Chilling news - worldwide helium supply

Yesterday, Nick Clegg, the Deputy Prime Minister, was in Oxford and I attended a meeting arranged between him, the Local Enterpise Partnership and other stakeholders. This enabled local businesses and organisations to discuss a variety of issues and concerns relating to them (sorry, no photo this time, the one above was taken on a previous occasion).

With the concentration of leading scientific and technical industries based in Oxfordshire, some of the discussion points related to national or even international issues, rather than local policies. It is always especially interesting to hear views from this perspective. As an example,  concerns were raised about problems with the worldwide supply of helium, which has many industrial and scientific applications - for example the cooling of superconducting magnets such as those used in MRI scanners.

A recent Observer article on the topic can be found here. The problem is that there is only a finite supply of helium on Earth as this is released as a by-product of oil and gas drilling and it has been strategically stored and stock-piled by the US (the leading supplier) for many years. Although there are now other countries (e.g. Algeria, Russia) supplying helium, the US is still dominant and it is claimed that the stockpiling and pricing over a long period has led to wasteful usage of the gas (such as in party ballons). With increasing demand outstripping future supply, there are some estimates that we will run out of helium in about 25 years.

Clearly, this issue needs to be higher on the UK and international agenda. At an individual level, I would suggest we could all start by giving those helium-filled party balloons a miss... if we want to be sure of that essential MRI scan in the future.

Political Debate at The Marlborough School

I had the opportunity of attending a political debate yesterday at The Marlborough School in Woodstock.  This event was organised by the sixth form and all three main political parties from Oxfordshire County Council were present to take part.  I attended in my capacity as Leader of the Liberal Democrat Opposition, so  representatives from the Conservatives and Labour made up the panel of three.

We had a whole range of topics to be quizzed on from youth unemployment, tuition fees, the European Union and current government policy.   It was good to see such a lively debate and the interest shown in politics from the students there, many of whom will be going on to further education. 

I took part in a similar event locally at King Alfred's College in Wantage as reported here.

Jubilee Concert at Christ Church

This evening,  I went to Christ Church College to watch a spectacular Gala Concert of British Music held in Tom Quad to celebrate the Queen's Diamond Jublilee.  This was performed by the Oxfordshire County Music Service who are always a joy to see.  The programme included the Oxfordshire Youth  Brass Ensemble, Oxfordshire Youth Big Band and Christ Church Cathedral Boy Choristers.  An excellent selection of music!

Singers from six Oxfordshire Primary Schools sang a selection of British songs and there was a grand finale from the Oxfordshire County Youth Orchestra as we all took part in everyone's favourite - Pomp and Circumstance 'Land of Hope and Glory'.  The sun continued to shine right through to the end of what was a truly memorable evening. Of course, there was a bit of competition from the England v Italy football match tonight, but we were kept updated throughout the evening - shame about the score!

The Wittenham Rose

Yesterday I was invited to The Wittenham Rose ceremony, which took place at the Earth Trust Centre at Little Wittenham.  "The Rose Ceremony" has taken place since February 1970 when the landowners and the County Council drew up an agreement to allow the public "access at all times" to what is now the pasture land in the Little Wittenham Nature Reserve (see the photos above).  In return for access, Earth Trust receive 'a peppercorn rent'.  So, every year since 1970, a red rose has been presented at this mid-summer ceremony to celebrate the success of the arrangement and to look forward to the future.

We also officially opened a whole set of new steps (see photos top left), which have been undertaken as a project by many volunteers helping to ensure an easy access into the woodland nearby.  140 new steps and 104 metres of new pathway have been created to make a new circular walk.  You can read all about it here.

Historic Wantage Sack House Opened

This afternoon saw the opening of the Sack House at Wantage Wharf. Its dates from the early 19th century and served as a depot for hiring out standard sacks to local farmers, corn merchants, etc., who wanted to transport goods out of the area by canal or railway. This historic building was threatened when nearby development started a number of years ago. However, Barratt Homes eventually refurbished the exterior of the building and the good news is that the ownership has been passed on to the Wilts and Berks Canal Trust. The East Vale branch now plans to renovate the inside of the building and turn it into a museum covering the local heritage associated with the canal wharf and Wantage tramway. Pictured above, clockwise from top left, are Wantage Silver Band who helped to celebrate the opening, John Laverick (Trust Chairman), the current state of the interior and Brian Stovold (Branch Chairman).

Another good bit of news is that over the Jubilee weekend the Wilts and Berks Canal Trust was awarded the Queen's Award for Voluntary Service 2012. This is wonderful recognition of all the hard work of volunteers who have made such progress restoring the waterway across the counties of WIltshire and Oxfordshire. The trust is always looking for new members and if you wish to help this project you can join at http://www.wbct.org.uk/get-involved/join

After the opening ceremony, we went on a circular guided walk following the line of the canal between Grove and East Challow. This was one of the events in the Wantage Summer Festival. There are further walks coming up with the next one on Tuesday 19 June at 7.30pm - for details see the forthcoming events section at http://www.wbct.org.uk/.

New Zebra Crossing For Grove

I am pleased to announce that the new zebra crossing on the Denchworth Road in Grove, which I have been campaigning for, has now been approved.   The site for the crossing will be by the Bay Tree Public House which will allow pedestrians to access the footpath by the side of the pub into the Millbrook carpark and on to the Millbrook shopping centre.  You may recall, as I have previously reported, that  I have been allocated funds from the Area Stewardship Fund from the County Council which has been set up to allow local councillors to spend money in their divisions on highways projects which are needed by the community.

This particular crossing goes back several years to 2003 not long after the crossing was approved for Brereton Drive when parents at Millbrook School were concerned about children getting to school and back safely whilst having to cross busy roads.  Although a survey was undertaken and it was agreed in principle, the project sat on a long list of similar schemes all over the county which eventually disappeared.   It is good to have this long-awaited crossing agreed at long last and I look forward to it going ahead as soon as possible.  You can read the full report here.

Shrivenham Flypast

I was near to Shrivenham this evening when suddenly a Lancaster Bomber and (I think) two Typhoon fighters appeared in close formation and performed a flypast over the Defence Academy. The two fighters disappeared, but the Lancaster did a few more circuits as pictured above. This appears to have been part of the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight Programme.

Jubilee Spirit in Wantage and Grove

The pictures above were taken last Saturday and show that Wantage has entered into the full spirit of celebrating the Queen's Diamond Jubilee. Even the market stalls stood out with a prominent display of Union Jacks.

The Bay Tree in Grove has also put up some great decorations (bottom-right photo) on the exterior of the pub.

Mayor Making in Oxford

On Wednesday, I attended the ceremony at Oxford Town Hall when Cllr. Alan Armitage took over the chains of offices as Lord Mayor of Oxford from Cllr. Elise Benjamin. Apparently, the first recorded Mayor of Oxford is Turchillus in 1122-23 and it was in 1962 that the title of Lord Mayor was granted. 

Another unusual fact, the Oxford city mace - which was on display during the ceremony - is over 5 feet tall and the largest one in Britain.

With the Queen's Diamond Jubilee celebrations and the London Olympics, I am sure this will be a busy year for the new mayor!

County Hall Crossroads

It was the Annual County Council meeting last Tuesday where we had to decide on the new Tory leader of the Council.   We also had to elect a new Chairman and Vice Chairman.   Keith Mitchell was standing down after 10 years of rule and during that time I have served six years as Leader of the Opposition.  It has been a challenging task, especially as the ruling group insist on taking all the chairs and vice chairs of the scrutiny committees. So, in effect, they scrutinise themselves. 

Also, we used to have a long tradition of sharing the Council Chairmanship role around the three main political groups, but that all changed three years ago when the Conservatives increased their majority.  Now, of course, the landscape has changed and nationally we are in coalition government.  Locally, however, that made little difference to the leadership style.

Now that Ian Hudspeth has taken up the reins, we are at a crossroads so it will be interesting to see if there is any difference. Maybe, the sign above should be realigned to point to Woodstock rather than Bloxham?

Geneva - Style and Engineering

Apologies for the lack of blogging, but I have been away on a short break to Geneva. As my husband works at CERN, this gave me a chance to visit the LHCb experiment on the Large Hadron Collider (LHC). The bottom two photos show me in the experiment control room and assembly hall. The whole thing is an amazing feat of engineering - a 27km particle accelerator constructed in a tunnel bored through the rock 100m beneath the ground.

Of course, Geneva is also known for another landmark - the Jet d'Eau (first photo), which pumps water to a height of 140m. Another amazing feat of engineering when it was built in 1886.

Equally impressive is the Geneva tram network - the construction of the line shown below involved boring a tunnel underneath the village of Meyrin to accommodate the road traffic!

Grove Annual Parish Meeting

Last night I attended the Grove Annual Parish Council meeting to give my County Council report.  There were about 40 people in attendance.  The big item for discussion was the proposed housing development at Grove Airfield and the Vale planning officer responsible for the application was there to answer questions.  The usual concerns were raised about where people are going to work, how the roads will cope and will we get the promised schools and facilities which we will need.  Access onto the site and how construction traffic will be serving the development were also raised.  Everyone is urged to send in their comments by 30th April.

Sports Awards at King Alfred's College

This evening I was invited to attend King Alfred's Annual Sports Awards  at Wantage Centre site.  It was an enjoyable occasion where we were all able to celebrate the fantastic achievements of our young people.  There was an Olympic theme this year, especially because one of the pupils from the school has been chosen to carry the torch through Oxfordshire.  The PE department at the college have been presented with a National Award for all the Olympic/Paralympic work which they have done over the year.

The guest speaker for the evening was Lesley Owusu, former 400m runner at World, Commonwealth and European stages.  She gave an inspirational talk about how she came to win in such a hugely competitive environment.   I am sure that many young people will be encouraged by her athletic career.

Bungee Jumping at The Bay Tree

I was walking down to a Grove Parish Council meeting tonight when I came across bungee jumping in the car park of The Bay Tree pub!  Apparently, it was a charity event in aid of the John Radcliffe Special Baby Unit. So, well done to all - especially those who jumped!

Metal Theft

I am sure everyone was shocked and dismayed to hear the press reports (see here) about the theft of lead from St. John's Church in Grove over the Easter weekend. The photos above were taken on Easter Monday.

Sadly, this is one of many such incidents and metal thefts from church roofs, cemetries, railway cables, manholes covers, etc., which now seem to be reported on an almost daily basis in the national press. These incidents are crimes against society as well as pure theft. So what can be done and why have the authorities been so powerless to stop this increasing problem?

An interesting House of Commons report appeared recently (see here), which discussed the issues, preventative measures (like SmartWater) and the proposals to reform legislation. The changes include (1) making it an offence for dealers to pay cash for scrap, (2) giving the police new powers to enter scrap yards, and (3) increasing the fines for offences. However, some concern has been expressed by many people and organisations such as the British Metals Recycling Organisation (BMRA) about an exemption for itinerant sellers (such as rag and bone men). I understand the Bill was passed in the Commons on 17 April - but will it be enough?

New Roof for Wantage Hospital

As shown by the above photo, it looks like Wantage Hospital is getting a new roof. The hospital originally opened in Belmont and was funded through public subscription and bequests. It moved to the current Charlton Park site in June 1927 and became part of the NHS in 1948. It's good to see this landmark building still receiving some loving care.

Pictures at a Housing Exhibition

Today was the final day of the exhibition held in St. John's Church Hall about the Grove airfield development. Representatives from the developers and the district council were there during the morning to answer questions. There was a good flow of people discussing the issues and their concerns with this major "urban extension" of the village. As you would expect, traffic, housing density, vehicle access, infrastructure, employment opportunities and flooding all came up.

Despite the confusing deadlines that have been published in different places (and the incorrect date still shown on the Vale website), it is still possible to comment on the outline planning application up until 30th April. Here is the link which will take you to the application and where you will find the online Comment now facility. Alternatively, you can just write directly to the Case Officer (Ms. Geraldine LeCointe, Vale of White Horse District Council, Abbey House, Abbey Close, Abingdon, OX14 3JE) or via email to planning@whitehorsedc.gov.uk

Wantage IAC Bid Success

At this afternoon's Cabinet meeting at the County Council, it was agreed to give the Wantage Independent Advice Centre their bid for £1,990 from the Big Society Fund.  The total bid was for £10,490, however, £8,500 was contributed from Wantage Day Centre as this money was going towards a project to provide transport to the two local day centres for vulnerable and older people in the community.

The costs are to help recruit and set up a system for managing volunteer drivers for daily transport to the day centres.  It was acknowledged that this type of Community Transport Scheme could be rolled out countywide to other advice centres as a good model.

Local residents are very supportive of our local community car scheme run by the Wantage IAC and I am pleased that I was able to speak in support of this important bid at the Cabinet meeting today.  Accessing our day centres is crucial to the health and wellbeing of our elderly and vulnerable people, so it is important that we give them all the help we can, especially during the current economic climate. 

Planning Confusion

It was my monthly surgery yesterday and a resident came along with some very legitimate complaints about the current planning application for the Grove Airfield Development, some of which have also been commented on by others. 

The first issue, that I have raised previously on this blog, is about the date for sending in comments to the planning application itself.  The initial letter to householders claimed that comments on the application needed to be received three weeks from the date of the letter (19th March according to my calculations).  This was then apparently extended to the 28th March, but when the exhibition was scheduled for 20-21 April, we were told by the parish council that the deadline was now extended until 30th April.  However, confusion continues when you check the website where it just states 'no case officer has been asssigned' and 'the consultation process will begin once the officer has been allocated'. Notices around the village just add to the confusion, where some still show 28th March and some show 30th April (see above). Clearly, what should have happened is that householders should have been sent a new letter with the correct date and the website should have been updated.

There are also a number of inaccuracies in the supporting documentation, not least, where it is stated that Newlands Drive has a 40 mph speed limit.  There has been a 30 mph speed limit there for years, so I do not understand how something as basic as this can be incorrect.  The access onto the site from just 2 points along Newlands Drive are also some cause of local concern especially when it would make much more sense to access the site from the Mably Way roundabout from Downsview Road.  A number of questions to be answered which I hope will be dealt with when I go for a briefing meeting soon with officers at County Hall.

Finally, the planning section of the Vale of White Horse District Council website is often inaccessible at the weekend, so that people are unable to obtain the planning documentation at what is often the most convenient time for those at work. I have complained about this before, but it continues to be a regular occurrence.

Those who have submitted planning applications will know how important it is to get the details exactly right. For such a major planning application, it is essential that the process is completely transparent and performed in a professional manner. 

Brightening Up Easter Monday

As predicted, it is a grey, wet Easter Monday. To brighten the day, here are some photos from the grounds of Sir George and Lady Martin who kindly opened their Oxfordshire garden on a glorious Sunday a week ago as part of the National Gardens Scheme.