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."