Wantage Day Centre Re-launch

I attended this event last night to see Wantage Day Centre and many of their clients enjoying an evening together.  It was an excellent meeting and good to network with all the staff, volunteers and other representatives of the community.  We need to ensure that this excellent facility remains in Wantage for the benefit of the whole area and I know it is very much valued by all.  We heard that the centre had been threatened with closure recently, but we are working hard to ensure that this does not happen.  Meanwhile, if there is anyone who would like to secure a place at the day centre and would like to visit, contact Social and Health Care on 0845 050 7666.

Wallingford Street Closure Postponed

Just a quick update to let residents know that Wallingford Street in Wantage will not be closed after all as expected on 29th September.   This has been cancelled and I will be notified if any future closure will be planned.

Many Meetings

This week has been so busy with many meetings sometimes several in one day.  However, amongst the most important ones was the County Council meeting on Tuesday where a whole raft of items were up for discussion.  Liberal Democrats had put foward a motion on the East West Rail link calling for the County to push the government to ensure the project is included in the next High Level Output Specification to be published in 2013.  This is the government's blueprint for investment in rail services across the UK.  We are keen to ensure that this important public transport corridor is part of the nation's transport planning for the future, and it will be of enormous economic benefit to our area.  Read more about it here.

Wednesday and Thursday I attended several briefings from officers on all the latest developments in childrens services, environmental and transport issues and the budget.  Then last night in Grove, we had another public meeting to discuss the latest library developments, in particular, the County Council's plans to bring in volunteers to help run local library services in areas which had previously been threatened with closure.  We had a lively debate and a few people did express an interest in coming forward.  However, there are still questions to be asked especially around the training and management of the various volunteers which will need to be addressed.

Wantage Road Closures

There are two road closures coming up in Wantage shortly.  On 19th September, Mill Streeet will be closed between Camel crossroads (Denchworth Road) and The Wharf (eastside) for one week for carriageway resurfacing.  A signed diversion route will be in place for motorists to follow.  Gatemen will be positioned at either end of the closed road to redirect traffic.  Access for residents and businesses will be maintained, though there may be long delays during the working day for this.

The other road closure will be Wallingford Street which will be closed on 29th and 30th September - again this is due to carriageway resurfacing.  The alternative route for traffic affected by the closure is via Ormond Road, Newbury Street and Market Place and vice versa.

Local Bus Subsidies Agreed

Last week at the Transport Decisions Committee it was agreed by the County Council's Cabinet Member for Transport to award contracts for subsidising some of our local evening and weekend services.  If you recall, there was a consultation on these services earlier in the year - see here.  This will mean that our 31 Stagecoach buses to Oxford in the evenings will be maintained as an hourly service which is of great value to everyone wishing to travel home after a theatre/concert visit or from travelling further afield via. trains and airports.  Other services which will continue to be subsidised are the 32 buses to Harwell and Didcot, 36 buses to Milton Park and Didcot (via Steventon) and the 38 Town Service.

The Wantage IAC (Independent Advice Centre) had also put in an increased bid for continuing with their valuable community car scheme.  Unfortunately, the decision on this grant has been deferred until a review has been done on all transport schemes at the County Council.  I hope this uncertainty will not affect the running of the scheme.