Happy New Year!

Merry Christmas

Wishing everyone a very Merry Christmas!

 I hope it is a peaceful and relaxing time for one and all.

Grove Christmas Carol Service

On Thursday evening, it was the annual Grove Christmas Carol Service around the Christmas Tree in Vale Avenue and accompanied by the splendid Wantage Silver Band. The service was led by the Reverend Martin Smithson. This year the collection was in aid of the Grove and Wantage Food Bank. 

Afterwards, we were all kindly invited to tea and a mince pie in the nearby Grove Methodist Church where we could chat and also admire the extended premises.

Concessionary Travel for Unemployed Young People

Last week, I brought a motion to the county council asking for a feasibility study looking into the implications of bringing in concessionary travel for young people in Oxfordshire aged 18-24 who are on Job Seekers' Allowance or apprenticeships.  This was to support young people to get into work by helping with their travel costs when attending interviews, training or work experience. 

Oxfordshire is a rural county, and I know that bus travel particularly around our area can cost nearly £5 a time, making it very expensive for those without their own cars.  Students at King Alfred's Academy had discussed this with me when I visited the school earlier in the month, and a young pupil from Cherwell School in Oxford came to the council meeting to address all councillors in support of my proposal.

Unfortunately, the idea was voted down by the ruling Conservative group, but it was interesting to see a few days later that a scheme introduced by the national bus industry to give job-seeking youngsters a month of free travel had been welcomed by the council on their website.

The ‘Bus for Jobs’ initiative will allow unlimited free travel throughout January for anyone holding a Jobcentre Plus Travel Discount Card, so although not a permanent concession, it will at least help for just one month in the New Year.

Free travel will be available on around 70 per cent of the national bus network, including the majority of local routes in Oxfordshire. The county’s main operators, Oxford Bus Company, Thames Travel, Stagecoach and Arriva have all signed up to the scheme.   Full details of the scheme are available at www.busforus.co.uk

It would be good if this could be allowed to continue, but with tight budgets coming up in February, it will be a difficult challenge for all of us.

Wayland Road Repairs

Over many weeks, residents in Grove had to put up with barriers near to the entrance of Wayland Road. This was because the road was in a bad state and needed repair. The barriers were up for so long, we all wondered when the repairs would actually happen.

When the barriers were suddenly removed, everyone expected to see a good, repaired surface, but the top two photos show that the road was actually left in a very poor condition with a large area suffering from subsidence! Residents quite rightly were mystified as to what was going on and contacted me. Well, I can happily report that after chasing the County Council Highways Department they took swift action and made some repairs as shown in the bottom two photos. I have to say that although this is an improvement there are still cracks in the road and, no doubt, further repairs will be needed in the near future. A false economy in my opinion, especially as a footpath (much used by children and parents to Millbrook School) crosses this area of road.

Wantage Dickensian Evening

Last night, it was the annual Wantage Dickensian Evening and I must say the town centre, especially the Market Square, looked very atmospheric. It was a cold night, but many people turned out to enjoy the stalls and entertainment. Even King Alfred (shown above) looked on approvingly at the new lighting scheme!

King Alfred's New Building Celebrations

This afternoon I had the pleasure of attending King Alfred's East site to see the new building opening celebrations.  It was an ideal opportunity to meet with the students who are all studying hard and enjoying their new surroundings. 

The first building we saw (above left) was the new gym, which means that whatever the weather, the students will be able to keep fit on all the excellent new equipment inside.  They all seemed to be thoroughly enjoying themselves and in the wake of the summer Olympics, the rowing machines were very popular!

The second building (above right) is a very attractive wooden building which holds new classrooms, IT and music rooms.  Again, it was good to see the enthusiasm of the students involved and how much they seemed to be making the most of their new surroundings.  The humanities class were doing an exercise on planning and the Grove Airfield development was under discussion.  The young people were putting forward their own ideas on what they would like to see in the design and layout.  Seeing as it will be their generation who will be experiencing any benefits or problems which may arise, it is an ideal opportunity for them to have their say at this stage.

Grove Airfield and Monks Farm Status

I have heard today that the Grove Airfield planning application for 2,500 houses will now not be considered until the New Year. The Vale Planning Committee was set to meet on 19th December at which the decision was to be made, but because the County Council and the Environment Agency have not yet been able to submit their responses, the meeting had to be postponed. I always thought it was bad timing to have the meeting immediately before Christmas and at a location outside of the Grove-Wantage area.

I have also heard that the proposed development of 133 homes on land west of Old Station Road (see photo above) was considered by the Vale's Planning Committee meeting last night. Unfortunately, despite registered objectors speaking against the development, this application was approved allegedly due to the Vale housing shortage.

This means that we now have developments approved for 200 houses at Stockham Farm in Wantage plus this recent proposal by Monks Farm in Grove.   I am not sure how this affects the airfield development - watch this space! 

Sack House Museum Project

It has been agreed that £1,000 can be used from our County Councillor Community budgets from Cllr. Hannaby and myself to fund the historic Sack House at the Wantage Canal Wharf to have mains electricity to the building.  This will enable the house to be visited as a community museum showing the history of the canal in Wantage and the associated industrial archeology of the area. 

Readers of my blog will remember that I attended the opening of the Sack House in June this year.  The Wilts and Berks Canal Trust are an important community group of volunteers who are committed to making this important recreational facility available for everyone living in the Grove, Wantage and surrounding area.  I look forward to seeing the Sack House again once the power has been connected.