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.