Halloween with Bill Heine

Whilst many were trick or treating this evening, I was invited, along with many others, to Bill Heine's book launch. This was held at the Ashmoleum Museum in Oxford with various entertainments and a table at each floor level where Bill was busily signing his books. Listeners to Radio Oxford will be familiar with his 4pm to 7pm slot where he and a chosen 'co-host' have a 'call-in' programme where listeners literally call in with their views. The programme has its regulars, and usually the topic of the day gets a good dusting over. I once helped to co-host a couple of years ago when I worked for Age Concern and we were promoting our Information Fairs.

Well, I did end up buying a signed copy of his book called 'Heinstein of the Airwaves' with the sub-title 'Discovering a Parallel World Within Oxford'. A weird title perhaps and appropriate to be sold on a cold Halloween. Until I have read the book I won't give a verdict on whether it is a trick or treat.

Incinerator Looms

Tonight there were protestors outside the Civic Hall as we arrived for a full Council meeting in Wantage. Firstly, we were to have a presentation by WRG on their proposals for an incinerator at Sutton Courtenay. This is causing huge unrest in the village as many residents are rightly concerned about the health risks and environmental impact in the area. I have to say that the presentation was not too reassuring, with many questions left unsatisfactorily answered. It would really be better if we were to have the Environment Agency or the Health Protection Agency to give their expert opinions on the proposed risks.

At our full Council meeting we received petitions, questions and public addresses on the subject and I was particularly interested to hear the views of the local GPs.

The proposals will go before the Vale planning committee on Monday who are consultees to the County Council who are proposing the application as the waste authority. It will be considered by them in January next year, according to the timetable we saw tonight.

Those readers who follow my blog will know that this came to full Council in January although the decision had already been taken to go down the incineration route. Liberal Democrats called for a break clause in the contract in case newer and more environmentally-friendly options came on the market, but this was thrown out. We await the outcome of this whole debate as the arguments for and against are weighed up. What do you think?

Community Grants

Last night at the South East Area Committee in Wantage, we had the pleasure of giving some well-deserved community grants. The organisations and the amounts given are below:

Childrey PLaying Field Trust £1750
Wantage Parish Music Guild £1250
DAMASCUS Youth Project £3500
White Horse Croquet Club £100

Two young people came along to tell us about the values of the DAMASCUS Youth Project which serves young people from the villages of Drayton, Steventon, Appleford, Milton and Sutton Courtenay.

Planning in the Vale

Last week I was looking at planning decisions past, present and future as we head for trying to decide where future growth should be in the Vale. This is part of the Strategic Local Plan Advisory Group where we are looking at all possibilities as pressure is put upon councils to find room for new housing in their districts. This all seems rather irrelevant with the present credit crunch, where we know that housebuilders are in difficulty. Indeed, we heard that as far as the new Grove development is concerned, Persimmon is looking towards the end of next year before submitting their planning application.

On Wednesday, I was involved with a members' tour of various sites which had in the past been contentious. Two sites in Abingdon and two sites in Cumnor were visited. These sites at the time had raised serious issues with the local community, so it was interesting to go back and have a look now the development was complete. All had settled down rather well.

At Kingston Bagapuize we visited what was known to be an 'affordable housing site', which was built to a high standard of quality and would provide much needed local houses for the village. This piece of land was made available as an 'exception' site, specifically to allow houses to be built for the local community - it worked well too.

We visited Limborough Road, to view the Sainsburys site, local shopping centre and the wharf. Grove Airfield was also noted on the tour and this is where we shall be watching carefully to make sure that when and if this site is developed, we will do our best to ensure it is as good quality as those sites we visited during the day. However, when we are looking at future housing growth, maybe we should look to some of our larger villages, like Kingston Bagpuize, where some extra houses are welcome for the sustainability of the community. What do you think?

My Monthly Surgeries

This is just a 'heads up' about my surgeries which many of you already know about, but at which I meet with local people over the months and years. In fact, I have counted up in my surgery notebook that I have seen nearly 150 residents since I started in January 2002. This does not count in all those who have contacted me via. email, letter or telephone - indeed my guess is that this could be hundreds.

My next surgeries for this year will be held on:

Saturday 8th November

Saturday 6th December

always at Grove Library and from 10.30am until 11.30am, but will always stay longer if we are busy.

Yesterday was quieter than usual, with just a couple of queries to deal with, but sometimes there is a queue! However, everyone is usually happy to browse the bookshelves whilst waiting.

Looking forward to seeing you over the next few months.