Denchworth Road Closure and Potholes

Advance warning that the part of the Denchworth Road between Mably Way and Newlands Drive will be closed for 3 days from 14 January for maintenance works. This is the piece of road that divides the old airfield and Wasbrough Field and, despite various attempts at patching, has been in need of attention for some time (see photos above). There will be the usual exemptions for emergency vehicles.

On the subject of roads, I was interested to read the other day that there is no national definition of a pothole and hence they cannot be accurately counted! This was revealed in the Progress Report of the Government Potholes Review commissioned by Norman Baker as Transport Minister. As far as I know, Oxfordshire County Council uses a depth of 40mm and a diameter of 150mm for a pothole to be investigated (see here).

Strangely, back in 1967, John Lennon seemed to have no such problem....

     Four thousand holes in Blackburn, Lancashire

     And though the holes were rather small

     They had to count them all

     Now they know how many holes it takes to fill the Albert Hall

South Pacific in Oxford

I went to the New Theatre in Oxford last night to see Rodgers and Hammerstein's fabulous musical South Pacific which was performed by  the Lincoln Center Theatre under the direction of André Bishop.  The theatre is one of New York's favourite not-for-profit theatres, now celebrating its 27th year, and tours around the world including Broadway.

I particularly enjoyed the old favourites Bali Ha'i, Happy Talk and Some Enchanted Evening.  The performances by the cast including the songs were excellent.  Bloody Mary did not let us down as one of the stars of the evening. The show is running until 31st December.

Merry Christmas

Wishing everyone a very Merry Christmas. I hope you all have a peaceful and relaxing time.

Grove Carol Service

Tonight was the Grove carol service, which was held around the Christmas tree at the end of Vale Avenue.  It was a mild evening, unlike last year when we were standing in the snow.  There was a good turnout and tonight the collection was for the Grove and Wantage Food Bank.  The Chairman of Grove Parish Council introduced the service which was officiated by the Rev. John Robertson from Grove Parish Church. The Wantage Silver Band were there and as usual did us proud (see photo above).

Afterwards we were invited over to the new Methodist Church building for coffee, tea and mince pies.  The extra room and new kitchen and toilet facilities are excellent and will be a bonus for groups who meet in the church hall.  Returning back home to continue with Christmas preparations - seems to come round more quickly every year.

No Joint Ticketing for Grove and Wantage

Today, I put a motion to the full County Council calling for the joint ticketing system, which was introduced in Oxford at the beginning of this year, to be extended to our area. This was reported here.  I was hoping that, as this has been operational for some time in the city, there was a real opportunity to take this forward to other areas in the county where more than one bus operator is working.

Readers of my blog will know that I have been campaigning for this to happen for some time. Many residents have said to me how much easier it would be for them if they could travel on any of our bus companies and be able to use one return ticket for both journeys, rather than having to buy a separate ticket if another operator turns up.  We currently have both Stagecoach and Thames Travel who operate commercial services in our area, and both of these companies are signed up to the Quality Bus Partnership in Oxford, which allows the council to 'broker' the services which are provided and ensure that this can happen.

Indeed, I have experienced first-hand how well the service works in Oxford when I have used the buses within the city.  You can buy your return ticket and it clearly states on it that it can be used with Stagecoach, Oxford Bus Company and Thames Travel.

Unfortunately, for some reason which I do not understand, the Conservative ruling group at the County Council voted it down.  Everyone else supported it.  The Leader of the Council tried to make some vague excuses as to why it couldn't happen, but no explanation was forthcoming.  I did remind them that it was the same Conservative group who argued it couldn't happen before, and yet it all did happen in the city despite their previous negative reaction.

This would have helped improve public transport, help our carbon footprint, bring better value for money and above all give bus passengers a hassle-free experience.   What a pity our administration at the County Council has no desire try to improve public transport across Oxfordshire.

Grove Library Decision

This afternoon I went to address the special Cabinet meeting which was to decide on the future of Oxfordshire's libraries.  You can see the report in the link on my previous blog post here.

As I pointed out in my speech, we have gone from a situation a year ago where we were threatened with closure to a position now where we have been designated a Community Plus Library.  This means that our library stays open as usual, however, we will have two thirds paid staff and one third volunteers.  Hopefully, this should mean that there will always be a paid member of staff in the library to support any volunteers.

I have met with the Friends of Grove Library group (FROGs) on many occasions where we have discussed the proposals with the Cabinet member and officers from the council and it is hoped that we will be able to find a local solution which will be of benefit to everyone in the community.  There was some discussion today about the possibility that with volunteers, we may even be able to have longer opening times, especially during the weekends when more people are available to help.

I emphasised the point that with future housing development planned that the library status will need to be upgraded, and assurances were given that a review would certainly happen in four years time and earlier if housing growth had taken place in the meantime.

The Coming of Christmas

Tonight, I attended "The Coming of Christmas" - a candelit evening of Christmas music and readings at Dorchester Abbey with the Choir of New College, Oxford. There were a number of readings by Imogen Stubbs and Dominic West  (pictured above). This excellent event is organised annually to raise funds for the Hft charity.

Green Light for Charlton Primary School Extension

I have just come back from the County Council's Planning and Regulation Committee where Charlton Primary School's extension has been given the go ahead.   I went along to speak and give my support both as local councillor and a governor at the school.  This is excellent news for the area as we have been aware for some time now that admissions for places have been full at many of our local primary schools.  The new extension will provide a new 2 classroom Foundation Stage Building located to the rear of the school.  This will involve the removal of a temporary building and the outdoor swimming pool and changing rooms.

Obviously, it will be a shame to lose the swimming pool, but this would have become a significant cost to the school as time goes on.  Also, as an outdoor pool it has had limited use, and the school, along with others in the area do use the local leisure centre indoor pool in Wantage for its swimming lessons.  There has been significant consultation and engagement locally and I am sure that the whole community will see the benefits of having an increase in numbers at the school.  The intake will now go from 45 to 60 pupils in the first year so there will be a two-form entry right from the start and is due to be open in time for September 2012.

Wantage Dickensian Evening

Last night, it was the annual Dickensian evening in Wantage. It seems to get bigger and attract more people every year. There were a few spots of rain, but the weather held and everyone clearly enjoyed themselves. The collage of photos above give an idea of the atmosphere in and around the Market Square.

Grove Library Latest

Today, I have been involved in a briefing regarding the future of Oxfordshire libraries which is due to come before a special Cabinet meeting on Monday 12th December at 1pm.  The agenda is now published on the County Council's website and there is a press release here.  Grove is classified as a Community Plus library which means that under these new proposals, the library would be staffed by two-thirds council paid staff and one-third by volunteers.

This should be good news for Grove because I would hope that we can find enough volunteers to help run our local library as I know how much residents value this important service.  I shall be working with the Friends of Grove Library group (FROGs) over the forthcoming months to ensure they are supported in trying to get the best for our community.  As a founder member of this group, I know they are in a strong position and their willingness to co-operate with the council has been recognised.

Hidden Trail in Wantage

This is an exhibition I visited yesterday at the Vale and Downland Museum in Wantage which was put together by five young individual artists from the local area supported by the Oxfordshire Youth Arts Partnership Trust.

Hidden Trail is part of a wider project.  The Heritage Lottery Fund awarded OYAP Trust a grant to work with young people in Witney, Woodstock and Wantage to explore the secrets and treasures of the local towns.  This is a partnership beetween OYAP Trust, The Vale and Downland Museum, The Oxfordshire Museum and Cogges which inpires young people to explore the county's heritage.  It was an excellent exhibition as you can see from the photos above and the culmination was to go underground in the cellars of the The King Alfred's Head in Wantage where you can see the tunnels in the last of the photos above.

The Hidden Trail will finish on Sunday 4th December, but certainly worth a visit if you can spare the time.