Happy Christmas to Everyone!

This year there were new lights in the tree outside County Hall as shown in the photo above, so I am taking the opportunity of sharing this with everyone at Christmas time.   They look prettier than the picture in reality as they have 'snowdrops' falling which is difficult to capture on my mobile 'phone!

I have only just recovered from a bout of 'flu and I know others have also been suffering, but hopefully now Christmas Eve is here, we can all relax and enjoy the festive spirit.

May I take this opportunity of wishing all residents of Grove and Wantage a very Happy Christmas and a prosperous New Year 2015.  

Hanneys Rail Bridge and Cow Lane Closure

The next bridge to be done by Network Rail for continuing the electrification programme in our area is the Hanneys rail crossing at Cow Lane which is the bridleway shown in the above photo (right).   There are several notices at the entrance to the by-way (photo above left), which explain the temporary closure of the bridge from 20th January until 2nd February 2015 whilst ground investigation works take place.  

The bridge will be reduced in width, but there will be no change to the usage of the bridleway for pedestrians, cyclists, horseriders and farm machinery in the future.  The main works to the bridge itself will take place later in the year.  Dates have not yet been confirmed.

I was delighted to be at the re-opening of the A417 last week after the successful completion of the Challow bridge which happened on schedule as I had posted here previously.

Grants Awarded to Scouts and Cornerstone

I am pleased to report that I have recently had two more small grants approved for local community groups in Grove.  Firstly, the Grove Scout Group has been awarded £250 towards painting the scout hut to preserve it against winter weather.    This means that hopefully the hut will be storm-proof allowing activities to continue without problems.  There are over 160 members of our community who enjoy scouting and we know how valued they are locally.

Indeed, as Christmas approaches, I am sure many of us use their well-used Christmas post service to the local area.  Post boxes are to be found at several locations in both Grove and Wantage including outside Smiths at  Millbrook Square.  This will also raise more funds for their activities throughout the year.

My most recent successful grant application has gone to the Cornerstone Christian Centre for the amount of £170 which will go towards providing a Christmas lunch for lonely, elderly and vulnerable people in the community which will take place in mid-December.   This is an excellent opportunity to provide company and hospitality in the Cornerstone in a friendly and welcoming 'family' environment, and again, I was delighted to support this venture.

There is still a small amount of funding still available in my remaining County Councillor Community budget fund, so please go online here and download a form.  This money will come to an end next February, so needs to be spent as soon as possible.

Challow Bridge Update

I think the photos above provided courtesy of Network Rail say it all.   They show that the old Challow bridge on the A417 (top photo) has been demolished and the second photo shows the new bridge in place.  This work has all been undertaken over weekends in the last few weeks, and I have been assured that progress is going well and re-opening the road still planned for 5th December. For the latest updates from Network Rail click here.

Vegetation Cutback Undertaken

I have been working for several months trying to get overgrown vegetation cut back from key areas around Grove since the summer.  Residents will recall how long it took to get Newlands Drive done as reported here earlier this year.    However, these areas had all been reported to me and County Highways several times, so it has been frustrating to have to wait several months for the work to be completed.

As you will see from the photos above, the route from Grove to Wantage alongside the SSE substation by the recreation ground has been a cause of concern for a long time, as has the footpath along the busy A338 near to the rail bridge.   These stretches, as well as the walkway through from the end of Evenlode Close have now been cleared with money used from my Area Stewardship Fund.

The reason given for these projects taking such a long time, is to try to establish land ownership issues, but in some cases, this is either unclear or unresolved.  Residents need to be aware that they are responsible for vegetation from their properties which overhang the highway or footpaths, and must keep them cut back or they may be recharged from the County Council for undertaking the work.

Electric Blanket Testing in Wantage

Oxfordshire Trading Standards will once again be offering free electric blanket checks to residents this year. Working in partnership with Oxfordshire Fire & Rescue & Age UK they will be testing for 10 days in October at 10 different locations across Oxfordshire.

They  will be testing at Wantage Fire Station on Thursday 23^rd  October from 9am. Testing is offered on a first come first served appointment system and the number for booking an appointment is 0845 051 0845 option 4.

This has been a successful campaign for many years, and  up to 100 blankets are tested a day. Last year, 24% of the blankets that were checked were unsafe to use, therefore removing them from circulation and decreasing the risk of fires and injuries. 

I hope that residents will be able to take advantage of this excellent free service.

Freedom of the County

Yesterday, I was delighted to attend the Freedom of the County parade for 4624 Squadron, Royal Auxilliary Air Force, Brize Norton.  They were conferred this honour by the County Council last year in recognition of over thirty years of distinguished service, demonstrating sacrifice and commitment to the defence of the realm and for dedicated support to local charities and communities.

The parade began in St. Giles and ended at County Hall (see photos above), where we were there to welcome them to a reception.  I enjoyed meeting many of them and hearing their individual stories, and it was inspiring to understand how hard they work on behalf of us all.  As reservists, many of them rely on the support of their employers and these can range from the NHS to private companies.  You can read more about it here.

Review of Subsidised Bus Services in Wantage area

There is currently a review being undertaken on the subsidised bus routes in our area.  For full details of the services involved please see the link to the county website here.  The consultation is open now until 15th November, so there is time to ensure that you respond to the future changes which could be made.   With county budgets tight, the amount of money available to subsidise bus routes is decreasing, despite extra housing planned for the area.

Residents will be well aware that we lost our important links from Grove to the Harwell campus, Didcot and Milton Park at the end of last year, so I had tried to help the situation by providing some funding towards a local service as I reported on my blog here.  However, this service will also be under review as it is not clear if I shall have sufficient funds to continue to support this next year.

Looking at the list of the services affected by council subsidies in this review, we need to give our support for the evening and Sunday services run by Stagecoach no.31, and the Whites coaches shopper bus no. 38.  I know that residents greatly value these services and it will be a pity if we lose them because this will be a commercial decision made by the bus companies.  The original decision to abandon Grove was made by Thames Travel when they decided to run their services from Wantage leaving people in the village stranded or having to use other buses to get to the market place.   Please make sure you send in your responses if you value our local bus services.

Network Rail A338 Bridge Drop-in Session

Just a quick reminder for those who may have missed this on my previous blog post, on Thursday 2nd October Network Rail are holding a drop-in session for residents at The Old Mill Hall in Grove from 4 - 7pm.  This will be an opportunity to ask questions regarding the forthcoming works on the A338 bridge by the Volunteer (now an American Diner).

For some reason, the news that the A338 bridge work will not cause lengthy road closures like we are currently experiencing with the A417 has been recycled last week.  However, I reported it first here fresh from our county councillors' Network Rail briefing at County Hall in May.   It was also covered extensively in the local media. 

We had another briefing last week, where, the current programme has been updated, and then this news release was re-issued.  To keep up to date with the whole rail electrification programme, follow their website here.

Grant to Wantage & Grove First Responders

I am pleased to report that I have given a grant of £2,000 from my County Councillor Community budget towards a new medical kit and defibrillator for the Wantage and Grove Community First Responders.  This group of volunteers currently respond to between 40 and 50 life threatening '999' calls each month which can vary from cardiac arrests to breathing problems and convulsions.  

The group have to rely solely on the generosity of the community and local organisations who support them to help raise funds to buy equipment and replace old kit.  There are currently 12 responders, but there were only 6 medical kits to go around, so this grant will buy a complete new kit to be in use.  

The First Responders are a group of local volunteers who provide emergency life support to the local community whilst the ambulance despatched by South Central Ambulance Service is on route.  We all know how important it is to ensure that life-threatening situations are dealt with quickly and so I hope this will help this valuable cause.

I do still have some small funds available if there are any further community groups who would wish to apply.  You can find out more informataion and download a form via the County website here.

Newlands Drive Vegetation Cut Back

At long last, the vegetation alongside Newlands Drive in Grove has been cut back after months of chasing with the County Highways officers.  I ordered this work to be done right back in January this year, because we had hoped that it would be ready for the grass-cutting of the verge which was to start in the spring.  Unfortunately,  after chasing it some weeks later, we were told that it could not be done due to the nesting birds, but even after the birds had flown their nests, there was still no sign of anything being done!  

This week I went to visit the Highways Depot in Drayton to see how highways maintenance work is done, and we visited a number of areas including Ham Road in Wantage, where potholes were being repaired.   I reported how long this work had been waiting, and discovered that there does not appear to be a programme of works for vegetation cutback, so no wonder orders get lost in the system!  However, I was promised this would be done with immediate effect and that I should see it completed by Friday.  These photographs were taken on Friday evening, so it was clear that by leaving it so long it was a huge task to complete, as some of the brambles had been growing into the road.  This had made it dangerous, especially on the corners, where vehicles were swerving into the centre of the road to avoid getting scratched.

When attending my monthly surgery on Saturday morning in the library, I was alerted by residents to several other areas of vegetation cutback which are long overdue, so I will be chasing these again now.  I have been told that I have just over £12,000 to spend on highways works in the area, which is not much given the amount of projects which need completing.  This  includes gulley emptying, weed killing as well as vegetation cut back and footpath maintenance, so it will be a big task to try and prioritise. I have already promised the parish council that I will contribute to the village weed killing, as I have done for the past few years.  I shall continue to keep you posted on this.

A417 Closure Coming Up

I wish to remind residents that the closure of the A417 towards Faringdon is taking place this week on 6th September, so motorists need to plan their journeys well in advance.  I have reported on this here. This is to allow Network Rail to undertake the  work at Challow Bridge to enable the electrification project to go ahead.  You can read the county press release here

There is also a planned drop-in session on Thursday 2nd October at the Old Mill Hall in Grove from 4 - 7pm for residents to ask questions and see the work planned for the A338 bridge next to The Volunteer.   Preparatory  work is going ahead in November with the minimum of closures as already reported in my blog post here with the work to be completed in the summer of next year.

Fire Service Strike Action

This is to alert residents that industrial strike action is due to take place shortly by our County Fire & Rescue Service, but there will be cover in place.    This is due to a national dispute between the union and central government over pension reforms and will take place from midday to 2pm and 10.59pm to 11.59pm each day from Saturday 9 August to Saturday 16 August.  The full story is available at the County Council website here for further information.

Major Roadworks taking place on A420 at Shrivenham

This is to remind residents that work to improve the A420 Shrivenham Bypass is to start next week on 23 July. The road will be completely closed between Watchfield Roundabout and Lower Bourton Junction and diversions will be in place.  The closure is expected to last for 7 weeks, however the County Council has pledged that crews will work extra shifts to get the job done as quickly as possible. You can read the full press release here.

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Public Meeting in Faringdon on A417 Bridge Closure

I would like to alert residents to a public meeting being held next Tuesday 22nd July at 7pm at The Corn Exchange in Faringdon about the forthcoming closure of the A417 for four months later this year.  This will be attended by staff from Network Rail, officers and councillors of the County Council and Faringdon town councillors.  It will be an opportunity for members of the public to ask questions and find out the plans for the diversion routes when the A417 is closed for the bridge to be raised at Challow for the Great Western Electrification project.  See my previous blog post here.

Fun at Wantage Memorial Park

As I had previously posted on Thursday, there was a Wantage and Grove Play & Activity Day at Manor Road Memorial Park in Wantage for families in the area.  I went along to see the event in action on Saturday afternoon and was delighted to see some of the activities on offer.  As you will see from the photo above of the Graffiti Wall, there had been a lot of budding artists showing off their drawing skills during the day.  I even added my own small contribution (the mini horse's head) - a pre-requirement if you take a photograph of the wall!

There had been a steady flow of children all day long, and everyone had enjoyed the day.  I was pleased that I was able to contribute some of my County Councillor Community budget fund towards the event which was organised by the Oxfordshire Play Association, and hope that we can repeat the venture in future years.  I do still have some small funding available from this year's budget, if anyone knows of a community and/or voluntary organisation needing some financial support.

Grove Challengers Rising Stars

Yesterday, I was delighted to present certificates to the 'Rising Stars' at the Annual Grove Challengers Six-A-Side competion at the Recreation Ground.  These are the youngsters who are coming forward showing their talents in a competition with the same age group from Didcot Town.  It was an excellent event and I am always impressed every year with the skills these young people are showing on the pitch.

I have been able to provide funding from my County Councillors' Community budget towards moveable goalposts, security equipment for the clubhouse, and more recently some new line marking equipment for the pitches, so it was good to see everything in good use and benefitting families in the community.  The weather held off raining for most of the day, so it was good to see everyone enjoying themselves.

Wantage & Grove Play Activity Day

This Saturday 5th July there will be a Play and Activity Day at the Manor Road Memorial Park, Wantage from 11am - 3pm.  This is a FREE EVENT for all families, children and young people of all ages which I have put some of my County Councillor budget funding towards.

Activities include:

• Go Kart Party                                                    
• Body Zorbing
• Graffitti Wall
• Drumming Skills
• Bouldering Wall
• Sports Tasters
• Scrapstore
• DIY Face Painting
• Art & Craft Activities
• Storytelling with Winnie the Witch
• Tricky Trails Biking
• Soft Play 
• Den Making  and much, much more....

Feel free to bring a picnic along as food and refreshments will be available, but need to be purchased.  NO Childcare is provided and there is Disabled parking only on site.  I hope the day will be a success and enjoyed by families in the area.

Connecting Oxfordshire

The Leader of the County Council is arranging a consultation on his vision for transport in Oxfordshire with a series of meetings around the county.  Last night, I attended the one for the Wantage area at The Beacon (formerly Civic Hall) where a number of residents expressed their views. 

There was a lot of support for the re-opening of Grove station, but unfortunately the Leader seems to have given up on the idea because he claims Network Rail do not have it in their investment plans.  Well, it would be helpful if the leadership at County Hall actually showed some enthusiasm for the project.  Residents will know that I have campaigned for many years for this to happen, especially in view of the extra housing numbers projected for the area,  but there does not appear to be the political will to move this on.

There was also concern expressed about the lack of buses in the area, particularly serving the employment sites at Harwell, Didcot and Milton Park, and we were told that we have to wait for the commercial market to pick this up, rather than pump-priming services ahead of future housing development.  

Cycling was mentioned several times, and the lack of a good cycling network - again between Harwell and Wantage, and despite housing developments being approved, no money appears to have been put aside to improve this for our area.

This is an opportunity to make sure you have your say as it is important that residents' views are listened to.  You can do this online at this link, but it must be done by 1st August.

Network Rail Drop in Sessions on A417 Bridge Closure

This is to alert residents that Network Rail will be holding drop-in sessions shortly to answer questions and discuss their plans for the forthcoming closure of the A417 Challow bridge for electrification works on the railway due to go ahead in September this year.  The dates and venues are as follows with both sessions taking place from 4 - 7pm:



           Thursday 26^th June – Faringdon Corn Exchange, Faringdon

Wednesday 2^nd July – Stanford in the Vale Village Hall, Stanford in the Vale
 


 

Neighbourhood Action Day in Grove

This morning I joined forces with other members of the Wantage West Neighbourhood Action Group (NAG) to try to recruit more Neighbourhood Watch co-ordinators and new members to sign up to receive Thames Valley Police Alert messages in Grove.

These alerts are an excellent way of finding out about criminal activities in the area and what is happening with the police team locally.  To register click here.    The alerts can be sent to your mobile 'phone, email address or to your home telephone.  We had a very good response on the doorstep with many people wishing to get involved.  We plan to do more days in the future in other areas.    Today we were focussing on old Grove.

New Harwell/Didcot Bus Service Includes Grove

Thames Travel have announced that their new timetable for the A1 beginning on 9th June will include serving Grove at the beginning and the end of the day.  I hope that this is because they have now seen how the impact of losing bus services to Grove has disadvantaged  the village.

I have been calling on them and the County Council to help restore the services we lost at the end of last year so let us hope that this is just the beginning and more will follow. The A1 service change which will begin next week will stop at Mayfield Avenue in Grove at 06.58am before calling at Wantage and continuing the service to Harwell, Didcot and beyond. On the return journey it will drop off at Mayfield Avenue at 18.55pm for those returning in the evening.

I appreciate that this will still not suit everyone and we are still lacking the continuity of the services we received before, but this does go some way to helping early commuters and those wishing to get home in the evening.  To view the complete timetable see Thames Travel's website, where you can download and print off a copy if you wish.

May I also remind residents that there is still a direct service from Grove to Didcot on Tuesdays and Thursdays from Millbrook shopping centre.  I have placed a copy of the timetable at the bus stop so that passengers can see this. You can also view the times here.

A417 Challow Road Closure

I have heard this week that it has been confirmed that Network Rail intends to close the A417 Challow Road to undertake the bridge work associated with the Great Western Rail electrification project.  At a meeting of all county councillors two weeks ago, we were told that a solution was being sought to undertake the work to the bridge which would cause minimum  disruption similar to the scheme found for the A338.

As my previous blog post reports, we had a good result from our negotiations on the A338 Wantage Road bridge, but sadly this cannot be said for the A417.  The road closure was agreed by senior officers, the Cabinet Member for Transport and the local member for the division in which the bridge is located.  So the fact remains that the road will close from September until December this year, with the main diversion route being the A420 and the A338.  Obviously, local light vehicles will find their own way round through the country lanes and we can only hope that this will not cause mayhem.

The decision was published by Network Rail on their website last week with a direct press release without any consultation with local elected county councillors affected by the route!  So despite their words about 'working with communities', this does not appear to be the case.

The A420 is due to close in July for major roadworks taking place on the Shrivenham bypass so we can only hope that all this work will be completed in time for this road closure, because the official diversion for the A420 closure is going to be the A417!  It will be absolutely crucial that there will be co-ordination going on between Network Rail and the County Council.  Sadly, not much evidence of this so far!

A338 Update on Wantage Road Bridge Rebuild

I attended a briefing for Oxfordshire County Councillors yesterday, where Network Rail confirmed that they have now developed a proposal for the A338 Wantage Road bridge rebuild that will keep the road open.  This scheme will build a brand new bridge alongside the old bridge which will then be demolished once the new bridge is in place.  Obviously, the road will have to be realigned slightly to take account of this, but discussions are ongoing with county officers and Network Rail to ensure that disruption is minimised whilst the work takes place.

We were also assured that they have taken into consideration other highways work being undertaken by Oxfordshire County Council and therefore the Challow Road (A417) and Steventon High Street (B4017) bridges will not be closed at the same time and access for pedestrians will be provided during the work on the bridges.

I understand from the presentation that we were given that all being well, the work will start at the end of this year, with a completion date around May 2015.  However, this timetable could change if further information comes to light which needs to be taken into account.  

We were also assured that residents who live near to the railway line will be notified of the works taking place overnight, and this will happen nearer the time. I have heard reports that the electrification work is done quickly with 1km a day being undertaken in other parts of the country.

I have been campaigning hard to ensure that the best solution possible is undertaken for this work to go ahead which will minimise any road closure, so I was pleased to hear that Network Rail have listened.  I will keep residents informed as soon as I hear further news, but it is good to hear that long road closures are to be avoided.

Art in Ardington

Yesterday was Bank Holiday Monday, so I took the opportunity of visiting Art in Ardington,  which is being held as part of the Oxfordshire Art Weeks festival.  The gallery is open in the Loyd Lindsay Rooms with many paintings and works of art of several artists to view.  There is a delightful walk around the village with a magnificent display of sculptures on display in stunning settings.  Some of these are photographed above as you can see, but there are many more on show which can be purchased if you do get a chance to take a look.

The exhibition is running until 11th May and is open every day, but please check the link above for full details of times and venue.   We are very fortunate to have such an exciting exhibition so close to home, so it really is worth your while going along if you can.

Opening of the Sack House Museum in Wantage

Last Saturday, I had the pleasure of attending the official opening of the Sack House Museum and Wilts and Berks Canal Information Centre in Wantage.  The Wantage Silver Band were out to celebrate the event (see photos above) and along with many of the local volunteers, we were able to look inside at the history of the wharf area before it was developed for housing.   

Cllr. Jenny Hannaby and I contributed some of our County Councillor Community Budget funds towards the lighting inside the Sack House itself and as you will see from the photos above, this was all in good working order on the day!  Brian Stovold has worked hard as the East Vale Branch Chairman to co-ordinate the event on behalf of the Wilts and Berks Canal Trust.  They are always looking for volunteers, so do click on their website link if you wish to get involved.  This link also gives information about the opening hours for the museum and the background.

I should like to use this opportunity to flag up that I have a new pot of money for local community and voluntary groups to bid for in the new budget round, which although reduced to £5,000 per councillor, is still a boost to those who are looking for help. Please contact me at my email address zoe.patrick@oxfordshire.gov.uk if you wish to find out more. I would also urge those interested to contact me sooner rather than later, as funds are allocated on a first come, first served basis.

Royal Visit to Wantage

Yesterday, along with hundreds of residents, I was in Wantage to welcome the Earl and Countess of Wessex who were visiting Oxfordshire as part of Prince Edward's 50th birthday celebrations.  As you will see from the photos above, it was rather a soggy occasion, with umbrellas as much on display as the flags and bunting.  However, this did not detract from the cheerfulness of all around as the Earl and the Countess seemed to enjoy mingling with the crowds.  Cllr. Jenny Hannaby and I were there as county councillors to represent our constituents and you can see us by King Alfred's statue on the right and under our umbrellas in the middle as we await the royal procession.  HRH seemed to be quite impressed with the statue and took a good look at the old King of Wessex standing over us all!

The visit had begun at Dorchester Abbey where they met Ride and Stride volunteers and cut a birthday cake.  They had lunch at Edward Brooks Barracks (Dalton) Abingdon and then went on to King Alfred's Academy to open the new £1m creative arts block.  They then went on to Crown Packaging on the Grove Technology Park before arriving back in the centre of Wantage.  Once in the market square they had a long walkabout and met the Wantage Silver Band (above right) who were playing throughout the occasion, as well as councillors, community groups, schoolchildren and members of the public.

Open Day at Lambourn

On Good Friday, I visited the Lambourn Open Day to see the local racing yards and the events programme in the afternoon.  Nicky Henderson's yard was a real treat where we could look at the wonderful heroes of the racing world, including Bob's Worth, Long Run, Shakalakaboomboom and many others in their stables.  

During the afternoon, we were able to see the parade of the horses including Kauto Star (above middle), Sprinter Sacre, Present View and Toast of New York.  The Household Cavalry (above right) gave a stunning display immaculately performed which was then followed by schooling sessions on the gallops.  The afternoon ended with a show jumping competition with top jockeys and soldiers of The Household Cavalry battling against each other.  Mick Fitzgerald was on hand to provide some of the commentary too.  The weather stayed fine and everyone seemed to enjoy the day.

Full County Council Meeting Webcast

On Tuesday this week it was our full Council meeting which was held at Bodicote House in Banbury at the Cherwell District Council Offices.  You can view the full recorded meeting at the following  link which takes you to the district council website.  Items I spoke on included paying tribute to the late County Councillor and Alderman Charles Shouler, the recent recommendations on the remuneration panel which pays councillors' allowances, questions on the lack of bus services to connect to Didcot, Harwell, Milton Park, infrastructure issues generally including Grove station, the poor state of our roads due to potholes not being repaired, and paying tribute to the emergency services giving us the help in Grove during the flash flood of the Letcombe Brook in Cane Lane.

One of the remarkable events of the afternoon, was our Lib Dem motion about improving air quality under our new powers of public health.  This was successful due to all political groups voting with us, recognising the importance of this issue for Oxfordshire - all except the Conservatives, including the Cabinet Member for Public Health, who voted against it or changed their minds and abstained!  You can see the Chairman's hand go up to vote against, then his face changes as he looked at his group in disarray and his hand goes up in the abstentions.  Remarkable!  Then the Cabinet member  for Public Health walked out of the meeting altogether.  Now there is no overall control at the council, the ruling group will find it very difficult to have their own way.  This is a victory for Oxfordshire residents, as the high pollution levels we are all suffering this week makes air quality a very important public health matter.

Local School Strike Action

There are some local school closures tomorrow due to industrial action by some of the teachers.  Please take a look at the County Council website here.  I note that Millbrook Primary School will be closed all day, some other schools have partial closures, but make sure you check first.

BBC Radio Oxford Coming to Grove!

I was delighted to join Clare Woodling (see photo above) in Millbrook Square this afternoon to talk about the hot topics in Grove.  The BBC are coming to the village this weekend for their Big Tour of Oxfordshire which will be launched LIVE from Millbrook Square this Saturday morning 22nd March between 8am - 10am.  The Tour’s visit will culminate with Malcolm Boyden bringing his show live from  Wheelers Butchers on Friday 28th March.  I do hope that residents will come along to have their say about our community here.

There are huge challenges on the horizon with all the extra housing developments which are planned around us, and I know that residents are rightly concerned about the delivery of infrastructure and how this will change our area.   We discussed the Grove Airfield and Monks Farm proposals, public transport (and lack of!),  the re-opening of the rail station, the effects of the works on the A338 bridge due to the rail electrification project, better broadband, our local businesses and community and voluntary groups.  There are lots more stories to tell, but please get in touch with Clare at her email: clare.woodling@bbc.co.uk or telephone her on 01865 889099 (mobile 07850 785849) if you have any local issues you would like to discuss.

New Layby in Charlton estate Wantage

I was pleased to see that the above lay-by has now been completed at Harcourt Road in the Charlton estate, Wantage.  Residents may recall that Cllr. Jenny Hannaby and I funded one of these from our Area Stewardship funding last year, and it was so popular that people asked for more!  The verges on the estate get so churned up by the parking of vehicles on the grass that it makes the whole area look very unsightly.  We are hoping that these lay-bys help with this by moving vehicles off the road and helping with road safety for those driving through.

Consultation on Public Rights of Way

The County Council is currently consulting on its draft Rights of Way Management Plan (Rights of Way Improvements Plan 2014 - 2024).  The consultation ends on 19th April 2014, so there is plenty of time to respond, but there are a lot of documents to look at so it will take some time to peruse them all.  The full list can be found here.

There is also a local consultation taking place on the Letcombe Regis Footpath No. 2 and West Challow Footpath No. 14, which is due to a diversion order request by the local landowner.  This particular consultation ends on 4th April and can be viewed here.

With the advent of the beautiful springlike weather over the weekend, I am sure that many of us will feel like heading for the countryside for the fresh air and sunshine.  Hopefully, any suggestions and improvements that can be made to our footpaths and bridleways will be looked at as part of the consultation exercise.

New Housing Strategy for the Vale

I attended a local stakeholder event to hear about the new housing plans for the Vale this week.   This is a result of the latest govenment requirement to undertake a Strategic Housing Market Assessment (SHMA) to assess the amount and type of housing needed in our district and across Oxfordshire.   This has identified a need for up to 20,560 new homes in the Vale between 2011 and 2031.  There is a need to find sites for another 7,430 more homes than originally planned in the previous Local Plan 2013. 

There is now a consultation exercise taking place for the Local Plan 2031 where you can have your say here.  There are a number of exhibitions next week at the following locations:

                        Tuesday 11 March - Abingdon Guildhall exhibition 4pm - 6pm

            Tuesday 11 March - Abingdon Guildhall public meeting 7pm - 9pm

            Wednesday 12 March - Cornertsone, Didcot exhibition 3pm - 7.30pm

            Saturday 15 March - Harwell Community Primary School exhibition 10am - 3pm

            Monday 17 March - St Blaise Primary School, Milton Heights exhibition 4pm - 6pm

            Monday 17 March - De Vere, Milton Hill House public meeting 7pm - 9pm

            Saturday 22 March - Abbey Shopping Centre, Bury St. Abingdon exhibition 10am - 3pm

            Monday 24 March - Shrivenham Memorial Hall exhibition 4pm - 6pm

            Monday 24 March - Shrivenham Memorial Hall public meeting 7pm - 9pm

           Tuesday 25 March - Faringdon Corn Exchange exhibition 3pm - 7.30pm

I hope residents will have a chance to see what is proposed for the area and make comments where necessary.  Fortunately, there has been no additional housing added in the Grove and Wantage area other than the developments already put forward.  I think it is acknowledged that we have reached saturation point!  Concerns were raised at the meeting about the ability of the infrastructure to cope, in particular our roads and schools.  It will be interesting to see the figures for the other districts in Oxfordshire, in particular, Oxford City, where much of the demand for housing is, but very little being built.  

     

Consultation on A34 Chilton Interchange

This is to inform residents that there is an opportunity to comment on the proposed A34 interchange at Chilton here.  This is expected to make it easier for those wishing to access the Harwell/Rutherford site for those travelling on the A34 from the north.   The consultation ends at the end of this week.

A417 Temporary Road Closure on Sunday

A temporary road closure has been arranged to apply to a stretch of the A417, between the A4130 Rowstock Roundabout westwards to a point approx. 100m west of Featherbed Lane whilst urgent coring and survey works are carried out by Oxfordshire County Council.

A temporary notice has been made to implement the temporary closure and will operate from Sunday 23 February 2014, with a duration of 1 day, approximate working times of 8am to 6pm.

Note also that there is an associated closure of Featherbed Lane for the following 4 days,  whilst urgent coring and survey works are carried out by Oxfordshire County Council.

A temporary notice will be made to implement the closure and will operate from Monday 24 February 2014, with an anticipated duration of 5 days.

Crab Hill Development Approved

Last night I attended the Vale's Planning Committee to hear the debate and verdict on the Crab Hill development north east of Wantage.  The area spans both parishes of Grove and Wantage as well as Lockinge on the boundary.  The committee granted approval for the outline development of 1,500 houses which was really no surprise.  There is a package for infrastructure totalling around £32M, but questions still remain around the timely delivery of the Wantage Eastern Link Road which has been talked about so much recently. 

There is also uncertainty about the school places which will be needed because although the first primary school will have to be brought on stream after 350 dwellings are completed, we know there are already shortages of school places in the area now.  Added uncertainty over the delivery of the Grove Secondary School on the airfield site, means that until that is built the capacity of King Alfred's to cope with the extra demand is unknown.

My concern is that this development adds to the 3,000 already approved for our area and the pressure on our already congested roads, and our local facilities will all be stretched, because we know that infrastructure never comes first, but only after the homes are built.  Very challenging times ahead for us all!  The problem is that as long as there is no Local Plan in place, speculative development continues to happen.

There has now been an announcement that there is to be a consultation exercise on the emerging Local Plan with some meetings planned (unfortunately not in Grove or Wantage).  See this link to find out how you can make your comments.

County Council Budget

Yesterday I spent the whole day at County Hall debating the council budget for the next year and the level of council tax which has been set at a 1.99% increase.  This is the amount which has been set by national government before there has to be a public referendum.  I did report the  Talking Oxfordshire events that took place last year, which gave people a chance to have their say and that did result in a U-turn on closing some of our Childrens' Centres.

County Liberal Democrats put forward a set of amendments which you can read in our press release here.  Unfortunately, our proposals were voted down, but it was interesting that the Conservative/Independent Alliance budget only scraped through by 3 votes!  A bit different at the county council now there is no overall control, and perhaps scope in the future for the ruling administration to listen.

There has been some coverage in the local media, but nothing very exciting to report!

Letcombe Brook Levels

At the weekend I took these photos of the Letcombe Brook by the bridge at The Green in Grove as we were anticipating more rain.  As you can see, the brook has been coping well so far given the amount of water which is continuing to pour in.  We did have an emergency situation in Cane Lane the week before when I was woken at 6am by residents who were trapped due to a flash flood.  A car had broken down in the water and this meant people were unable to get out of the lane until the locked barrier had been lifted.

Fortunately, I made a few telephone calls to alert the parish council, who hold the key to the gate and the fire & rescue crew from Wantage came to help elderly residents set up a wall of sandbags to keep them safe.  Fortunately, the brook levels came down, and I checked later both there and in Kingfishers and residents were coping well with the local sandbags provided by the county council.

We will all be keeping our eye on the weather situation on a regular basis.  Please check the county website for details of any local flooding and road closures and the Environment Agency for flood alerts.

Water Danger behind North Drive

I have been contacted by a concerned resident about the deep pools of water in the fields behind North Drive. These excavations were highlighted by our local PCSO in his report in the February issue of the Grove Parish Newsletter. This afternoon, I braved the rain and took a number of photographs including the ones above, which illustrate the problem. After all the recent torrential rain, these excavations have filled up with water and some of them could be very deep. These obviously pose a danger, especially to children, and I warn everyone to keep clear of the pools and not to climb on the surrounding mounds of soil and mud. I have reported this to the Vale of White Horse District Council, as the local planning authority, and requested that action is taken to either fill in the excavations or at least to fence them off as soon as possible with warning signs. 

Some years ago there was a similar problem with trenches that had been dug and, as a then district councillor, I contacted the developer to deal with the issue. The extent of the water this time is much more serious and I hope the council takes prompt action.

More photos can be be found here.   

Grove Library Welcomes Volunteers

Last night I had the pleasure of welcoming over twenty volunteers who have come forward to help keep our library open in Grove following the proposals made by the County Council three years ago to close all but the 'core' libraries in Oxfordshire.  Many will remember the outcry by residents and the public meeting in Grove where the Friends of Grove Library group (FROGs) threw themselves back on the campaign trail.  The group was reformed and began the process of trying to save this valuable service to our community.  See the press story here.

Thankfully, the county backtracked on their proposals and came up with a 'community model' which meant that our branch libraries could stay open with the help of trained volunteers.   We were designated a 'Community Plus' Library which meant that there would always be a member of staff on duty with every volunteer. Thankfully, in Grove, we were fortunate to have many people put themselves forward to help, and last night was a 'training event' which  gave all volunteers a chance to meet one another and learn all aspects of helping in the library.

The event was a huge success and a very enjoyable occasion, as everyone was very excited about this new opportunity.  We have an excellent support team of staff at the County Council who are committed to making this work, offering help and advice all along the way.  Also, our active FROGs team are co-ordinating the rotas, if anyone else would like to get involved.   I think this shows the community spirit we have in Grove which makes us all proud!

Cinema Comes Back to Wantage

On Friday, I had an enjoyable evening at Wantage Civic Hall watching the showing of 'Gravity' on the big screen which had been set up with the support of the Vale of White Horse District Council and the Friends of Wantage Cinema Fund.   

It was in 2005 when the old Regent Cinema closed in the town and despite best efforts to keep it open, it was eventually converted into the Shush nightclub.  It has taken a long time, but finally, although not a replacement commercial cinema, we can hope that at least this venture of showing films once a month will succeed.

There is another Friday evening show on 14th February at 7pm to see 'Philomena' with a Saturday morning session for a children's film on 15th February at 10am.

To find out more, visit the Wantage.com website here and make sure you get your tickets early for the next showings to make sure you are not disappointed! 

A338 Closure at Frilford and Tubney

This is to alert residents that there is a temporary road closure coming up for 1 week from 3rd February 2014 on the A338 from Frilford to Tubney to enable carriageway maintenance works to be carried out.   The alternative route is via the A415 and the A420 and vice versa. 

Exemptions are included for police, fire and ambulance services and for vehicular access to adjacent premises. 

When I travelled through the route today, I noticed that the signs which have been erected there say the closure will only take 5 days, so hopefully not too much disruption.  The road surface in that area has been breaking up for some time, with the frequent temporary patching never lasting too long, so I expect something more substantial is being done.