Happy Christmas to All

Having watched the switching on of these pretty Christmas tree lights outside County Hall by Oxford schoolchildren earlier this month, it is now Christmas Day at long last. It therefore remains for me to wish all my readers a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year in 2008.

Grove Christmas Carol Service

Lots of familiar faces were standing round the Christmas tree at the end of Vale Avenue this evening for the annual Christmas Carol Service organised by the parish council. Rev. John Robertson led the readings and prayers and we were accompanied in style by the Wantage Silver Band who always make these occasions so wonderful. All donations raised were in aid of Grove Day Centre for the elderly. This a voluntary-run centre and it is very much valued by residents in Grove and the surrounding villages who appreciate the excellent care they receive here on Tuesdays and Thursdays each week. When I popped in on Tuesday, they were in the throes of their Christmas entertainment preceding lunch and they were thoroughly enjoying themselves.

Afterwards we went across to the Methodist Church Hall where we were kindly treated to coffee, tea and mincepies. It was good to catch up with everyone and share events of the past year. The Methodist Church itself was flooded during the July floods and are seeking to fundraise for a new building for the future. I buy their 'Ultimate Plum Pudding' at Christmas to raise funds for their Property Development Fund, and very good it tastes too!

An Evening in Song

This evening it was Fitzwaryn School's Christmas presentation of 'Scrooge' and the performance was excellent. Christmas songs and the children's portrayal of this age-old Dickens favourite was a delight to watch, so it was a satisfying end to a long day. We are very fortunate to have this special school within our community and they have received an excellent Ofsted report in the past. Do visit their website to learn more. They also have plans for a major refurbishment project to improve the school's facilities, and I hope that they will receive the necessary funding from the County Council to enable this to go ahead.

Christmas Charity

This weekend in between trying to do the Christmas shopping, writing my cards, and putting up the Christmas tree, I have attended the County Council Chairman's Charity Dinner. This took place on Friday evening at County Hall and was attended by over a hundred people from all over Oxfordshire. The after dinner speaker was Colin Dexter, who gave us an amusing insight into his life with (and without) Morse. Funds were also raised through a charity auction.
The dinner was held to raise funds for the Oxfordshire Community Foundation, which is a local charity which aims to offer grants to meet local needs, particularly around disadvantaged and vulnerable groups within our communities. You can read more on their website
I was aware of the work of this organisation when I worked for Age Concern, and I was trying to organise some start up funding for a tai chi group in Abingdon. We were successful in receiving a grant of £1000 which paid for the hire of the church hall and some start up publicity to get the classes started. It is thanks to such local charities that small projects to help people can get off the ground. We are very fortunate to have organisations like this in Oxfordshire, and long may they prosper. I would hope that Friday evening's event boosted their coffers to help them provide much needed funds for the coming year.

Grove Airfield - an Eco-village?

At the Grove Development Forum last night, we had a presentation from Faber Maunsell consultants entitled 'Grove Airfield - Sustainability Overview'. The word 'sustainable' is a subject in itself, and indeed someone last night asked the question 'what does sustainable mean?'.

Well, the overview covered landscape, ecology, urban design, energy, transport, water use and drainage, and waste. We were told that the homes would be built to a particular 'level' using targets under a government 'Code for Sustainable Homes' - that translates into what we would describe as 'eco-homes'. To be truly energy efficient, we would be looking at solar panels on roofs, biomass communal heating and potential wind energy. We would also be investigating water use including rainwater harvesting and also having a site waste strategy including local recycling.

So how would all this look and work in practice? I said that we needed to see some sort of feasiblity study showing what would work and evidence of some good practice elsewhere. With the planning application expected in the Spring of 2008, we would need to look at some of these ideas in advance of that - perhaps by holding a public exhibition. We are hoping to explore this in the New Year. Meanwhile, anyone who wishes to see the latest news on the airfield development, click on this link to find out more. Also, any comments and feedback on the potential for the housing to be eco-friendly would be welcome.

International School Awards

Yesterday afternoon I attended a ceremony at County Hall to present the DCSF (Department for Children, Schools and Families) International School Awards for 2007. 13 successful schools in Oxfordshire were recognised for their excellent work during 2006-7 working with schools in other countries. These awards are managed by the British Council and Oxfordshire has been proactive in supporting this scheme.

International partnerships have been forged with schools within Europe, Africa, Australia and New Zealand to name but a few and the experiences shared between the children has been remarkable. We are fortunate to have both Fitzwaryn School in Wantage and Faringdon Community College within our area who have won this prestigious award which just 24% of our schools in Oxfordshire have been accredited with. Well done to all those involved!

Breathing Places

Anyone who has been following The Nature of Britain programme on BBC1 or manages to see Autumnwatch will be familiar with the BBC's Breathing Places website here

Not only can you find out local places where you can go along and join in activities as a volunteer or simply go and visit, but there are funding opportunities available too. Having seen successful lottery bids happen locally recently, again, this may give some inspiration for the New Year.

It is wonderful to see what wildlife can be found on your doorstep if you can find the time to look more closely.

We are fortunate to have the Letcombe Brook project working to improve the environment in Wantage and Grove, and we often call for ideas as part of the Grove Joint Environmental Trust. If anyone thinks they may have an idea for a local project, do let us know, because we may be able to help.

Vale Lottery Bids Success

Well done to both Vale projects at Farmoor and Fernham who won their bids for Accessible Sailing and Project Inspire. These results mean that £188,000 has been invested into our area, each project receiving £94,000 each which will be of enormous benefit to many people.
This must surely give some inspiration to others who may wish to look for funding community ventures they are working on.

Open Space, Sport and Recreation Provision

Everyone knows the importance of our open spaces. Also, sport and recreation provision is something many people feel we need to have more of, especially if there is to be more housing development in Grove. So here is a chance to have your say on this in the future. What requirements do you think are necessary? The Vale of White Horse District Council is undertaking a consultation on their draft supplementary planning document. You can download the documents here

There is quite a lot to take in, but it is worth noting that on p.19/20 of the main strategy document there is a specific issue relating to Grove Airfield. The Big Question is:

What open space, sport and recreation provision will these new residents need?
Possible initiatives:

• Work with the County Council to ensure that the new school planned for Grove will have a good range of high quality indoor and/or outdoor sports facilities designed for school and community use
• Provide one or two artificial turf pitches at the new school in order to provide high capacity pitches for local clubs
• Use the provision standards developed as part of this strategy to identify future local needs for open space and sport and recreation facilities

So it is worth at least giving your views on these points to make sure that we are listened to. The new school can provide this opportunity, and I keep flagging this up so that we can plan good community facilities at the outset. You have until 14th December 2007 to send in your comments.