Singing Histories of Oxfordshire

This special new songbook was launched at Oxford's Westgate Library yesterday afternoon and I went along to take part in an enjoyable sing along with schoolchildren from St. Nicholas Primary School in Abingdon. The book will be available to download from the Oxford Inspires website soon. The songs in the book are written about historical events in Oxfordshire and is a great way to help children learn about their local heritage.

The project is a collaboration between the County Council, Sing London, Oxford Inspires, Oxfordshire County Council and The Oxford Folk festival. The songs were compiled by folk song expert Tim Healey from towns around Oxfordshire between the years 1521 to 1945. We learnt that these ballads were written to tell people about the news of the day. Without newspapers and radio, this was the way that everyday folk could inform everyone about a story that had to be told. So it's great to think they have all survived to be enjoyed by schoolchildren today.

Are We Making Progress?

At today's County Council Cabinet meeting, there were a number of items I raised. The first one was to welcome a new sound system for the committee rooms and council chamber, which is something I have been complaining about for a long, long time. Many members of the public who come to our meetings to hear democracy in action, often come away having heard very little of what is said. Let us hope this will change things for the better. It is due to be installed soon.

Another interesting item on the agenda was a scrutiny review of market towns, and I made a plea to the Cabinet to apply to the SEEDA (South East England Development Agency) for some funding of which £460,000 remains. Some of our smaller market towns like Wantage would certainly benefit from this, and having undergone a 'health check' is ready to make some progress.

Finally, I spoke about the Council's performance in a report on priorities and targets. We have recently been awarded a three star CPA rating, which although 'good' is not the 'excellent' we used to be. This is mainly because Children's Services have only received a two star rating for the second year in a row. One of the problems is our poor educational achievement, and I was keen to draw this to their attention again.

Other areas of concern include the under 18 conception rate which is on the increase not only in Oxfordshire, but all over the country. Some councils, like Gloucestershire have done some innovative work to turn this around, so I urged the Cabinet to look at this. Another area of concern is the delivering of our transport capital programme projects. This was raised at the meeting by one of the Cabinet members himself, who argued that often schemes in the capital programme simply didn't happen. So we have to ask ourselves - are we making any progress or are things taking too long to change? Well my bleating about the sound system fell on deaf ears for a long time - but they finally came round to it a few years later. There may be hope yet!

Vale Grants Awarded

At last night's South East Area committee, we had just £6,945.15 left in our pot to allocate. We had three applications from local organisations, so we decided to split the money equally into three. This meant that Wantage Town Football Club, Childrey Playing Field Trust and Wantage Air Training Corps all received £2315 each. The monies will go towards much needed equipment and make better facilities for these organisations who contribute to our local communities.

We shall be looking at our new budget at our next meeting in June. Anyone interested in finding out more about applying for grants at the Vale, contact the council's community grants scheme by clicking here or telephone 01235 520202 for more information.

Local troops off to Afghanistan

Yesterday afternoon, the Vale of White Horse District Council hosted a gathering in Abingdon for troops from Dalton Barracks who are departing for Afghanistan in the next few days. Around 30 soldiers were there along with their partners and it was good to meet them and talk about their role. We must all be proud to have such excellent young men and women who are willing to serve their country and make sacrifices on our behalf. They were also pleased to have the opportunity to talk to councillors and feel part of our community. Let us look forward to their safe homecoming once their six months' duty is over.

Reservoir on Hold

Last night I attended a meeting organised by Thames Water to inform councillors at the Vale of White Horse District Council about their latest plans for the huge reservoir proposed for Steventon. Basically, we heard that the original predictions for water usage across the London region and Oxford and Swindon had been rescaled to take account of new data which was emerging. According to their officials, many factors, including the economic downturn, two wet summers and residents being more prudent with their water usage, has meant that the huge reservoir will not be needed as soon as originally predicted. It will now be another five years away.

They shared with us some of the results of the recent consultation which is now available online here

The Vale is also celebrating what is seen to be a successful campaign against Thames Water's massive reservoir. Read the full story here. However, I do not think this will go away for a moment. There will be a delay, but it will come back. Also, let us hope they will scale down their plans to make the size of the scheme more acceptable to local residents. We will wait and see.

More Budget Matters

It is that time of year, when budgets are being set all round the County for the level of Council tax to be paid this year. Last Friday, I attended the Thames Valley Police Authority's budget meeting, where we set the tax level at 4.5% increase. Tonight, it was the turn of the Vale of White Horse District Council to set their council tax level which will work out at 4.8% increase. The Government's capping limit prevents having a rise more than 5% hence the target is to set the level below that.

There was a fair amount of discussion this evening, especially around the savings the Vale has been able to achieve having gone into a Shared Management arrangement with South Oxfordshire District Council. This means, that we not only share our Chief Executive, but also our senior management team who have now been recently appointed. Income to the council has suffered during the recession including that derived from planning fees, as less planning applications are being processed. We also have to fund the government's scheme of concessionary fares which was introduced to give pensioners free bus travel outside peak hours.

However, the Vale's Council tax has been the 12th lowest of the 286 non-metropolitan districts with a Band D property now costing just £112.31 a year - just £2.16 per week. Not bad, considering all the services provided to residents.

What was missing this evening however, was an alternative proposal from the Conservatives in opposition. A lot of moaning but no practical solutions, no ideas or any insight into how they would do anything differently. I guess that can only mean they are happy with our spending and saving proposals too. Not much of an opposition then!

Budget Matters

Yesterday at full Council, Oxfordshire County Council set its budget for the next four years. This year's increase in council tax will be 3.75% which amounts to a cost of £1,130 per annum for Band D properties. Liberal Democrats in Opposition put forward an alternative budget which, for the same council tax rise, would have spent more on children and young people, social services and the environment. We would have re-introduced a general weed control budget and in future years would be spending additonal money on highways maintenance. In our capital programme we wished to redirect investment into a new youth centre for Grove and Wantage, which has been put on the back burner by the current administration.

To pay for some of this we would not appoint a new post of Communications and Marketing and reduce the amount of glossy Council publications. We feel the Council is building a huge corporate empire to market itself rather than concentrating on front line services. However, after a full day of debate with all the budget presentations on offer including the minority Labour and Green groups, it was the ruling Conservative budget which was agreed. No surprises there, but a missed opportunity to put more into those services which people rely on.

The County Council takes the lion's share of the council tax, with Thames Valley Police, the district and the parish councils making up the rest.

Land of Snow and Ice

The recent wintry weather looks set to continue throughout the weekend. The picture above was taken near to the Green in Grove on Friday. Anyone travelling might want to check the following websites for the latest information:

• BBC Travel News for Oxford
• Highways Agency
• Oxfordshire County Council
• Met Office forecast (Abingdon)

I am advised that refuse collections should be back to normal from Monday... but that obviously depends on the weather and road situation next week.

More Housing on the Horizon

As I am sitting here surrounded by snow I thought I would give everyone a 'heads up' on the proposals for future housing growth in the area. There are two exhibitions coming up next week:

Thursday 12th February Wantage Civic Hall
Friday 13th February Old Mill Hall, Grove

Both exhibitions start at 3pm until 7pm and there will be discussion groups from 7pm until 9pm on both evenings. I hope residents will find the time to go along and feed in their views.

This is part of a wider consultation with the Vale of White Horse District Council who are required to find sites for major development up until 2026. Read the document in full which is available to download on the website. This identifies a site north east of Wantage for major housing development. This would start after 2016 and would have to be accompanied by a new road from the roundabout at the Mably Way junction (Wantage Eastern Relief Road). However, there are other options in the report including:

• 1500 homes for south west Abingdon as an alternative to the Wantage site
• 2300 homes west of Didcot
• 420 homes south of Park Road at Faringdon

Also available at the exhibitions will be more details on the SCOTS (Southern Central Oxfordshire Transport Strategy) consultation. This report is available on Oxfordshire County Council's website and recommends the Wantage Eastern Relief Road and Grove Northern Link Road as bringing significant benefit in mitigating the highways network in the event of future housing development to the area.

If you are not able to make the exhibitions, it is still important to respond to the consultation which will have a major impact on our area.

Schools' concert in Oxford

This afternoon I had the pleasure of attending the Oxfordshire Central Music School concert which is given especially for primary school children at the Sheldonian Theatre in Oxford. Over 700 children and their teachers from all over the county were in attendance and I was pleased to see Grove Church of England primary school in the audience.

Music performed included movements from the 'Enigma Variations' by Elgar and 'Finlandia' by Sibelius. It was an excellent performance which was enjoyed by all of us who were there. Oxfordshire's Music Service always comes up trumps on these occasions and we are very fortunate to have this available to the children of Oxfordshire. If you would like to learn more about the Music Service click here.

Footpath renewed by Letcombe Brook

I am pleased to report that the footpath alongside the Letcombe Brook on the Green by Brooklands House has been properly resurfaced. I had reported this due to the poor state of repair it was in. The path had virtually disintegrated in parts and was becoming dangerous. County Highways came out and did the work last week whilst the brook was being desilted. I went to inspect it this afternoon and it looks much better now.

Educational Achievement in Oxfordshire

This afternoon I attended a seminar at County Hall looking at the county's examination results for last year. What is apparent looking at all the figures (and there are so many!) is that Oxfordshire does not perform as well as its statistical neighbours. Indeed, in most cases, we are bottom of the table. This needs to be looked at seriously, because Oxfordshire county should be doing better. Indeed we should be above the national average, but we seem to be just about tracking the national average in most cases.

A number of senior advisors and new members of staff have been taken on in the Children, Young People and Families Directorate to try and address these issues, and I hope that measures will soon be in place to improve the situation. If you wish to take a look at the national league tables for Oxfordshire then click here. It does make interesting reading.

We also heard about the new plans for the 14-19 agenda and the measures which will be coming on board, especially around apprenticeships and training. This all sounds quite inspirational especially some of the work-based training projects. We certainly need to be skilling up our young people especially during this time of recession.

Desilting the Letcombe Brook

One of the complaints during the 2007 Floods was about the levels of silt in the Letcombe Brook and there were calls for this to be looked into by the Environment Agency for the future. I have been following this up with the Letcombe Brook Project Officer recently in the light of some flood grant money which has been made available through the Vale of White Horse District Council.

This week County Highways have started the work in Grove and have been out every day since Monday and are due to finish tomorrow. This is sure to make a big difference to the flow of the brook under the arches of the bridge at The Green which is where the work is taking place.

Work will also be done in Wantage at The Mill once this has been given the all clear to go ahead.

Hopefully both of these schemes will help to alleviate some of the flood risk should the heavy rains reappear in the future.

Grove Joint Environmental Trust

Yesterday I attended a meeting of the Grove Joint Environmental Trust which is made up of representatives from the Vale and Parish Council along with co-optees from local organisations. The Trust is set up to consider projects for improving the environment in Grove and works closely with the Letcombe Brook Project Officer who is partially funded by the Trust.

We discussed tree planting in the village, restoration and installation of benches, restoration of the bus shelter on the village green and future projects which we may wish to undertake. We had asked the local schools for ideas on improvements to the main entrance to Grove by perhaps installing a 'Welcome to Grove' sign. Grove C of E School had come up with an idea which we shall pursue with landscape officers from the Vale. Other ideas for improvements which include the entrance to the Day Centre and the possibility of an improved footpath by the brook at the Green will also be looked into. We were also updated on flood alleviation projects along Letcombe Brook.

Community Woodland for Grove

Residents must have noticed the new trees (pictured above) which have been planted next to the Mably Way Health Centre and the new sports pitches in Grove. This is going to be a community woodland in the future with open access for all. The trees have to be planted quite closely to start with to ensure that the best ones will continue to grow whilst the smaller ones can be removed. It is also fenced off at the moment so that it can be kept secure and minimise damage from rabbits etc. This is all being managed by the Vale Council who have a long term lease on the land. We can look forward to watching this grow knowing that it will be an asset to the communities of Grove and Wantage in the future.

This has all been planned for some time so I am pleased that action has taken place now that the sports pitches have been completed. All being well, the new pitches will be ready to hand over later on in the year.

A Beautiful Boxing Day

Today has been one of those beautifully clear (but very cold) winter's days. A good opportunity to work off some of the Christmas Day excesses on a walk. Here is a picture from the Ridgeway looking over the Diamond synchrotron at RAL towards Didcot Power Station.

Season's Greetings

I am just logging in to wish everyone in the Grove and Wantage communities (and all blog readers) a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. It has been an eventful year, but it doesn't seem to have deterred Christmas shoppers in the recession. Let us hope for some cheer in 2009.

It doesn't look like it will be a White Christmas, but here is a wintry Grove scene from February 2007.

Wishing everyone a relaxing and peaceful time.

Grove Residents' Survey

Residents in Grove have responded enthusiastically to a survey compiled by local Liberal Democrats to find out their views on local and national issues. They were quizzed on schooling, housing, the economy, social care costs, youth facilities, flooding, proposed railway station and roads and pavement maintenance.

Some of you will have seen us knocking at your door, but the overall results are consistent with what local people having been telling me for some time. Much of my casework is taken up with dealing with problems with roads and pavements neglected through lack of maintenance. Weeds all around the village have caused particular problems, so I am pleased that people have taken the time to resond to us.

To give you some more details on the results: 85% of those responding thought the County Council was not maintaining roads and pavements well. 88% of respondents supported the view that no large scale housing should be built in Grove before new roads are in place.

With the economic downturn, Liberal Democrats are proposing a package of measures to help those on low and middle incomes. 80% of those who replied supported this package which included cutting the basic rate of tax by 4p in the pound, cutting fuel bills for the less well off and bringing the financial institutions under control.

68% were opposed to the Conservative County Council raising the social care charges which have had an impact on the elderly and vulnerable. Nearly 60% agreed that provision of youth facilities for young people in Grove should be one of the county council’s highest priorities. 54% agreed with local Liberal Democrats that the County Council should increase investment in youth workers. On flooding, 63% of respondents did not think the Government is putting enough resources into flood prevention.

It was interesting to analyse the results and identify what the most important issues are and we hope this will help put pressure on the relevant authorities when dealing with these matters at local and national level.

This evening at the Vale's full council meeting, Liberal Democrats passed a motion calling on the County Council to reinstate its highways budget on weed control which has been regretfully lacking over the last two years. Let us see if things will improve next year in the run up to the County elections in June.

Charity Reception at Williams F1

Last night I was at Williams F1 Conference Centre attending a Charity Reception. This was organised by the Chairman of the Vale of White Horse District Council to raise money for her charities. Money was raised in aid of Help for Heroes and Abingdon and Wantage Community Hospitals' Leagues of Friends.

The main event was a charity auction which contained wheel rims from Williams F1 cars, a race day experience and a museum tour package. A few thousand pounds were raised and we all had an opportunity to visit the impressive F1 museum - I even managed to sit in Ralf Schumacher's car!

Children's Centre in Wantage

This morning I visited the Children's Centre in Wantage which is run from the Butler Centre next to the museum in Church Street. There is a whole range of activities happening here which can be seen from the Wantage Parish website. As regular readers will remember on a previous blog posting in September, I was at a meeting to discuss the Children's Centre coming to Grove next. At the moment, all children from the catchment area can visit the Wantage Centre, especially for the 'drop in' sessions.

Young mums were there this morning with their young babies and toddlers, and it was lovely to see everyone enjoying themselves (especially the babies). Healthy food was on offer for lunch and there was a health visitor to give advice when needed. This is an excellent local facility and I hope that this posting will help spread the word!