the former Grove Airfield seems to have been around for an eternity and has taken numerous twists and turns. As readers will be aware, there have been several problems with the latest consulation on the amended plans (as reported here). Anyway, this is a final reminder that, if you have still not had your say, this consultation closes this Friday 30 November. Comments can be made online by using the "Comment now" facility at http://t.co/69ztPgYt

I undestand that the planning application will be considered by the Planning Committee of the Vale of White Horse District Council on 19 December at 6.30pm (venue to be confirmed). You can find details of this committee here.

More Community Grants Awarded

I am pleased to say that there have been some more community grants awarded from our County Councillor budgets to fund a number of projects for young people in Grove and Wantage. Councillor Jenny Hannaby and I have pooled our funds for the following schemes:

Vale and Downland Museum project 'Alfie and Friends' for families with pre-school children.  This will provide activities and craft sessions with the help of museum volunteers for very young children enabling them and their carers to explore and engage with the collection.  'Alfie' is a toy bear who will 'introduce' the sessions of play, story-telling and music-making aswell as finding different things in the museum.  This is hoped to be launched in January 2013.  The intention is to make the museum a welcoming, exciting and fun place to be.  We have given £500 to this project.

South and Vale Carers' Centre and Young Carers' Project to fund carers' respite breaks for young carers aged from 8 to 17.  Young carers in our community are looking after a parent or sibling who is disabled or has a physical or mental illness, and need to have a chance to experience normal childhood activities by having an occasional break from their caring responsibilities.  There are currently 282 young carers registered as active and 20 of these are from Grove and Wantage.  We have given £1200 towards this project.  Readers of my blog will recall that I heard about the Young Carers' Festival when I appeared on the Sunday Politics programme.

Sweatbox Rock in the Park project is a community live music event organised by teenagers from the Sweatbox Youth Centre.  This popular event was previously the highlight of an annual programme of activites, but has not happened for 3 years due to restructuring of youth services and budget restrictions.  This event is planned for Spring or early Summer 2013 and is much valued by our young people helping them to promote musical talent.  We have given £600 towards this project.

There is still some funding available if anyone has a local need to fund a community project.  Please get in touch with me if you wish to discuss.

Stormy Weather

Well, that was a wet and windy night! I did make a quick tour around both Wantage and Grove at about 11pm to check for any flooding. Letcombe Brook seemed to be coping and although it was high and swollen it seemed to be contained everywhere. 

The first photo on the left shows the height of the water as it flowed under the bridge next to Wessex Mill. The water level was such that the hazel groynes behind the mill were completely submerged (these were constructed to stop silt building up). In  Grove, the water level was also high and flowing fast in Kingfishers, Cane Lane and at the Denchworth Road bridge(right most photo). I think many of us have been bemused by recent press reports about flood risks that failed to even mention Grove, yet it was this bridge that was swept away in the 2007 flash flood!

The main problem, unsuprisingly, was the large amount of standing water where the drains could not cope. The middle picture above shows the road near to the Bay Tree in Grove. Other areas included the A338 next to Autotype, the "dip" near to Sainsburys and near to Barwell and Stockham on the Denchworth Road( A417).

Apologies for the quality of the photos, but it was difficult in the dark conditions. 

Caring for Cow Lane

Cow Lane is an important amenity for the Grove community. This lane provides access to the countryside for horse riders, cyclists, pedestrians and walkers of dogs. If the future large-scale housing development goes ahead on Grove Airfield, it will provide an invaluable green escape for residents.

It is therefore important that we all do our best to maintain this by-way. Over the last few months, I have taken up a number of issues with the lane. First of all, the sign at the entrance was damaged. Initially, it had been uprooted - possibly knocked over by a vehicle - and lay discarded in the hedgerow (left photo). Then, after some of the hedgerows had been cut back it was retrieved, but stood in a sorry bent state without any foundations (middle photo). I can happily report that, after much chasing, a new sign was recently installed (right photo). 

Another issue was the discovery of a fly tip of asbestos a little way down the lane. I know that residents had reported this many weeks ago, but nothing had been done by the authorities. I got on the case and although I was reassured that it would be removed swiftly (as any toxic waste should)  it was there every time that I went to check. Suffice to say, that after much perseverance the waste has at long last been removed.

Finally, I was very disturbed to discover on one of my walks that the track to East Hanney (just past the sewage treatment works) has been blocked by the dumping of a mound of earth as shown below.

This has obstructed the right of way and we have been investigating where this material originated. I have requested that it is removed as soon as possible and that the track is restored to its rightful state. Watch this space.

Grove Challengers Football Club Awarded Grant

I have heard this week that the application that Grove Challengers Football Club made to my County Councillor Community budget funding has been successful.  This is excellent news for the club who have been awarded £1,500 in order to purchase two new goals.  They are particularly keen to expand the club next year to have teams for girls and these moveable goal posts are helping them to achieve this aim.   On the back of the great success that women's football played in this years' Olympic games, I was delighted to enable this to happen.

The club has an excellent fund-raising committee dedicated to the work of promoting football within Grove and has been running since 1971.  There are over 170 children registered at the moment and the club continues to grow.  These goals should now be able to be in use for the new season.  I have always enjoyed going along to the Challengers 6-a-side competitions held over the summer as reported here and will look forward to seeing the goals and the girls in action in the future!

The End of Thames Valley Police Authority

This morning, I attended the last Thames Valley Police Authority  meeting where we finished our business before the new Police and Crime Commissioner takes over.   As I drove home, I could hear the results of the first count.  I have been a member of the authority for five years now as a representative for Oxfordshire County Council and I have seen many changes.  I have also been involved with the local policing boards at Cherwell, Vale of White Horse and, up until this week, West Oxfordshire.  Currently, it is not clear how the new commissioner will be involved with neighbourhood policing as one person can hardly be sitting on every single board across Thames Valley.

I expressed concern today that the new Police and Crime Panel will have no representation from Liberal Democrats and will therefore not have the same political balance as the current authority where we have a committee set up after every council election in the Thames Valley, which works out the proportional representation of all three main political parties.  The new panel is made up of the majority Conservative group with some Labour representation.  I did write about this concern to the Panel, LGA (Local Government Association) and the Policing Minister, but unfortunately the discretion lies with the remit of the Panel.  However, it does not inspire confidence in fair representation at this stage.

Today, we also had a tour of the new office block at the Kidlington HQ of Thames Valley Police (see extreme left of first photo above), and as I stood at the door for the last time, I felt a tinge of sadness that this is the end of an era keeping an eye on the work of the police in Thames Valley.  I wish them well in the future under the new arrangements.

Election for new Police and Crime Commissioner

On Thursday 15th November we will be asked to vote for the new Police and Crime Commissioner for Thames Valley Police.  I attended a hustings event at Oxford Town Hall last week where the candidates all set out their manifestos and answered questions.  The photo above shows all candidates except one of the independents who arrived too late for the line-up at the beginning.  The event was chaired by  Professor Ian Loader (middle), Leader of the Criminology Unit, University of Oxford.  Candidates from left to right in the photo are Professor John Howson (Liberal Democrat), Tim Starkey (Labour), Anthony Stansfeld (Conservative), Barry Cooper (UKIP) and Geoff Howard (Independent). Patience Awe (Independent) was the candidate who arrived late.  It was a lively evening with many questions from the floor.

I have been a member of Thames Valley Police Authority as an elected member from Oxfordshire County Council for five years now, and we are due to be abolished in favour of all the work being overseen by one person.  There are currently 18 members of the Police Authority, 10 of us are elected from county and borough councils across Thames Valley, and the others are independent members including two magistrates.   We work on several committees all of which are open to the public and set the council tax and the police budget annually.  As I have reported on this blog, I have also attended ceremonies on a regular basis where we commend officers, volunteers and staff for the service to the community for bravery and long service.  I will miss the work we have done, but do feel it is important to exercise your vote on Thursday, as we do not wish this important position to go unchallenged.

You can view all the candidates on the Home Office website here.

The role of the new commissioner will be to allocate the budget, set the council tax precept and be responsible for how it is spent. They will set the strategic direction and aims for the police force through the Police and Crime Plan. They will also hold the Chief Constable to account. The candidate will also have to swear an oath of impartiality and be independent of party politics.  Quite a task to take on.  On Friday it will be our last meeting of the Police Authority and I shall look forward to seeing who is our successor.

Remembering

New Wantage Police Station Takes Shape

The photo on the left shows the latest status of the new Wantage police station on Grove Technology Park.  The building looks smaller than I expected and the old station in Wantage town centre is shown on the right for comparison. However, I understand that there is room for future expansion.

Grove Airfield Planning Consultation Problems

Today, I have finally received a revised consultation letter regarding the outline planning application for 2,500 homes on Grove Airfield.  Last week, I had complained to the Vale of White Horse District Council about their original letter which was sent out last week full of errors.  This was the subject of a front page article on this week's Wantage and Grove Herald.

There are a number of amendments to the original application including changes to access routes both to the south adjacent to Cane Lane and to the north on the Denchworth Road.  The amendments and revised plans can be seen either online or a hard copy can be viewed at the Grove Parish Council offices at Old Mill Hall.

This planning site has been on the horizon for many years. If it is now ready for submission to the Vale, then we have to ensure that all residents have had a chance to have their say.  I hope everyone will feel able to send in their views.

The deadline date for comments to the application is 30th November 2012 and these can be made online at the website link here.

Wantage Day Centre Open Evening

This evening I visited Wantage Day Centre, which is now called the 'Health and Wellbeing Centre' along with all the other previously called 'day centres' run by Oxfordshire County Council.  This is supposed to be in line with the new arrangements that local government have made whereby we work more closely with our partners in the NHS.  Social care and health are expected to become more seamless as our pooled budgets and resources are shared.   It is also expected to make them more attractive to attend for our elderly residents who sometimes have pre-conceived ideas about them.  Today, the centres run a whole host of activities such as arts & crafts, computer sessions and seated exercise classes.

The Wantage centre has just had a big refurbishment thanks to the work of the Friends of Wantage Day Centre and the volunteers who have helped to make this happen.  The story was recently reported here.  It was an excellent evening where it was good to touch base with the local community and talk to the staff who work there.

Oxford from the Air

This morning I was in Oxford by 8am to take to the air in a balloon flight. This was a package from a birthday celebration earlier in the year, but the wet weather all over the summer has made it very difficult to arrange. This was the third attempt and hey presto we were away above Oxford's dreaming spires floating off towards the east on a fresh breeze. Views were stunning and it was a great experience including helping to prepare and pack the balloon.

We landed just over an hour later outside Thame in a muddy field. Luckily, a friendly farmer came to our rescue with his tractor as even the 4x4 couldn't cope with the wet! It was all over too quickly, but it was a great start to the day. Next time I am stuck in traffic on the Botley Road I can remember this more peaceful alternative.

Wantage Betjeman Literary Festival

This afternoon, I enjoyed an excellent talk by P.D. James presented by local author Mary Loudon at Wantage Civic Hall (photo left).   She gave us all an enthralling insight into her life of writing and the humour and wit she displayed kept the audience completely captivated.  At the age of 92 she still shows no sign of retiring from her writing which she so thoroughly enjoys.  I bought a signed copy of her latest novel 'Death Comes To Pemberley' which recreates the world of 'Pride and Prejudice' and was a new venture for her.

Next stop, this evening was to hear Richard Pitman at the King Alfred's Head (photo right) who gave us all a light-hearted romp through his life as a jump jockey and also his time as presenter at the BBC from which he has now retired.  Both of these events were part of this year's Betjeman Literary Festival which is now in its second year and is becoming increasingly popular.  Thanks to all involved for such an interesting and enjoyable programme this year and look forward to the return in 2013.

Emergency Planning

On the day that the US declared a state of emergency in several states, including New York, as Hurricane Sandy caused devastation across the east coast, I went to visit the Emergency Planning bunker at Woodeaton Manor near Oxford.  This was the second time that I have made this visit and I was keen to update myself with all the latest information.

The last time I needed help in an emergency was when we had flooding in Grove and Wantage during July 2007, and I wished to make sure that I was up to speed with what currently happens in Oxfordshire to help our communities in times of emergencies. 

The County is eager to help parish councils prepare an emergency plan and I know that Grove Parish Council have been keen to work on this.  It is also a matter of ensuring that all residents are aware of where to go for help and the County Council's website has a wealth of information available .  A booklet entitled 'Are You Ready?' is particularly useful and I do have some hard copies of this, but you can download one from the website here.

We heard that emergencies can take many forms; fires, road traffic accidents and chemical spillages are the most likely ones, but no one can predict what may happen next.   We learned about the evacuation during the summer at Little Tew when fire broke out in a workshop.  This was a major event in the village, but was handled well by all involved. 

I am more confident today that with the excellent co-ordination our emergency planning officers have with the police, fire and rescue and the NHS services, we should be much better prepared.  However, we can never be complacent and lessons are being learned all the time.   Watching the scenes on TV this evening in America makes you realise that we are all vulnerable to the giant forces of nature.

The Future of Day Centres

This afternoon I attended the Abingdon Health and Wellbeing Centre for an event with stakeholders to discuss the future of day opportunities for adult social care in Oxfordshire.  The County Council is currently consulting on the future of day centres and new increased charges could be introduced, including transport costs.  You can take part in the consultation here which ends on 31st October.

In April this year, my Opposition group had a motion agreed at Council which called for a fair and affordable easy-to-access transport service to day centres in Oxfordshire which would ensure that the elderly continue to attend their local day centre at a cost they can afford.  A transport review has been undertaken and should the current consultation lead to increased charges the future of some day centres could become unviable.

I used to work for Age Concern Oxfordshire (now Age UK) and I know how much older people enjoy socialising and being able to get out of their own house, even if it is for only one or two sessions a week.   Personalised budgets now mean that people are responsible for their own financial arrangements and if the costs of attending day centres increase too much then residents may chose not to go any more.  I am hoping that this will not be the case.  We are fortunate in our area to have both the Wantage Day Centre which has been recently refurbished, and also our own volunteer Grove Day Centre.  Both of these are excellent and well-established local facilities which are greatly valued by our senior citizens.

Now, county councillors have a say in where grant funding is allocated within their divisions and Cllr. Jenny Hannaby and I were keen to support both the October Club in Wantage and the Grove Day Centre when they put forward their bids to the County Council for funding.

Local Grant Funds Awarded

I am delighted to announce that two funding requests from the Councillor Community Budget scheme have been awarded to local organisations.  Cllr. Jenny Hannaby and myself have both been awarded £10,000 each to spend on community and/or voluntary projects in the Grove and Wantage division which we both share.  We decided to pool our funds to the following organisations who serve both communities.

The Independent Advice Centre (IAC) has been awarded a total of £4,995 towards their project 'Accommodating Our Community' which is to expand their premises to include the upper storey at 16 Market Place in Wantage.  This is to provide more space to operate all of their services which include their well respected Transport Admin team who provide voluntary drivers to enable elderly and vulnerable people to access hospital appointments and other necessary journeys.

Wantage 'not just' Betjeman Literary Festival has been awarded £3,000 towards funding children's, youth and other community-based events in the Festival, which is taking place from 28th October until November 4th 2012.  The Festival is now in its second year after a very successful start last year and it is hoped that this will become an annual event.  Some of the popular events are already sold out, but there are still tickets available if you check their website.

There are still some funds available if other groups wish to put their project forward.  Details are available on the County website here.

Highway Enquiry Problems

Several residents have complained to me that they have sent their highway enquiries into the County Council email address at  highwayenquiries@oxfordshire.gov.uk and despite receiving an automated response promising a reply within 10 working days, they have been waiting weeks to no avail.

I took the matter up at the Cabinet meeting in July where I was also taking issue with the Customer Services Centre because residents who had applied for their primary school places by email were not getting a reply.  I was told that this was due to the service being outsourced to Capita and it was their failure to send out confirmation emails to about 6,500 families.  My supplementary question was to ask about similar problems with the highway enquiries email where  I have personally experienced problems despite being told I would have a reply within 10 working days.  In one particular case it was over 2 months before I got a response.  It was minuted at the meeting that the Cabinet members responsible would respond to me on the issue.  Sadly, to date there has been no response at all.

The matter has recently been compounded by the fact that we were all told that as councillors we would now be given a dedicated email address to which a priority would be given to our highways enquiries.  However, on using this address, there is no automated response, and no way of telling if the email has been received, or if it will be attended to.  To date, no reply on this one either.

The Deputy Leader of the Council has now assured me that he is looking into these problems.  I await further news.

Meanwhile if any residents are continuing to have problems reporting highways matters to the County Council please let me know.   I do have a small amount of money still available through the Area Stewardship Funding which might be available to tackle some issues.

Out of this World!

This blog is called "Local News and Views". Well, here is a very special view, but it is not very local to Grove or Wantage. It is the view that Felix Baumgartner had from 128,000 feet above the Earth just before he jumped.

What an amazing event - I sat enthralled all afternoon. Well done to Felix for the incredible records he achieved today and all at Red Bull Stratos for the live coverage on the Web.

Local Bus Service Update

Residents may have heard in the news that an Oxfordshire bus company R H Transport based in Witney has gone into receivership leaving some of the school bus routes and local bus services to be renegotiated with alternative providers.  Thanks to the hard work of officers in the public transport department at Oxfordshire County Council the current situation is that services will run normally over the weekend and indeed, will be free to passengers on Monday.

Full details of the affected routes and the alternative bus companies taking on the services are available on the County website.  Do check before you travel.

Tubney Wood Quarry

This morning I visited the Tubney Wood Quarry at Appleton to see the recycling and restoration work, which is taking place.  This site is now nearly completed and a new site is being worked on the other side of the A338.  The quarry has produced high quality mortar sand and various grades of crushed rock.  It is also a source of secondary aggregates which is produced through recycling and recovery and it was interesting to watch this process taking place (see photo above).

Walking above the site we were then shown the restoration which has been completed as the site will be eventually planted with broadleaf woodland (photo above).  The land is owned by Magdalen College and is leased to The Hills Group Ltd. who have been working the site for a number of years.

The County Council is responsible for the planning of minerals and waste sites in Oxfordshire, so it was a useful lesson to hear about the work which goes on and equally what happens to the sites once the quarrying is complete.   There will always be a demand for our raw materials and as a county we have an obligation to produce a set amount every year.   The latest Minerals & Waste Plan was agreed at the County Council meeting in April 2012 for submission to the Secretary of State.

Proposals for minerals extraction are usually accompanied by objections from local residents who are concerned about the impact on their locaL area, but I have to say that I was reassured to see what is taking place just down the A338 where it connects with the A420.  It is a journey I do many times a week as I travel to County Hall, so now I know what is going on in the woods nearby!

Back from Brighton

I am back home after spending a few days at Brighton attending the Liberal Democrat Autumn conference.  The weather was dreadful with wind and rain hurling at us as we dodged between the conference centre and the fringe meetings at the nearby hotels. 

I was on the panel for a fringe meeting hosted by the Health Hotel on Living with Long Term Conditions, which was also attended by Norman Lamb, our new health minister, alongside The Stroke Association and Action for Hearing Loss.  You can check out the photos here. 

This event was chaired by Denis Campbell, health correspondent from the Guardian and was well attended by a wide selection of people.  There were a lot of interesting questions put to us on how local authorities, government and the voluntary sector are working together in the interests of patients who are trying to cope after diagnosis or a spell in hospital.  Helping people to stay at home means also having the support from occupational therapists, carers and the professionals. We must raise the profile and importance of how early intervention can prevent future problems.

There were some good speeches including Nick Clegg's final speech on Wednesday, but Danny Alexander and Vince Cable were also well received by the audience in the auditorium.  I felt this conference was very upbeat, but  the storm raging outside the conference venue reminded us all of the economic challenges we face over the next few years.

Preparing for Winter!

We are told that winter weather is on the way, so it was timely that today I paid a visit to Drayton Highways Depot to see the preparations that are made to keep the roads clear and repaired for this part of Oxfordshire.  Above on the left, you can see a photo of one of the large mounds of rock salt, which comes from the largest UK salt mine at Winsford in Cheshire and operated by Salt Union Ltd. There are other stockpiles of maritime salt from Ghana and also recycled salt. The photo on the right shows me in front of some of the gritting lorries and snow ploughs, which are deployed in the county.

It was also useful to discuss emergency planning with county officers who were able to say how they can help parishes to put together their own plans for emergencies in the future.  The flooding in Grove in July 2007 caused disruption and distress for many residents whose homes were flooded and it is something which is always in the back of my mind every time there is a severe flash storm.

Useful information about winter maintenance is available at the County Council's website here.

Reminder - Denchworth Road Closure

Further to a previous blog, just a reminder that the road between Grove and Denchworth will close for around 5 days from today Monday 10th September. 

Blenheim International Horse Trials

We are very fortunate to have Blenheim Palace on our doorstep in Oxfordshire. Aside from the beautiful historic house and famous landscaped grounds, it provides a wonderful venue for all sorts of events. For example, over the last four days the annual International Horse Trials have been held there. Of course, after the Olympics, this year is even more special with several members of TeamGB competing including Zara Philips, William Fox-Pitt, Nicola Wilson and Tina Cook. Olympians from other countries are also competing, such as Mark Todd from New Zealand who won bronze in London (to add to his four other medals from previous Olympics!).

The weather was beautiful for the cross country on Saturday and it was a lovely walk around the course which consisted of 27 well-constructed fences, including the one shown above left.  It was a particular challenge for horse and rider to negotiate the river complex (above right).  

Wantage and Grove Community Volunteers

Tonight, I was invited to the Old Mill Hall in Grove for the official launch of the Wantage and Grove Community Volunteers.  This is a small local group who are committed to helping the local community in any way possible, either financially or physically.  They raise money through fundraising events like jumble sales and tombola stalls and use these funds to help those who are in need.  This could range from gardening jobs for the elderly or helping to decorate a room for someone on their own. More information about the group can be found here.  I wish them every success with their new venture and look forward to hearing more.

The Big Feastival

Oxfordshire is now blessed with a number of summer music festivals including the Cropredy, Cornbury, Wilderness and Truck Festival events.

With summer drawing to an end (did it even start?), this weekend saw The Big Feastival hosted at the farm of Alex James in Kingham. 

I went along yesterday and had the pleasure of watching several cooking demonstrations  including Alex James himself (left) and Jamie Oliver (right).  There was also live music on offer including the Noisettes and Paloma Faith.  It was good to taste some of the wholesome selection of foods on display including some of the cheeses produced by Alex himself.  I bought some Little Wallop goats cheese which was particularly tasty!

Also, most importantly, the weather held out! 

Wantage featured in Scots Guards Magazine

Doesn't time fly? It is now 15 months ago since we were enthralled by the day's events when the Scots Guards were given the freedom of Wantage.

I was reminded of this very special occasion when I saw it has just featured in the annual Scots Guards Magazine for 2011/12. This can be found online here. If you look at pages 112-114, you will see a report by the Berks, Bucks and Oxfordshire Branch of the Association, which includes the above three photos. These originally appeared in my blog entry for 21 May 2011 and I was asked if these could be reproduced in the magazine. Of course, I was thrilled for this to happen and for this amazing day to be remembered in this way.

Denchworth Road Temporary Closure

This is an advance warning that the Denchworth Road will be closed from 10th September for around five days in order for carriageway maintenance works to take place.  This temporary closure will prohibit vehicles from entering the Denchworth Road from its junction with Newlands Drive in Grove with Hyde Road in Denchworth.   The alternative route for traffic is via Circourt Road, A417 and Newlands Drive and vice versa.  Exemptions are included for police, fire and ambulance services.

Shoes in Wantage

Looking for a pair of shoes recently, I went into Stead & Simpson to discover that it is closing down. There is a petition in the shop against the closure, which I duly signed because this shop has been selling everyday shoes for as long as I can remember.

Another Wantage shoe shop that is closing is Geoffrey Bailey Shoes - scheduled to shut on 29th September. In the remaining few weeks, there are some bargains on offer and free morning coffee. This family shop has served the community for almost 110 years and it is really sad to see it disappear.

If both of these shops close in Wantage, local people are going to have to travel out of the town just to buy shoes, which will not be good news.

New Zebra Crossing In Grove

Zebra Crossing on Denchworth Road, Grove

Today I am pleased to see that the white lines have been painted on the Denchworth Road for the zebra crossing which I have been able to fund through the County Councillor's Highways and Transport Fund which was introduced last year.   This has been a long campaign which began over eight years ago and it is good to see that the crossing will now be in use for the start of the school term in September.  I am sure that residents will appreciate a safer route across this busy road.

Inconsiderate Parking

One of the recurring complaints that I get is about inconsiderate parking in Grove. Sometimes, this can be a safety issue with access points blocked for emergency vehicles or cars parked close to a junction making the approach precarious. At other times, it is vehicles parking on verges and churning them up and just making the village unsightly (and costing money to repair the damage). 

The root of a many of these problems is the insufficient space left for cars when new housing developments are built and I hope that this is tackled in the future developments proposed for both Grove and Wantage. However, in the meantime can I please appeal to all residents to park sensibly and with consideration.

In some cases, it is possible to arrange for bollards to be placed around verges to protect them. A recent example is shown above where I have used my councillor funding for a scheme to protect a verge. Funds are limited (and it would be much better if everyone respected the verges), but please contact me if there are other areas which merit protection.

War on Weeds

With the wet weather we have been having this summer, the weeds around Grove are trying to take over.  This has been a battle that I have tried to fight in the past, but have always been told that there was not sufficient funding from the County Council to undertake weedkilling on a regular basis except for noxious weeds like ragwort.  Previously, a sum of money was paid to the parish council to undertake the work, but this was stopped several years ago.

However, with the advent of the Area Stewardship funding from the County Council, which has now been renamed the County Councillors' Highways and Transport Fund, I have been given an allocation of money to spend in the community.  So far, I have allocated money for the new zebra crossing which is being installed on the Denchworth Road, some funding to prevent parking on verges and money for the parish council to provide weedkilling for the whole of Grove, three times a year. 

The first weed spraying occurred at the end of April, and the second spray is now happening around the village.  I saw the sprayers in Churchward Close last week and they were on track to do the rest of Grove.  There will be a final onslaught in the autumn.  I am hoping that if this continues on a yearly basis, we can get on top of the situation in the long run.  For too many years this has been neglected, which has caused some of the weeds to reach great heights and to break up pavements. The photos above show how things are now steadily improving.

We are undertaking a similar initiative in Wantage with Cllr. Hannaby, so hopefully things will be improving there too.

Olympic Sojourn

I have just returned from three days at the 2012 Olympics where I watched three different weight categories of both the men's and women's judo. These were held at the ExCel Centre in London Docklands, which is hosting  seven of the Olympic events and I have to say that everything was organised superbly. Particular mention has to be made of the soldiers who provided a lot of the security cover at the Excel and who did it efficiently, with courtesy and smiling faces - despite being billetted in underground car parks!  

Some great news on the medals front so far for Team GB with an excellent result for the Equestrian team today which I had tried to get tickets for, but was not one of the lucky ones so had to suffice with TV coverage this morning!  Let's hope for some more successes for our other teams and individuals in the days to come.

I used national rail from the fringes of London plus the underground and DLR in the city and they all coped well, with plenty of staff on hand to help. The new Thames cable car - the Emirates Air Line (see photo below) - linking Greenwich with the Royal Docks also seemed to be very popular.  Excellent organisation from TfL.

New Shop in Millbrook Square

A new baker's shop has just opened in Millbrook Square in the unit that was previously occupied by Supa Fruits. As well as cakes, bread and savouries, the shop serves coffee and snacks and there is even outside seating, which will be welcome now that we finally have some glorious weather. It is good to see the main units in Millbrook Square occupied and good luck and every success to Parsons!

Clipper Round the World Race

This looks to be an exciting sporting weekend with the Olympic flame now in London and Bradley Wiggins expected to be the first Briton to win the Tour de France in Paris on Sunday. The same day will also see the finish of the Clipper Round the World Yacht Race at Ocean Village in Southampton. This is the conclusion of 40,000 miles at sea and 51 weeks of ocean racing. Crowds of people are expected to turn up to welcome the yachts back and you can look here for the full programme of events for the day.

The photos above were recently taken in the Ocean Village marina of a completely different yacht and race. They show the ICAP Leopard yacht preparing for the 2012 Round the Island Race held on 30th June.

Councillor Community Budgets

I am pleased to announce that as a County Councillor for Grove and Wantage I have been allocated £10,000 to spend on projects within the community.  This is the new process which the County Council has agreed to spend the Big Society Fund, which has been the route for allowing start-up funding for community and voluntary projects in the past.  Residents may remember the successful bid for the re-launch of the Sweatbox in Wantage some time ago.

Details of the fund and how to apply can be found here, but I would be happy to discuss any potential ideas for using this allocation of funds.   There is a criteria which has to be met but this is all set out in the guidance on the County website link above.  The budgets cannot be used to fund activities whose primary purpose is religious or political.

You can email or phone me if you wish to discuss in the first instance (my contact details can be found here).  As Grove and Wantage is a two-member division, Cllr. Jenny Hannaby has also been allocated £10,000 so we are fortunate to have a joint total of £20,000 to spend this year.

Smoke on the Water

Yesterday, saw the sad news that Oxfordshire resident Jon Lord, of Deep Purple fame, had died. His most famous song is "Smoke on the Water", which actually tells the true story of a fire in 1971 that destroyed the casino complex in Montreux. The smoke drifted out on to Lake Geneva - hence the title of the song. In those days, the Montreux Jazz Festival was hosted in the casino (the 2012 event actually only finished last Saturday and was the 46th festival).

As it turns out, I was in Montreux a couple of months ago and took the photo above, which captures the beautiful water scenery... without the smoke.

Local Transport Plan

The Local Transport Plan for Oxfordshire was agreed at the Full Council meeting yesterday.  This has been consulted on and reviewed in the light of comments which have been made.  I had already sent in my own comments to the plan calling for improvements to be made locally to our bus services and to push for re-opening Grove station.

The Conservative ruling group have recorded their opposition to the High Speed Rail link (HS2), which is interesting as it is the coalition government who are promoting the scheme.   However, the East West Rail link has now been given the official go ahead which is certainly good news and something Liberal Democrats have campaigned for.  

Yesterday, some amendments were approved to the Plan, which should benefit the local area on the basis that with Science Vale UK on our doorstep and cited as a major employer as part of the Local Enterprise Zone, improved public transport is needed to get there.  This should include better bus services and the long-term aim of re-opening Grove railway station. 

I spoke on these issues yesterday and said that it is absolutely essential if we are to have more housing development on our doorstep, then better public transport is a must.  As  local residents know already, we have tremendous problems in the village with car parking as many households have two or more cars.   The County Council is now supposed to be making a business plan for the station, which is something I had proposed in our alternative budget in February.

The photograph above shows a train hurtling under the bridge on the A338 by Williams F1.  Let us hope that sometime in the future they may be stopping!

Olympic Torch in Oxford

Today, the Olympic Torch came to Oxfordshire passing through Bicester, Kirtlington, Woodstock and Kidlington before finally appearing in South Park in Oxford around 6:45pm carried by Malcolm Fretter from Wantage. The photos above give a flavour of the event and it didn't rain!

Later in the evening, there was a spectacular performance of the Tree of Light with many local schools and community groups taking part. Tomorrow (Tuesday) the torch proceeds from Oxford to Reading passing through Abingdon, Wallingford and Henley. More details can be found here and here.

Reserve Forces in Oxfordshire

Last evening I was invited to a presentation given by the South East Reserve Forces and Cadet's Association at Edward Brooks Barracks in Abingdon.  It was inspiring to hear from a young woman who gave us all an insight into her operational deployment experience in Afghanistan.  She found this was a great benefit to her both personally and professionally, but obviously it was important that her employer was supportive and realised the benefits for them too.  A young cadet from Oxfordshire also shared his experience and showed how much he enjoyed his role, especially in relation to the Citizenship programme in schools.

The rest of the evening was devoted to briefing us all on current operations which are happening in the Navy, RAF and of course on land.  Some of this work will cover the Olympics over the summer.  All this happening alongside the announcement yesterday in the news regarding the reduction in our armed forces by around 20% gave it all a sombre note.  It also looks like there may be more of a call on our reserves during these austere times.  The challenge will be ensuring that employers are well compensated and see the rewards of allowing their employees to serve for their country. 

Sunday Politics and Young Carers Festival

Today, I was one of the guests of the day alongside presenter Peter Henley on the BBC Sunday Politics South show.

One of the topics discussed  was the welfare of young carers. I am sure we all agree that it must be incredibly tough for children to take on the role of carer when one of their parents falls ill and has a long term condition. It is not clear exactly how many young carers there are in the UK - the 2001 census put the figure at 175,000, but there are certainly many "hidden" carers and the figure could be as high as 700,000.

It is very important that as well as obtaining assistance with their caring role, as much as possible is done to ensure that the young person gets help and understanding at school and also is allowed some time to socialise with friends. I was therefore very interested to learn that a Young Carers Festival is organised each year by The Children's Society and YMCA Fairthorne Manor near to Southampton. The 2012 event has just taken place over this weekend and, with the Olympics on the horizon, this year's theme was "Champions for Change". The festivals have now been organised for 13 years and provide an opportunity for around 2,000 young carers in the UK to get some respite from their responsibilities at home and relax with friends and act like children and teenagers for a weekend. This is an excellent example of how help and support can be provided to these young people who themselves give so much.