Merry Christmas!

Christmas Carol Service

Tonight was the annual Christmas Carol Service organised by Grove Parish Council next to the Christmas tree in Vale Avenue. The service was led by Rev. John Robertson and the music was provided by Wantage Silver Band. The wintry weather gave it a seasonal touch and a collection was held in aid of the Vale and Downland Museum.

Of course, it was just over a year ago that the great Christmas tree mystery in Grove occurred. Read about it here, here and here.

BBC Sports Personality of the Year

A fantastic night for the local area at the BBC Sports Personaility of the Year Award. First of all, Sir Frank Williams, founder of local Grove-based F1 team WilliamsF1, won the Helen Rollason award. Then to cap it all, local jockey A.P. McCoy won the main award!

999 Emergency Services Christmas Ball in Wantage

Yesterday seemed to be a day of chaos on our roads due to the amount of snow which fell overnight and during the day. Our emergency services must have been stretched to the limit. It was therefore no surprise that many people were unable to make it to Civic Hall for the Wantage 999 Emergency Services Christmas Ball. This is an annual event which raises funds for local charities. We managed to make it through the snow to show support and enjoy the evening, though some of the entertainment had to be called off. Some of the emergency service teams were also dealing with real emergencies on the roads.

The snow this year was not unexpected having been accurately forecast by the Met Office, however we always still seem to be ill-prepared. However, maybe it will be a white Christmas after all this year....

The Coming of Christmas

This was the theme of a candlelit evening of Christmas music and readings which I attended at Dorchester Abbey on Wednesday night. It was an excellent event with the choir of Magdalen College, Oxford and readings by Juliet Stevenson CBE and Michael Pennington. David Hyde was the conductor. The evening was in aid of the Home Farm Trust (Hft) which supports people with learning difficulties. You can view their website here.

The Abbey was a beautiful setting for Christmas carols and readings and I thoroughly enjoyed the evening. Christmas seems to be coming faster than ever this year and will be upon us so soon especially with it falling at the weekend. The parish council is holding its Christmas carol service round the tree at 7pm next Tuesday evening 21st December. I hope to join many residents there too.

Saving our local services

Last night at Grove Parish Council's meeting we discussed the future of Grove Library. The County Librarian came along to hear our views and to see what possible plans we could put together to potentially save the service. However, more details are needed and above all we need the community behind us, especially if any fundraising is to happen. It was agreed to hold a public meeting in the New Year and to try to rally the Friends of Grove Library again as there are very few of the original members left. Let us hope residents will get involved. Grove Library is not just a place to borrow books, it is the hub of our community where people can socialise, use the internet and find information.

Today Cllr. Jenny Hannaby and I met with the head and deputy head of King Alfred's School and Garry Kingett, our youth worker, to see what we can do to save our youth centre at the Sweatbox. Again, we need a business case and some idea how we and the community can run the service without the County Council. We are hoping to start a steering group to move things forward, so anyone who would like to get involved should contact Garry direct at the Sweatbox Tel: 01235 770577 or garry.kingett@oxfordshire.gov.uk. Again, the Sweatbox is not just a youth centre, but a vital kingpin in our community where young people can access a whole range of services and information and above all keep them off the streets.

Christmas Lights on at County Hall

Christmas lights have been switched on this evening at County Hall, so I was there to see the ceremony. Children from Great Tew Primary School came along to sing carols for us.

There is now increased security at County Hall after last week saw two protests by students on the site. The first time they gained access to the Members' suite and the second time some of the students had a meeting with the Leader of the Council about disparaging remarks he made about them on Twitter. Let us hope that the festive season brings some good will and cheer to us all.

Wantage Police Station Closure

Another blow to the communities of Grove and Wantage is the potential closure of Wantage Police Station. Read more here. The aim is to move out of the town to another location but where this will be has not yet been decided. Will it be part of the new development in Grove?

I am getting more concerned that as we await news of the proposed planning application for the airfield, we learn each day about more and more services which are being lost. Library, youth facilities, police station - what will be next? What is always difficult to do is to get back services which have been lost. I am trying to find out more about the 'pots of money' available to communities to run services in their area. This should become clearer in the next few weeks. I shall keep you posted.

Grove Library and Wantage Sweatbox Threatened

Today we all heard the devastating news that many of the county's libraries and youth centres could close due to potential budget cuts. We are being asked to 'pull together' in our communities to help save these vital services with local volunteers. Read the press release here.

Many residents will remember that Grove Library was threatened in the past and a group of residents formed the 'Friends of Grove Library' (FROGs) to keep it open. I was secretary at the time and it took a huge amount of effort. However, our library was saved, but now here we are again. Let us hope that something similar can happen now!

We have been worried for some time about the future of The Sweatbox in Wantage, and here we are again concerned about its future as Wantage is listed in this press release as one of the centres which could close unless the community can somehow pull together to keep it open. Once again, this will be down to volunteers.

The future looks bleak indeed so let us hope that solutions can be found before the budget is decided in February.

Boundary Review for Oxfordshire

Consultation is now taking place on an electoral review for Oxfordshire. This was triggered when it was discovered that Witney East was under-represented by 35%. There are currently 74 councillors representing various divisions in Oxfordshire - but is this too many? There are proposals for reducing the number of councillors. What do you think? There is also a move to go back to single-member divisions. If you recall, some years back Grove and Wantage were separate divisions but were put together in the county elections in 2005. More details can be found at the Local Government Boundary Commission website where you can send in your views online. Comments can also be sent to the review manager: joan.dsouza@lgbce.org.uk (tel:020 7664 8531) by 22nd November.

Remembrance Sunday

Along with parish councillors, beavers, cubs, scouts and brownies, I joined residents at the parish church remembrance service this morning in Grove. There seemed to be a record turnout as no seat was left unfilled! Professor Gary Sheffield, local historian, told us a story of a brother and sister from London who were evacuated to Grove during the war. Of course, during this time of reflection, we also pay tribute to those who are currently in Afghanistan and in particular, those who have paid the ultimate sacrifice.

A Ceremony of Remembrance

There was a Ceremony of Remembrance held this morning at County Hall which I attended along with other members of the council and staff. We remembered 11 members of County Council staff who were killed in both World Wars. Two wreaths were laid below the plaque. We had two minutes silence along with the rest of the nation and then recited:

"We will remember them
When you go home
Tell them of us and say,
For your tomorrow
We gave our today."

Grove Airfield Planning Event

This evening I was pleased to see a number of residents at the planning event held at Grove Church of England Primary School at North Drive. This was organised by Planning Aid South and had a number of presentations including one from a Vale Planning Officer. We were all given information about how best to respond to large (and small) planning applications and what suggestions we can make if we wish to be constructive about the forthcoming proposals. We were told that a planning application for the airfield site is expected at the end of this month, but there would be a long period of consultation probably taking us up to next June. Realistically we were told that any building work would not commence before 2012 at the earliest.

The table I sat at discussed S106 agreements (legal agreements which tie the developer into providing infrastructure such as roads and schools) and how important it was to make sure that these are delivered in time as development progresses. There are plans to have further workshops if residents missed this one and in particular we were looking at one which may include design and layout. This was a constructive evening, and I was surprised to see how positive people were in these times of gloom and doom. We are hoping that by the time the houses are on the horizon, the recession may be behind us - let us hope!

King Alfred's Awards Evening

It is always a pleasure to attend King Alfred's Awards evening, and tonight was no exception. For the second year running the school was Oxfordshire's highest achieving state school with Year 11 students recording outstanding examination results with 92.5% achieving 5 A*-C grades at GCSE. We enjoyed seeing the school's music talent on show too. An enjoyable evening. Visit their website here to read more.

Greenwich Mean Time is back

I hope everyone remembered to set their clocks back one hour last night after British Summer Time ended. We are, of course, now on Greenwich Mean Time until 27 March 2011.

Coincidentally, I found myself in Greenwich today and, as pictured, stood on the Prime Meridian. These days, as well as a brass strip showing the line of 0 degrees longitude, there is also a green laser beam that shines into the night sky towards the O2 dome, which is visible for about 15 miles.

The Royal Observatory at Greenwich is well worth a visit and of particular interest are the time pieces on display of John Harrison, who solved the longitude problem (the basis of the Channel 4 drama "Longitude" in 2000).

"Oxford time" is 5 minutes later than GMT. I gather that the Great Tom Bell at Christ Church College is rung at 9:05 pm (9pm on Oxford time) every evening for this reason. However, I have to admit that I have never witnessed and confirmed this myself.

Planning Grove Airfield: Commenting Effectively

This is the title of a forthcoming event happening next month which I hope members of the public will be able to take part in. Here are the details:

Tuesday 9th November at 6pm at Grove Church of England school, North Drive in Grove.

To register and book a place either telephone Julia at 01865 798673 or email: sosupport@planningaid.rtpi.org.uk

This event is supposed to help find out what has happened so far and what happens next, what we can and can't comment on and how to make comments more effective!

Sounds an interesting evening....

Street Pastors First Birthday Celebration

Last night I attended the Wantage and Grove Street Pastors First Birthday celebration at Wantage Parish Church. There was a large crowd there all keen to share what has been a hugely successful year for the community. Reverend Les Isaac, founder and director of the Ascension Trust gave us all a rousing address - he was the catalyst for the whole movement which began in East London and has been rolling out all over the country.

The Mayor, Chairman of Grove Parish Council, Thames Valley Police and many others were all there to give our support to the many volunteers who patrol our streets regularly on Friday nights. Crime figures we hear are very low in the Vale and we believe it is testimony to the fact that we are actively reducing crime in some areas due to this initiative. Long may the good work continue! If you want to find out more visit the website.

Changes at the County Council

At yesterday's Cabinet meeting at County Hall, I spoke on a number of items. There are to be some changes to full Council meetings with the end of themed debates after a year of giving them a try. We felt that our debate on 'Breaking the Cycle of Deprivation' was a success, but unfortunately some of the themes put forward by the ruling group have not really grabbed the public's attention... congratulating Oxfordshire's newly elected MP's after the last general election was one! Council meetings are due to end at 3.30pm, but will the earlier time just cut short debates on motions? We shall have to wait and see. I suggested we may use the extra time for useful briefings and training. I attended a training session for safeguarding children on Monday which was attended by a total of 5 councillors out of the potential 74! Perhaps if training sessions were timed to coincide with councillors being in for the day then attendance would be better.

Another change is the end of 'Oxon News' the magazine which is delivered to every household in Oxfordshire with an OX postcode. £240,000 saving will be made. In opposition we welcome this saving as we have been saying for a long time that the Council should cease spending public money on glossy publications which are basically propaganda for the ruling group. I suggested that perhaps there may be savings made in the media and communications department as a a result.

With the Comprehensive Spending Review announcement today, much is being made in the news about cuts in Oxfordshire's public spending. We shall have to wait and see as the days unfold about how this will effect services.

Road closure update

I have received a reply from the County Council regarding why the road closure has been cancelled. To quote:

"The closure has been cancelled due to the high costs associated with the disposal of tarbound material discovered within the existing road construction." Make of this what you will. I have been promised a fuller explanation!

Road closure cancelled

This is to let residents know that unexpectedly the road closure scheduled to take place this week on 18th October has been cancelled. This had been to undertake carriageway works on the A338 Grove Road near to Wantage. I do not yet know the reasons for this and will try and let you know as soon as possible.

The Rose of Hungerford

The Rose of Hungerford (below).

Yesterday I had the pleasure of travelling on this narrowboat. I attended the North Wessex Downs Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty Forum in Hungerford and after the meeting we were all given the option of travelling on the Kennet canal in the Rose of Hungerford. The weather was fine and we all enjoyed the trip.
The Wilts and Berks Canal Trust do a huge amount of work restoring our canals and waterways. If you wish to get involved then do visit their website.

Is Oxfordshire's Big Debate Over?

The last of Oxfordshire's Big Debates about how the national financial crisis will impact on the county council and the potential budget cuts was held last Thursday evening in Abingdon, so I went along to hear what people had to say. The Leader of the Council and the Chief Executive plus officers and cabinet members were there to answer questions. It was hosted by Radio Oxford presenter, Bill Heine.

Everyone was told that the county council has a turnover of around 1 billion pounds a year and needs to save £200 million over the next four years. Members of the audience asked many questions varying from social services, youth services and help for carers. A few suggestions were made, but most people used the opportunity to air their concerns about where the axe may fall. However, the crunch will come when we hear the outcome of the Comprehensive Spending Review later this month (20th October) - I will keep you posted!

Good News for Grovelands Pre-school Playgroup

I am pleased to report that the County Council have agreed to fund Grovelands Pre-school Playgroup's new building on the land by Millbrook School in Grove. We had heard from government that the Sure Start grants for Oxfordshire have been cut by £2.774 million so were concerned that this project would take some share in those cuts. However, I have received a letter from the Cabinet Member for Children, Young People and Families to say that the council is in a position to fund the playgroup's replacement building. This is subject to the building work being completed by 31st March 2011. I am sure that all families and staff can now breathe a sigh of relief!

Money Matters in Oxfordshire

Today I attended an event at Oxford Town Hall entitled "Money Matters - Tackling Debt and Managing Money in Oxfordshire". There were a whole range of organisations available to discuss issues including our local Independent Advice Centre in Wantage.

During these hard times when people could be losing their jobs or are in danger of losing their homes due to falling back on mortgage repayments, it is essential that they can seek help early and get the advice and support they need. We heard about real life cases where people had been in debt and had been helped to change their lives around.

The event was organised by the Oxford Advice Centres' Forum and the Oxfordshire Money Advice Group. If you need to contact them please email: Jane.Phipps@citizensadvice.org.uk

A338 Grove Road Open For Now

It was good news that the A338 was opened early at the weekend as the carriageway works were completed ahead of schedule. However, this is an early warning that the road will close again on 18th October for an estimated duration of eight weeks. This time the road will be closed to the south of Mably Way and the diversion will be around Wantage. Wallingford Street remains closed at the moment, but hopefully will be open by the time this goes ahead.

Community Fayre in Grove

This morning I had the pleasure of attending a Community Fayre which was organised by the Grove Free Evangelical Church (GFEC). It was held at Grove CofE Primary School at North Drive and was attended by a number of people from Wantage, Grove and surrounding villages. There were several organisations represented including the street pastors, Independent Advice Centre (IAC), the Wantage and Grove Food Bank, Cornerstone coffee shop, Pilgrim Homes, OX12 and the Sweatbox. The Chairman of Grove Parish Council and myself shared the 'local dignitary spot'.

Everyone had a few minutes to talk about the work that they do within the community and how much we all rely on volunteers to keep going. It was an excellent opportunity to see first hand how much 'community spirit' exists for our area and how we hope this will continue despite challenging times ahead. If there needs to be any evidence of 'The Big Society', then we would hope it can be found in the communities of Grove and Wantage!

Decisions at County Hall

Tuesday was a busy day at County Hall with more discussion on Oxfordshire County Council's budget cuts as part of the Conservatives 'themed debate' entitled 'What Sort of Council Do We Want?' This may be the last of these themed debates as the ruling group propose to axe them after just one year of doing this as a way of trying to improve democracy. The conclusion appears to be that there has been nothing useful which has happened as a result of them. So is the County Council listening to our views?

Two decisions which were taken at the meeting which were good news for Liberal Democrats in Opposition was that the coalition government 'pupil premium' proposals were welcomed and the bureaucracy to councils would be reduced under new government legislation. Read these stories on the Oxfordshire Lib Dem website. Nothing much changes in Oxfordshire but we might be having an impact nationally one would hope!

Oxford United's Success

Last Monday I had the pleasure of meeting the Oxford United football team at a reception at County Hall in Oxford to celebrate their success in being promoted to the football league. I have just read in the press about their victory at Hereford at the weekend. I wish them every success for the future. You can read all about it here

Oxfordshire's Big Debate

This press release from Oxfordshire County Council will tell you all about how to take part in the forthcoming debate regarding 200 million pounds worth of savings to be made at County Hall. The cuts could be far-reaching and there will be many job losses. Meetings are taking place as follows:

7th September at County Hall, Oxford
16th September at Cornerstone Arts Centre, Didcot
21st September at Langdale Hall, Witney
29th September at Town Hall, Banbury
30th September at Abbey Hall, Abingdon

The meetings take place from 7.30 - 9pm at all the venues. I hope you may find one suitable to attend, though how the public will influence the decisions will be interesting to see!

Mably Way Speed Limit Reduction

Today I spoke at the County Council's Transport Decisions Committee in favour of the reduction in the speed limit from 40mph to 30mph at Mably Way. Readers of my blog will recall that we presented a petition of 1938 signatures to support this proposal back in October (see here).

The proposal has had to go out for public consultation which attracted 5 representations of support and 11 against. However, the Chairman decided to go with the officer's recommendation which was to implement the order as advertised in the press. This is an excellent result for local democracy where public opinion has ruled the day.

Road closures update

This evening I have received an answer to my question to the County Council about why it will take so long (6 weeks) to undertake the carriageway works on the A338. To quote in full:

"The closure notice indicates a time scale that we can safely achieve the road works. The work entails a reconstruction of some 200 metres of the A338 Grove Road down to a depth of between 230mm and 380mm. This is not a straightforward plane out and put back scheme and therefore will take up to the identified 6 weeks. We will endeavour to carry out the works as quickly as possible. Through traffic will be diverted but we will work with the local residents and keep them informed of access arrangements to their properties during the works."

Closure of Wallingford Street in Wantage

I have just been notified of yet another road closure which will affect residents in our area. Wallingford Street in Wantage is to be closed for carriageway works between the Market Place and Seesen Way roundabout. The road works are programmed to commence on 13th September and are expected to last for 4 weeks. A road closure will be in place for the duration of the works although the actual working hours for the works will be from 07:00 hours until 20:00 hours weekdays only. So, unfortunately, this will mean disruption on two counts during September - not good timing with the schools back after the summer holidays.

A338 Closure

Residents driving into Wantage may already have seen the signs displayed on the A338 warning that the road will be closed between Elms Farm and the Mably Way roundabout for 6 weeks beginning 6th September for roadworks. This will certainly cause disruption for Grove because the proposed diversion will be sending traffic around the village along Oxford Lane, Denchworth Road, Newlands Drive and Mably Way. Residents will find this very disruptive I am sure, and I am trying to find out why the road has to be closed for so long - will keep you posted once I get a reply!

Cornish Connections

I have just returned from holiday in Cornwall staying near to Padstow. We came across the church of St. Enodoc on one of our walks along the coast path and saw the grave of Sir John Betjeman (left) beautifully and intricately carved. This lovely little church was once buried in sand but now it has many visitors to see the famous gravestone of the once Poet Laureate. His mother is also buried here and there is a tablet in memory of his father on the church wall. Apparently on the day his coffin was brought here, it was carried through driving rain on a typically Cornish day. It was gratifying to think of his connection with Wantage and to know when I next visit the Betjeman Park in the town that I have also seen his place of rest by the sea. I am also looking forward to attending many more events organised by the Betjeman Festival.

It is a beautiful spot here where you can walk for miles watching the surf, cliffs and the seabirds. The area hit the news this week because it is near where David Cameron was holidaying with his family when his wife, Samantha was rushed off to give birth to their new baby girl at nearby Truro hospital.

Incinerator for Oxfordshire

Yesterday I was part of the call-in process which was re-examining the County Cabinet's decision to go ahead with their preferred bidder, Viridor to process Oxfordshire's waste. This story has been the subject of previous blog postings, but this time there may not be any turning back. The planning appeal is still part of a public inquiry, but it is unclear what will happen if this is not given the go ahead.

The call-in was a cross-party collaboration, and three of us sat at yesterday's Growth and Infrastructure Scrutiny committee to put our case that this incinerator is not in the best interests of the people of Oxfordshire. However, despite 2 Conservative councillors abstaining and the three of us voting against upholding the Cabinet decision, we lost by 5 votes who agreed that no further action was needed.

Wantage Independent Advice Centre

I attended the AGM of the Independent Advice Centre last night - always a well attended and enjoyable evening where you can catch up on all the latest information. They have a new website, new office manager and several new volunteers. Their voluntary driving scheme is very popular and they have also developed a 'Good Neighbours Scheme'. Their services are also very much in demand since the closure of the Local Services Point. Check out the website to find out more.

Evening with County Youth Orchestra

Last night we were at Oxford Town Hall to see the Oxfordshire Youth Orchestra Gala Concert where they performed The Firebird Suite by Stravinsky and Symphony No. 1 by Mahler. An excellent evening and all credit to the young musicians who are just back from a European Tour. The Oxfordshire Music Service organises this event with a whole host of others over the summer period.

Cuts and more cuts - the pain begins

Today there was a special meeting of the County Council to decide on the first raft of budget cuts to be implemented this year. Nearly 11 million pounds worth of savings have got to be made and the Cabinet had considered where the axe was likely to fall last week. Today it was the turn of the council. In opposition, I had tabled an amendment which was not to take the cuts in positive action for young people (78K), teenage pregnancy (25K) and the road safety partnership (300K). I had put forward that the savings could be made by charging for on-street parking in the evenings and weekends (300K) and to reduce money spent on glossy publicity and communications (103K). Unfortunately I was told that this amendment could not be allowed because it constituted a policy change. So it looks like despite our best efforts, the speed cameras will be switched off this weekend and there is the daunting prospect of possibly more road casualties.

I was on the radio talking about this at 7.30am this morning, so an early start to the day at the BBC Radio Oxford studio in Summertown. Then onto County Hall where the decision was made at a special cabinet meeting to award the incinerator tender to Viridor ... this was decided last year but this afternoon's meeting is now set to drive this forward even though planning permission has not been granted for the site at Ardley!

But back to the budget cuts. Even though my amendment was not accepted, the full council meeting debated the cuts and then rubber stamped the lot, with warnings of more to come. Well I had warned this time last year that there would be difficult times ahead - but did we realise how difficult it would be? Also in the news today is the latest casualty of the cuts in the government grant programme to pre-school buildings and unfortunately Grovelands Playgroup is one of them - so hitting really close to home. There will be more to come I am sure.

Deputy Prime Minister visits Abingdon

I went along to see Nick Clegg's first "town hall meeting" in Abingdon this afternoon where it was a full house at the Guildhall for an open question and answer session with the public.

It was obvious from the outset that there would not be a lack of questions and the session could easily have gone on for several hours judging by the hands raised in anticipation of the roving microphone. The questions ranged over national and local issues from education policy to the impact of the cuts and how businesses can thrive in the recession.

Public Petitions Update from the Vale

If you read my blog post about how high (over 15,000 signatures!) the threshold was set at the County Council for presenting a petition to trigger a debate at full council, you should be pleased to discover that the Vale of White Horse District Council set a much more sensible number. At the last full Council meeting on 14th July, Liberal Democrats' amendment set the amount at 500 signatures to be consistent with our amendment at the County Council. Fortunately, Liberal Democrats run the Vale of White Horse District Council and as such the amendment was accepted - as it turned out supported by Conservatives in opposition! Pity they don't liaise with their colleagues at County Hall.

And All Change at the NHS

Today I was at the LGA (Local Government Association) for a meeting of the Community Wellbeing Board, which looks at social care and health issues all over the country. We were scrutinising the new plans for the National Health Service which is aiming to abolish Strategic Health Authorities, Primary Care Trusts and the Joint Health Overview Committees run by County Councils. There are concerns how the new system will work, especially the new commissioning role of GP's which will replace the role of the PCTs. Healthwatch is supposed to replace JHOSCs and the LINKs and local authorities are expected to take over the role of Public Health.

This afternoon there was a Health Summit at which Lib Dem minister for social care Paul Burstow MP came to speak to us followed by a very lively question and answer session. We await further developments but if you wish to read the white paper it can be found here

All Change for Carers

There are over 60,000 carers in Oxfordshire, all of them our unsung heroes looking after their loved ones. Currently there are 3 Carers centres in the county, one in Didcot, one in Oxford and the other in Banbury. At yesterday's Cabinet meeting at the County Council it was decided that these would have to close and instead there would be a call centre and outreach workers to man the service. The aim is to reach more carers particularly in the rural areas. I went along to speak and ask some questions about how this call centre will work, what will be the staffing ratio and to see if this was merely a cost-cutting exercise. It is hard to tell, but the recommendation was voted through. Let us hope this new system will work.

Exhibition - Grove Airfield Development

Today, I called in at the public exhibition at the Old Mill Hall in Grove to see the latest plans for development on the former airfield. I had just finished my surgery and had comments from one resident who was pleased that some original concerns had now been addressed. However, it was a packed hall when I arrived and busy with residents all determined to have their say.

Most of the concerns were around the infrastructure, in particular the roads and schools and community facilities, and the sheer scale of the development. There were also worries about the amount of traffic which will be generated as most people will be using cars to get to work. Good public transport will be essential, but will it encourage people out of their cars? Cycle routes through the site should also be incorporated. If people wish to make comments online, they can email: SSensecall@kempandkemp.co.uk A planning application is expected to be submitted later this year.

New electric-hybrid buses for Oxford

Today, I attended Stagecoach's launch of their new electric-hybrid buses which started running in Oxford today. It promises to be an exciting prospect for bus travel in the future. You can read the full story here. The event was held at Oxford Castle (see photo left).

We were also taken on a short trip around the city centre so that we could experience travelling in these new double deckers which hold 78 passengers. At the moment, there are no plans to run the buses on the more rural routes like ours, but we have been promised some newer buses shortly which will replace some of the older stock used here.
It is good to see that we have now seen the roll out of Real Time Information (the electronic displays showing at some of our bus stops in Grove). Anything which makes travelling by bus a more user-friendly experience has to be welcome.

Exhibition on Housing Development

This is to remind everyone that there will be a public exhibition held in the Old Mill Hall in Grove at the following times and dates:

Friday 16th July - 10am to 4pm
Saturday 17th July - 10am to 4pm

This will be an opportunity to see the proposals for housing development on the former airfield west of Grove. Try to go along if you can. I will be holding my monthly surgery on the morning of 17th between 10.30am and 11.30am in Grove Library, so will call in after that.

Football's coming home

England may be out of the World Cup, but competitive football came home to Grove over the weekend. Grove Challengers held their annual six-a-side competition on Saturday and Sunday, which I understand attracted around 200 teams covering U7s through to U16s!

As usual, I went along to give my support and the young players looked to be enjoying themselves and all the matches I saw were played in good spirit. More information on Grove Challengers, which were established in 1971, can be found here.

Image of the Week

With Thames Water's public inquiry into the proposed reservoir ongoing in Oxford at the moment, it is a good time to reflect on the impact this will have on our area. This photo (left) was taken just outside the village of Drayton on the road towards Steventon. You can see from the placard that this pylon is 25 meters high - the proposed height of the embankment for the huge reservoir... food for thought indeed!

Incinerator Update

Waste Recycling Group are holding an exhibition in Sutton Courtenay Village Hall today and tomorrow to show their plans for a Mechanical Biological Treatment (MBT) Plant at its landfill site in the village. They are proposing to submit a planning application to the County Council later this year.

The exhibition runs as follows:
Friday 2 July from 2.00 - 8.00pm
Saturday 3 July from 10.00am - 2.00pm

I will keep you updated of further news on this.

Wantage and Grove Lions Club

This afternoon I attended the Wantage and Grove Lions Club Annual dinner with the Vice-Chairman of the Vale of White Horse District Council, Val Shaw. It was a sweltering afternoon and I guess most people were watching the England v. Germany game in the World Cup. It was an excellent lunch and we heard about the work of the Wilts and Berks Canal in the post-dinner speech. You can check out their website here. It was good to meet so many people dedicated to fundraising for various charities both local and national. The Club has just 15 members at present. I got home to discover that England lost the match, so looks like I didn't miss much!

Local Investment in Infrastructure

At today's cabinet I spoke on an interesting report which was directed at local investment agreements on infrastructure for housing development. You can read the full report if you click on this link and scroll down to Item ll. Basically, Oxfordshire County Council is signing up with the Homes and Communities Agency to what is termed a 'Local Investment Agreement', which will set out the necessary infrastructure to be provided for housing developments all over the county.

I referred to Grove's lack of facilities which was a result of houses without infrastructure in the past and urged that this should not happen again. Indeed, if there is any doubt that necessary roads, schools, and other investment will not be provided then we cannot go ahead with the housing. District Council local plans are very much up in the air at the moment depending on what the national government decide on planning, so maybe there is some merit in revisiting our area for any housing targets.

Developers for the airfield site have recently changed their plans from the original proposals on where some of the community facilities will be located on the site. The district and parish have voiced objections to this. The latest I heard was that a planning application may be forthcoming later this year - with an exhibition planned in Grove on 16th and 17th July at the Old Mill Hall. Will keep you posted, but I would urge residents to attend if possible and make their views known.

Public Petitions at the County Council

Last week at the county council meeting it was decided by the Conservative ruling group that petitions from the public to bring a debate to council would need nearly 16,000 signatures. It was also decided that to bring a chief officer to account at a scrutiny committee would need 4000 signatures. Our group put forward an amendment asking that the numbers be reduced to 500 each, but this was thrown out. Read the news story here. This does not of course, prevent petitions being presented to the County Council which will continue as it does now. However, most petitions do not trigger a debate but are simply passed to the directorate for a response.

Working Together in Government

I have spent the last two days in London at the Local Government Association (LGA) at a conference organised with the Liberal Democrats to pool resources as we work together in local and national government.

Nick Clegg is addressing us on the left as he gives us an insight into life as Deputy Prime Minister working in coalition.

Simon Hughes was also there, our new Deputy Leader. It was an interesting weekend with so much going on. With the budget announcements coming up on Tuesday, there will be challenging times ahead.

University Question Time

This evening I attended the Oxford Universities' Community Question Time which was held at the Said Business School in Oxford. Jon Snow chaired the session which had Professor Andrew Hamilton, Vice-Chancellor of Oxford University and Professor Janet Beer, Vice-Chancellor of Oxford Brookes answering the questions. There were a whole host of different topics dealing with numerous issues from planning, student tuition fees and the tensions between town and gown.

HRH Prince of Wales Lecture in Oxford

This afternoon the Prince of Wales gave a lecture in the Sheldonian Theatre in Oxford entitled 'Islam and the Environment'. This was organised by the Oxford Centre for Islamic Studies which HRH The Prince of Wales is the patron. Apparently it was 17 years ago when he last delivered a lecture here entitled 'Islam and the West'. He said he would not leave it that long again before he was back!

As you can see in the photo (left) it was a packed house and he received a standing ovation at the end. He talked about the division between humanity and nature and how we need to connect our spiritual soul to our environment around us. He quoted poetry from Wordsworth, lines from Lewis Carroll and from the Koran and inspired us all. It was a very enjoyable afternoon.

New Secondary School for Grove Under Threat

News announcements from the County Council came yesterday about potential spending cuts to the capital programme, and we hear that Grove's new secondary school is now under threat. I was interviewed for BBC South Today and was on the television last night, and again this morning for BBC Radio Oxford's breakfast programme. The story is also in the local press and on the BBC Oxford website.

Residents of Grove understand only too well how Grove's housing developments have been built in the past with no infrastructure, and as a local councillor I have fought to try to ensure this does not happen again. With the prospect of more housing on the airfield after Grove was singled out in the local plan, it is vital that any development brings with it the necessary infrastructure which is badly needed. This applies to roads, leisure facilities and schooling provision. The issue of Grove having its own secondary school has been in the limelight many times, and more recently Oxfordshire County Council's cabinet decided that Grove's new secondary school would have its own sixth form, and not just a small 600-place school as originally intended.

Now all capital projects are on hold as the state of national government finances get played out locally. Big spending projects whether it is school extensions, libraries or indeed some transport schemes could potentially now be on hold. I will keep an eye on this over the forthcoming weeks as more detail on the plans become known!

Sweatbox Reopens

Just arrived home after calling in at The Sweatbox to see how things were going with the long-awaited relaunch. It was a beautiful sunny evening so lots of young people were all outside on the grass. Food was being served, films shown and the disco going. About 100 had turned up, so not as many as had been expected, but it was a 'ticket only' event, so that may have made a difference for some.

I thoroughly enjoyed watching the acoustic session shown in the photo (above left) which was a girl duo of Tori Allnutt and Katy Bond. Very talented young people who could go far! How lucky we are to have this facility on our doorstep thanks to Garry Kingett and his volunteer helpers.

New Lord Mayor of Oxford

This evening I saw the mayor-making in Oxford Town Hall where Cllr John Goddard takes up the reins. There is a reception every year to which I am invited and we have seen numerous mayors come and go. Cllr. Goddard is also a County Councillor so it is good to see one of my Liberal Democrat group doing the rounds on the city circuit for a year.

Schools' Tag Rugby Tournament

This afternoon I attended the Oxfordshire Schools' Tag Rugby Tournament at the Horspath Road Sports Ground in Oxford. This is an annual event sponsored by the County Council's Chairman and is suitably entitled "The Chairman's Trophy".

500 pupils from 48 schools attended today and the finalists included St. Nicholas' School in Abingdon from the Vale area. The outright winners were Coombe Primary School from West Oxfordshire who now go through to the South Regional finals.

Special Conference at Birmingham

This afternoon I attended the special Liberal Democrat Conference at Birmingham to debate the national situation since we have become a coalition government with the Conservatives. I am pleased to say that it was an excellent day with so many of us in agreement! No media or press were allowed, so suffice it to say that it was a constructive afternoon, our motion to support the coalition was passed unaminously and we all came home content that we are in government actually helping to progress some of our policies - much better than sniping from the sidelines!

Student Police Officer Confirmation Ceremony

Today I was delighted to attend the Thames Valley Police Student Officer Confirmation Ceremony held at Drayton Golf Club, nr. Abingdon. It was a wonderful opportunity to meet with the families who support our new police constables as they have completed all their training and learning development. It was my pleasure to do the closing remarks at the ceremony on behalf of the Police Authority of which I am an elected member for Oxfordshire.

After the certificates were all handed out, there was a 'Best Endeavour' Award and a student officer speech which gave us all an an insight into the hard work that has gone into this two year rigorous learning programme. We then had tea and cakes and I enjoyed meeting and talking to many of the student officers themselves.

We are very fortunate in the Thames Valley to have such an excellent police force. It was reported in the press a couple of weeks ago how crime is falling in the Vale of White Horse area and much of this is due to the hard work of our neighbourhood teams.

Tree Replaced at Howard Avenue

The General Election is over and it is back to business as usual. This morning I held my monthly surgery at the library and was pleased to check out the tree replacement at Howard Avenue.

Readers of my blog will be aware that when we lost our Christmas tree last year, we also lost a cherry tree on the green area on the corner of Howard Avenue. Apparently, the tree was diseased and was chopped down leaving us with an empty space (left photo). I requested a replacment and a new tree has now been planted by the county council (right photo). This is a welcome sight amongst the houses.

Polling Day

Tomorrow from 7am until 10pm the polling stations are open for the General Election. There has been a lot of discussion this time round because of the political debates on television and I hope that this will increase our voter turnout. This is the first time since I have been a county councillor that the General Election has not been held on the same day as the county elections. Full details of all candidates for the Wantage constituency are here and the count will take place immediately afterwards as reported here

I have enjoyed canvassing around the area during the last few weeks, as it gives the opportunity to talk to people on the doorstep. Most residents have been very welcoming and enjoyed having a chat about local and national issues. Many people have been very impressed with Nick Clegg and one can only hope that this will have an impact on the result tomorrow!

Morse, Murder and Mayhem

This was the theme of tonight's event with Colin Dexter (pictured signing books) hosted by Wesley Smith at Wantage Civic Hall. It was an entertaining evening where the audience heard many amusing stories during the interview. Fun was had by everyone and all proceeds in aid of Vale House - the Alzheimers Home at Botley. The Chairman of the Vale of White Horse District Council, Cllr. Alison Rooke had organised the event to support this worthy cause. Find out more here.

Sweatbox Reviewed

Yesterday afternoon we had a meeting to discuss the management review of the Sweatbox. We had a number of interested parties around the table including officers from the council, police, street pastors, residents and young people from the Sweatbox Union. I chaired the meeting until the Cabinet member arrived, as she was held up in traffic.

There were 20 recommendations in the report - and we did agree to them all adding a few more. The gist will be that the Sweatbox is definitely re-opening as a music event on Friday evenings from May (final date is now planned for later in the month instead of 7th). In fact, it is hoped that it will be able to open during school holidays too.

What came out of the review was that the Grove venue had also closed and there are searches on to find an alternative. Apparently the adult education centre where it was held has been deemed 'not fit for purpose' and perhaps the Cornerstone cafe at Grovelands shopping centre could be an alternative.

The re-launch event will be ticket only, so that plans can be made to cater for around 250 young people attending. All bags will be searched and there will be no re-admission. There will be no breathalysers used until this has been looked at by the County Council. So a positive outcome and pleased that this looks like it is resolved for now, although obviously the situation will be monitored along the way.

Film and Piano in Wantage, Folk in Oxford

Last night (Saturday), saw a Film and Piano Double at Wantage Parish Church. The evening started with a piano recital by Mark Viner - an outstanding young pianist from Faringdon who played three Chopin pieces. This was followed by the film "Bright Star" about the last three years of the life of the poet John Keats, which was organised by Abingdon College & District Film Society. This was the first pre-festival event for the Wantage Betjeman Festival, which is planned for September 2011. Interestingly, the pew that John Betjeman used to occupy in Wantage Church was pointed out during the evening - a few places from where I sat. Using the church as a cinema worked very well, except next time I must remember to take a cushion.

Over the weekend, it was also the seventh Oxford Folk Festival and today (Sunday) I happened upon some of the Morris dancing in Cornmarket Street and at the Castle as shown in the photos.

Kingfishers and Letcombe Brook

The news is currently dominated by the volcanic ash from Iceland, but many in Grove and Wantage will also remember another event which had a big impact on everyday life - the floods that hit Oxfordshire on 20 July 2007.

Kingfishers was one of the worst hit areas in Grove due to the proximity of Letcombe Brook. It is good to be able to report on recent works that have been done to improve the flow of the brook. An old bridge, which had fallen into disrepair and impeded the stream, has now been removed with the banks being landscaped. This should remove one of the constrictions where branches and debris could accumulate. This was all done with a grant from the Vale of White Horse District Council and the Environment Agency who manage the brook.

The Political Race

Whilst on the racing theme, which has developed over the last few posts, on Tuesday it was announced that the General Election will be on May 6th. This came as no surprise to many of us politicians. In fact, the news came as we were all in the debating chamber at County Hall where a number of significant issues were raised. It was the Annual Council meeting of Oxfordshire County Council, so a new chairman and vice chairman were elected. Again the ruling group broke with tradition and elected both Conservatives, a repeat of last year when they took control of the council for a second term. I proposed Cllr. Purse who had been a previous vice chairman, but this was turned down.

I did, however, have some success on Tuesday by getting my motion through the county council on the funding of personal care for the elderly. As I have previous pointed out on my blog, this will be the subject of some debate in the general election because the issue is whether or not we have a 'National Care Service' and how will it be paid for? Should it be paid through general taxation, an insurance scheme or should local authorities pick up the bill? My motion proposed that the council write to the Secretary of State outlining our concerns and this was agreed by all but the Labour group. Not surprising. You can read more here and my speech is here.

2010 White Horse Half Marathon

Today saw the 28th half marathon (about 13 miles) organised by the local White Horse Harriers Athletics Club and held in fine weather. This has taken place every year since 1983 and the course starting and finishing in Grove after wandering through the local countryside and villages such as Denchworth and Charney Bassett.

This photo shows the finish on Pound Green in Grove. A sports massage was even on offer to the competitors. Sponsorship this year was in aid of the The Prostate Cancer Charity.

Grand National 2010

Congratulations to local jockey Tony McCoy who won today's Grand National on Don't Push it. This was his 15th attempt with three 3rd places his previous best over the years.

This photo shows him signing autographs in Lambourn on Good Friday.

Election Matters

I have had a number of telephone calls from local residents in Grove and Wantage concerned about the polling station shown on the official poll cards that they have just received for the General Election on 6 May. Unfortunately, there has been a printing error and incorrect details about the station are shown on some cards (including my own).

New cards are being printed and were being posted out last night - at no cost to the district council may I add. Further details can be found here.

Please note that details about proxy voting and postal voting in the Vale can be found here. The latest date for applications to be received for inclusion on the electoral register - a necessary condition for any form of voting - is 20 April.

Daffodils

There is always something about daffodils that brighten up springtime - especially Easter - and raise the spirit after a long winter. It has been a bit of a struggle for them to make their appearance this year, particularly in places like the Lake District, which is known for its carpets of daffodils especially around Ambleside... as well as the Wordsworth association.

In Grove, the lines of daffodils along the A338 always provide a welcome sight on entering and leaving the village. This photo from today (Easter Monday) shows that they are just starting to come into their own and we should have some colourful blooms for the next few weeks.

Wantage Station in the National News

Good to see the case for reopening Wantage Station (and Kidlington) mentioned in the national news. This has, of course, been a long standing local Lib Dem campaign. More information on the national campaign here.

Lambourn - Mixed Weather, but Brilliant Horses

It was a wet morning in Lambourn today and the weather curtailed some of the afternoon activities of the Open Day, such as the showjumping. However, we were still treated to a brilliant display by the Household Cavalry. As always, the stars of the show were the horses - although A.P. McCoy, Mick Fitzgerald and John Francome were all there to support the event. Some pictures above.

Lambourn Open Day on Good Friday

If you are looking for an outing over Easter, the Open Day at Lambourn is always a good event and I have been to it many times over the years. Money raised goes toward the Lambourn Valley Housing Trust for stable staff and the Thames Valley and Chiltern Air Ambulance Trust.

On Good Friday morning (8:30am - 1pm), you are able to look around almost 30 racing yards in the Lambourn area and visit places like the veterinary hospital and the hydrotherapy pool. In the afternoon (1pm- 5pm), there is then a programme of events which includes a parade of famous horses, show jumping and entertainment/trade stalls.

See here for full details.

Congratulations to the LHC

At about midday, the Large Hadron Collider today achieved a new world record energy - 7 Tera electon Volts - for colliding protons. This is the start of 18-24 months of operation to start studying the fundamental structure of matter at this new energy.

Congratulations to all of the scientists in Oxfordshire, CERN and around the world who contributed to this huge effort. See here for my last post on the LHC and the Oxfordshire connection.

Oxford Literary Festival - Final Day

Today was the final day of the Oxford Literary Festival and I went along to see Booker Prize winning author Hilary Mantel interviewed by P.D. James in the Sheldonian Theatre. Both are shown in the photo opposite just before the event. Of course, the main topic of the interview and the subsequent question session was the historical novel Wolf Hall about the life of Thomas Cromwell and the Tudor court of Henry VIII. There were fascinating insights into how Hilary captured the life and interactions of the characters and how she filled in the parts missing from historical research. The book is 650 pages long and is an astonishing piece of work. For those awaiting more, she has already started writing the sequel called The Mirror and the Light.

Wantage, of course, is planning its very own Betjeman Festival in September 2011 - a fantastic opportunity to put the town on the map with its literary connections. In the run up to the festival, there are also some pre-festival events starting as early as April of this year. See the festival website here for details.

Street Pastors Training

Yesterday I ran a training session for the Wantage and Grove street pastors. They have to undergo quite an extensive training schedule, which is covered in their manual and includes all their roles and responsibilities. My section was entitled 'Knowing Your Community' so I was able to introduce them to the world of politics and policies, social exclusion and the whole dynamics of community planning.

It was a very lively affair with everyone having their say and I was told it was enjoyed by all. Street Pastors have been tremendously successful in both Grove and Wantage in helping our young people late into the night at weekends when they are a bit worse for wear by the excesses of alcohol! Lollipops and flip flops are the solution I am told, and a call home if needed. Readers of my blog will remember their launch event back in June last year.

The race is on ...

No, not the General Election - yet - but for the Formula 1 championship with the season well and truly underway after the opening GP in Bahrain and this weekend's Australian GP.

Time for a word of support for local team Williams F1 who moved to Grove in 1996 from their old headquarters in Didcot. The conference centre situated at the HQ is a unique venue as it also houses the fascinating collection of Williams racing cars. You can see me in one of them in the sidebar photo from a previous event held there.

The site in Grove was previously home to Janssen Pharmaceuticals, but one thing that has remained the same is the iconic avenue of beautiful trees shown in this photo after a winter trim. More news on the team and details about the facilities can be found here. There is also a Twitter feed here, which is useful for coverage of race weekends.

Sweatbox Update

This afternoon we met to discuss how to move forward with the re-opening of the Sweatbox as a music venue on Fridays. This was a closed meeting with officers of the County Council, youth workers, police, head of the school, street pastors and Cabinet member. The review continues and it is hoped this will be completed by the end of April, by which time we shall meet again to hear the outcome.

Meanwhile we decided to set a date for the new 'relaunch' on 7th May. There will be all the usual security at the entrance including bag searches but no breathalysers. It is hoped that this will be a positive step forward to ensure our young people continue to have somewhere they want to go on Friday nights, in a safe and enjoyable environment.

Fire Service Cover Dispute

Oxfordshire firefighters were out in force with placards and banners at County Hall this lunchtime to lobby councillors about new measures due to be implemented as part of the Fire Authority's Integrated Risk Management Action Plan 2010-11. This decision was taken at today's Cabinet meeting.

I went outside to talk to them to hear their views. Firefighters are concerned that residents of Abingdon and Didcot will have a reduced service under the new plans, and response times will be delayed, especially at weekends. The idea behind the plan is that there will be increased cover in some of Oxfordshire's rural communities, and some of us were shocked to hear that some areas, particularly in West Oxfordshire were not covered under the present system. More retained firefighters rather than full-time officers would be employed under the new scheme.

Despite the protest, and speakers at Cabinet, the vote to go through with the plan was unanimous with all Cabinet members approving the scheme.

Sweatbox Meeting

Tonight I attended the meeting to decide on the future of the Friday night sessions at The Sweatbox in Wantage. It was a very confrontational-style meeting which was a pity because many of the questions asked by the very concerned audience were not fully answered. We still never found out what wasn't 'safe' about the venue and why the music sessions which have been happening over the last 5 years were suddenly stopped without a proper explanation.

The 'Sweaty' relaunch event was supposed to have added security measures to make it safer for our local young people to go along to it. They had won a grant of £5000 of taxpayers' money through the County Council's 'Chill Out Fund' to buy the new sound and lighting equipment to give the atmosphere a 'night club' feel but they are now unable to use it! The event had the backing of the school, the police, the street pastors and the whole community and the sudden closure has caused much upset . Sadly the website says it all.

This Friday will still open hopefully, but without the music, so I hope there will not be lots of disappointed youngsters on our streets. Somehow I can't help feeling there has been a complete breakdown in communication. The 'sensational-style' press story on the use of breathalysers didn't help either - one can't help thinking that without that newspaper headline, the event would have just gone ahead as planned. However, there is now a 'review' and we can only hope that this will not take too long, and the 'Sweaty' will be business as usual on Friday nights.

Open Meeting at The Sweatbox

Further to my previous post, there will be an open meeting held this Wednesday 10th March at The Main Hall, East site in Wantage to discuss the way forward with the Friday night sessions. The meeting will be from 6.30pm - 7.30pm and will be chaired by the County Council's Cabinet Member for Children, Young People and Families, Cllr. Louise Chapman. I hope that this will be a constructive meeting and we can open our youth centre again to the benefit of the young people and families of Grove, Wantage and surrounding villages.

Sweatbox Closure

There has been a lot of media attention over the recent closure of our local youth centre, The Sweatbox, based in Wantage. There was to be a re-launch last week, which was postponed when the County Council raised concerns about the use of breathalyser tests at the venue.

Many of us have been concerned about the misuse of alcohol and underage drinking which has been reported at the local Neighbourhood Action Group which I attend, and everyone is hoping for a resolution to the problems as soon as possible. The Friday night sessions are hugely popular with our young people, and we need to see it open again. I have heard this afternoon that the 'Sweaty' (renamed) will now open as usual on Friday March 12th (not as a music event) and there will be a meeting to discuss the issues shortly. I will keep you posted.

Balancing Ponds by Letcombe Brook

The balancing ponds in Grove have started to fill up after recent maintenance work by Thames Water who own them.

The first photo shows the ponds behind Old Mill Hall doing their job with water in them. The second photo shows a muddier pond by Letcombe Walk.

Thames Valley Police set their Budget

This morning at the meeting of the Thames Valley Police Authority, we set our budget for the year allowing for just a 2% increase. This is far lower than other police authorities all over the country, and lower than Oxfordshire County Council's rise last week of 2.75%. There was agreement around the table from all elected members that this was a fair amount which would allow for 27 new police officers across the Force area. It also accounts for efficiency savings across the board. This means council tax payers in Band D properties will pay an extra £3.03 per year or 6p per week for policing in the Thames Valley.

The total police element of council tax for a Band D property in the Thames Valley is £154.30 per year or £2.97 per week.

Grove Works

Those travelling along the A338 near to Williams F1 will have noticed the works that are going on either side of the road. This is to install new bus stops instead of the one opposite The Volunteer that was considered too dangerous.

Works have also commenced to re-install the shelter along Main Street that was damaged by a bus last November - see original post here.

Budget Day at County Hall

Today, the County Council set its budget for the next five years. There will be cuts in spending to try to find over £100 million of savings. There is a danger that some services will be severely affected as 500 posts will be axed. There are certainly difficult times ahead, as I predicted last summer.

In my role as Leader of the Liberal Democrat Opposition, it was my job to propose an alternative budget, which is what we did today. As expected, with a Tory majority, our budget did not get through, but we still needed to give members of the public an idea of what we would have done. We proposed a lower council tax this year with just a 2.5% increase and then retaining that level of increase for the following four years. This would enable our balances to provide for vital Oxfordshire services.

The Tory council tax increase is higher at 2.75% this year and eventually rising to 3.75% in later years. They have a hole in their budget in the medium term because they assume there will be a nil council tax increase in 2011/12 and 2012/13 because a Tory government would be able to somehow find money to increase our grant allocation. Well, considering David Cameron seems to be changing his mind every week about his public spending plans, we did not see this as a viable and sustainable option.

It was a really grumpy council meeting, with disparaging remarks being made. How strange, when I thought all councillors were supposed to be trying to agree the best for the county of Oxfordshire. What a very sad state of affairs!

Charlton Primary School Raises money for Haiti

Pupils at Charlton Primary School in Wantage held a fundraising day on Thursday 28th January for the victims of the Haiti disaster. Children dressed in Carribean or colourful clothes in return for a donation to the fund. The school also held a Bring and Buy sale in the school hall which raised hundreds of pounds. The total raised at the end of the day was a fantastic £720 which was then given to UNICEF to help their work with the people of Haiti.

This is quite an achievement for one of our local primary schools. As I am a governor at the school with responsibility for the PR, it gave me great pleasure today to send in a press release for the local media. The school were able to learn all about the region and the impact of the earthquake and obviously took the fundraising appeal to heart.

Potholes Galore!

There seems to be a plethora of potholes wherever you drive in Oxfordshire - a situation made worse, no doubt, by the recent winter weather.

Please note that you can report potholes and other problems online to the county council at:

http://tinyurl.com/yac4499

New Date for Your Vale - Your Future Consultation

A new date has been fixed for the exhibition on the proposed housing development north east of Wantage. If you will recall, the original event had to be rescheduled due to the snow. Consultation will now take place on Monday 25th January at Charlton Day Centre (next to Charlton Primary School) from 4.30 - 7.30 pm. Hopefully residents will be able to go along and have their say.

Joint Ticketing on the Buses Coming

Today it was announced that two of our main bus companies are joining together to offer joint ticketing in Oxford. Read all about it here

This should make life so much easier for people travelling in and around Oxford, especially during the time when major changes are happening in the city centre under the Transform Oxford scheme. I have been calling for this to happen for a long time, since I first put a motion to the County Council during April 2008. This was reported on my blog and I have had several meetings with people including the bus operators themselves to help make this happen. Let us hope that it won't be too long before we see this Smartcard system expand beyond the city into other areas like ours.