The Big Housing Debate

Yesterday the South East Regional Assembly (SEERA) published the Independent Inspector's Report on the Draft South East Housing Plan. This looks at how much housing should be built in Oxfordshire and the rest of south east England .

For Oxfordshire, the Draft South East Plan proposed building 2,360 homes each year in Oxfordshire over the 20 year period. The inspectors’ report proposes a slightly higher figure of 2,730 but endorses Oxfordshire County Council's call for sufficient investment in infrastructure to support those new houses in terms of schools, health services, road and rail improvements, water and sewerage. So although this has effectively slashed the government's expectations for new housing, we shall have to wait to hear from the Government Minister, Hazel Blears, who will have the final say. A summary of the report can be found at this link:
http://www.southeast-ra.gov.uk/southeastplan/plan/inspectors_report.html

What may cause some concern for Oxfordshire County Council's planners is the Panel's recommendation for a strategic urban extension of 4,000 dwellings on the southern edge of Oxford which will require a "highly focused selective" review of the Green Belt. Considering the County Council have advocated housing growth at Bicester, Didcot and Wantage/Grove, will this mean there will be a change in direction now or not? It would be interesting to hear your views on this debate.

Latest Information on Flood Recovery Relief Fund

I now have the latest information from the Vale of White Horse District Council which says that householders affected by the July floods will each receive a £250 grant as stated in my previous post.

The Government has announced that the Vale will receive a total of £250,000 in emergency recovery grant to help flood-hit members of the community.
Any remaining capital will be invested in capital schemes to protect against future flooding.
The Council will be using the Government's definition of flooded properties to determine eligibility, which is floodwater inside homes.

So far, the Vale has recorded more than 600 flooded homes and this figure could increase.
Each household recorded as being affected will be sent an application form for the grant and payment will be made to the bank account of the person responsible for paying the Council Tax. Any householder who believes that they may be entitled to this grant who has not received a letter inviting them to apply within the next week or so should contact the council on 01235 520202 or visit the website at:

http://www.whitehorsedc.gov.uk/

The Red Cross Relief Fund should also soon start to distribute awards, so the application form includes a section for those people who believe they are in particular hardship. This information will be passed on to the Red Cross for consideration.

Grants up to £2500 will be made available to businesses affected by the floods to help them to develop recovery plans. The South East England Development Agency (SEEDA) is making this funding available as part of an initial package to help businesses to make as swift as possible a recovery from flooding. Full information at this link:

http://www.seeda.co.uk/news_&_events/press_releases/2007/20070724.asp

Flood Recovery Grants

Yesterday I attended the first Flood Recovery Advisory Group at the Vale of White Horse District Council. This is a cross-party group set up under authority delegated by the Leader of the Council to consider lessons to be learnt from the flooding events in July 2007 and to advise the Executive on how the Recovery Grant should be spent.

We all shared experiences right across the Vale. We also heard about some interesting good practice happening in Kennington where flooding did not occur due to the pro-active approach taken by their local community with setting up flood defence groups by using volunteers.
It was decided that all households which were flooded would be offered a grant of £250 to help them to get back on their feet and advice would also be given to help to protect themselves in future.

There is now an extra-ordinary Council meeting on 12th September to discuss the following:
1. The Council's response to the recent flooding
2. Improvements to emergency planning and response
3. Development policies and responses to consultation on major infrastructure - influence on future flooding incidents
4. Flood recovery grant allocation

I have now received 60 replies to my questionnaire on flooding in Grove and have sent my report to the County, the Vale and Grove Parish Council. I have also sent a copy to our Letcombe Brook Officer who is looking into some of the issues relating to the brook.

More flood feedback

Today I met residents of Vale Avenue along with the County highways drainage engineer so that we could discuss what happened to this area during the floods on 20th July. We followed the line of Pill ditch from Mary Green at the back of Millbrook Square right up Vale Avenue, over Kingcup Green to where the original line of the ditch goes out onto the A338.

It was useful to share views and concerns and learn about the history of this area in the past, where the brook regularly flooded the water meadows (by Bosleys' Orchard). This meant the silt fertilised the grass to make it ideal grazing land for the cattle and the old Saxon Pill Ditch used to carry the excess water away. It seemed that the water decided to follow its old route during the flood and consequently used the road to find its way. We are hoping that improved drainage will alleviate this problem in the future.

Flood walkabout in the rain

Today I met the emergency planning officer from the Vale and we went on a walkabout in Grove visiting the flood-affected areas around the Letcombe Brook. We started on The Green, where the new footbridge has been repaired and on through Bosley's Orchard, Membury Way, Kingfishers, Cane Lane and Sharland Close. We met some residents along the way and finally ended up back at the parish council. It started pouring with rain on our way back, so we got pretty drenched.

I have passed over a preliminary copy of the report I am compiling on the flood in Grove on 20th July (see previous blog) so that issues raised by residents can be dealt with. Questionnaires are still coming back and so it needs constantly updating, but hopefully we shall get there in the end!

We are preparing to have a meeting for all residents in the Grove and Wantage area on Friday 5th October. More details on this will be made available nearer the time, but we are looking to have representatives from a number of the relevant authorities to be able to answer some questions and give advice. Do watch this space.

Litter picking in Grove

This morning, I joined local volunteers in the village for a litter pick. We began at 9am and were joined by the Vale of White Horse District Council's new Environmental Wardens, Colin Marshall and Sadie Broadbridge. The wardens can arrange for litter picking kits to be deliverd to local communities to use in cleaning up their own areas, and it can make a really big difference.

Some of us went to Millbrook Square and others went to Grovelands Shopping Centre by the Co-op and we hoped that by the end of the morning, Grove would be a cleaner place. It was amazing how quickly you can fill a black rubbish sack (all provided free). It is heartening that Grove is fortunate to have willing volunteers doing this on a regular basis and thanks to the parish council for giving their support to this scheme.

Unfortunately, too many people throwing away their crisp packets or soft drinks cans makes everywhere look untidy, but the new litter wardens should be able to put a stop to this. They can issue fixed penalty notices to those caught dropping litter or letting their dogs foul.

So this is welcome news and we hope will act as a deterrent in the future. Anyone interested in holding a litter pick do call the Vale at 01235 520202 or email:
environmental.protection@whitehorsedc.gov.uk

Environment Agency Flood Surgery in Abingdon

This evening I called in at the Guildhall in Abingdon to see what was happening at the Environment Agency flood surgery. There were a number of stands and displays with many staff on hand to discuss issues and offer advice. I took along the feedback questionnaires which residents of Grove have been sending back to me, and a number of themes have been coming in. Some of these include adequate warning systems, management of the Letcombe Brook, drainage, various sluice gates and the sudden surges of water that came upon us on 20th July taking everyone by surprise.

I was able to discuss some of these issues with the Flood Risk Management team and they have promised to contact me so that we can share the details of my report with them. What is clear is that it would have been difficult for anyone to have forseen so much rainfall in such a short space of time in the middle of summer. We all hope this was a freak event.

I was given the following telephone number: 0845 988 1188 for flooding advice, or you can visit:
www.environment-agency.gov.uk/floodline

Keep Our NHS Public Campaign

Tonight I attended a meeting in Wantage organised by the KONP (Keep Our NHS Public) campaigners. There was a discussion relating to the current Wantage Hospital campaign and what the current plans are by the Oxfordshire Primary Care Trust for our community hospitals. Everyone was delighted at the success of the Horton Hospital's campaign and how they have won the first stage of their battle in getting proposals to downgrade hospital services referred to the Secretary of State (see here).

6 beds have been closed temporarily at Witney Community Hospital as well as potentially 2 beds closing at Wantage, and it was felt that this needed closely monitoring to ensure these don't become permanent closures. Staffing levels have been blamed for this which is not unexpected at holiday time, but can set alarm bells ringing.

The Horton hospital had support from the local GP's and it was suggested that it may be a good idea to seek our local GP's views. The meeting had not been publicised widely, but I thought still had a good attendance and it was interesting to listen to what local health workers had to say.
Please check out their website at: http://www.keepournhspublic.com/index.php