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."

Closure of Wallingford Street in Wantage

I have just been notified of yet another road closure which will affect residents in our area. Wallingford Street in Wantage is to be closed for carriageway works between the Market Place and Seesen Way roundabout. The road works are programmed to commence on 13th September and are expected to last for 4 weeks. A road closure will be in place for the duration of the works although the actual working hours for the works will be from 07:00 hours until 20:00 hours weekdays only. So, unfortunately, this will mean disruption on two counts during September - not good timing with the schools back after the summer holidays.

A338 Closure

Residents driving into Wantage may already have seen the signs displayed on the A338 warning that the road will be closed between Elms Farm and the Mably Way roundabout for 6 weeks beginning 6th September for roadworks. This will certainly cause disruption for Grove because the proposed diversion will be sending traffic around the village along Oxford Lane, Denchworth Road, Newlands Drive and Mably Way. Residents will find this very disruptive I am sure, and I am trying to find out why the road has to be closed for so long - will keep you posted once I get a reply!

Cornish Connections

I have just returned from holiday in Cornwall staying near to Padstow. We came across the church of St. Enodoc on one of our walks along the coast path and saw the grave of Sir John Betjeman (left) beautifully and intricately carved. This lovely little church was once buried in sand but now it has many visitors to see the famous gravestone of the once Poet Laureate. His mother is also buried here and there is a tablet in memory of his father on the church wall. Apparently on the day his coffin was brought here, it was carried through driving rain on a typically Cornish day. It was gratifying to think of his connection with Wantage and to know when I next visit the Betjeman Park in the town that I have also seen his place of rest by the sea. I am also looking forward to attending many more events organised by the Betjeman Festival.

It is a beautiful spot here where you can walk for miles watching the surf, cliffs and the seabirds. The area hit the news this week because it is near where David Cameron was holidaying with his family when his wife, Samantha was rushed off to give birth to their new baby girl at nearby Truro hospital.

Incinerator for Oxfordshire

Yesterday I was part of the call-in process which was re-examining the County Cabinet's decision to go ahead with their preferred bidder, Viridor to process Oxfordshire's waste. This story has been the subject of previous blog postings, but this time there may not be any turning back. The planning appeal is still part of a public inquiry, but it is unclear what will happen if this is not given the go ahead.

The call-in was a cross-party collaboration, and three of us sat at yesterday's Growth and Infrastructure Scrutiny committee to put our case that this incinerator is not in the best interests of the people of Oxfordshire. However, despite 2 Conservative councillors abstaining and the three of us voting against upholding the Cabinet decision, we lost by 5 votes who agreed that no further action was needed.

Wantage Independent Advice Centre

I attended the AGM of the Independent Advice Centre last night - always a well attended and enjoyable evening where you can catch up on all the latest information. They have a new website, new office manager and several new volunteers. Their voluntary driving scheme is very popular and they have also developed a 'Good Neighbours Scheme'. Their services are also very much in demand since the closure of the Local Services Point. Check out the website to find out more.

Evening with County Youth Orchestra

Last night we were at Oxford Town Hall to see the Oxfordshire Youth Orchestra Gala Concert where they performed The Firebird Suite by Stravinsky and Symphony No. 1 by Mahler. An excellent evening and all credit to the young musicians who are just back from a European Tour. The Oxfordshire Music Service organises this event with a whole host of others over the summer period.

Cuts and more cuts - the pain begins

Today there was a special meeting of the County Council to decide on the first raft of budget cuts to be implemented this year. Nearly 11 million pounds worth of savings have got to be made and the Cabinet had considered where the axe was likely to fall last week. Today it was the turn of the council. In opposition, I had tabled an amendment which was not to take the cuts in positive action for young people (78K), teenage pregnancy (25K) and the road safety partnership (300K). I had put forward that the savings could be made by charging for on-street parking in the evenings and weekends (300K) and to reduce money spent on glossy publicity and communications (103K). Unfortunately I was told that this amendment could not be allowed because it constituted a policy change. So it looks like despite our best efforts, the speed cameras will be switched off this weekend and there is the daunting prospect of possibly more road casualties.

I was on the radio talking about this at 7.30am this morning, so an early start to the day at the BBC Radio Oxford studio in Summertown. Then onto County Hall where the decision was made at a special cabinet meeting to award the incinerator tender to Viridor ... this was decided last year but this afternoon's meeting is now set to drive this forward even though planning permission has not been granted for the site at Ardley!

But back to the budget cuts. Even though my amendment was not accepted, the full council meeting debated the cuts and then rubber stamped the lot, with warnings of more to come. Well I had warned this time last year that there would be difficult times ahead - but did we realise how difficult it would be? Also in the news today is the latest casualty of the cuts in the government grant programme to pre-school buildings and unfortunately Grovelands Playgroup is one of them - so hitting really close to home. There will be more to come I am sure.

Deputy Prime Minister visits Abingdon

I went along to see Nick Clegg's first "town hall meeting" in Abingdon this afternoon where it was a full house at the Guildhall for an open question and answer session with the public.

It was obvious from the outset that there would not be a lack of questions and the session could easily have gone on for several hours judging by the hands raised in anticipation of the roving microphone. The questions ranged over national and local issues from education policy to the impact of the cuts and how businesses can thrive in the recession.

Public Petitions Update from the Vale

If you read my blog post about how high (over 15,000 signatures!) the threshold was set at the County Council for presenting a petition to trigger a debate at full council, you should be pleased to discover that the Vale of White Horse District Council set a much more sensible number. At the last full Council meeting on 14th July, Liberal Democrats' amendment set the amount at 500 signatures to be consistent with our amendment at the County Council. Fortunately, Liberal Democrats run the Vale of White Horse District Council and as such the amendment was accepted - as it turned out supported by Conservatives in opposition! Pity they don't liaise with their colleagues at County Hall.

And All Change at the NHS

Today I was at the LGA (Local Government Association) for a meeting of the Community Wellbeing Board, which looks at social care and health issues all over the country. We were scrutinising the new plans for the National Health Service which is aiming to abolish Strategic Health Authorities, Primary Care Trusts and the Joint Health Overview Committees run by County Councils. There are concerns how the new system will work, especially the new commissioning role of GP's which will replace the role of the PCTs. Healthwatch is supposed to replace JHOSCs and the LINKs and local authorities are expected to take over the role of Public Health.

This afternoon there was a Health Summit at which Lib Dem minister for social care Paul Burstow MP came to speak to us followed by a very lively question and answer session. We await further developments but if you wish to read the white paper it can be found here

All Change for Carers

There are over 60,000 carers in Oxfordshire, all of them our unsung heroes looking after their loved ones. Currently there are 3 Carers centres in the county, one in Didcot, one in Oxford and the other in Banbury. At yesterday's Cabinet meeting at the County Council it was decided that these would have to close and instead there would be a call centre and outreach workers to man the service. The aim is to reach more carers particularly in the rural areas. I went along to speak and ask some questions about how this call centre will work, what will be the staffing ratio and to see if this was merely a cost-cutting exercise. It is hard to tell, but the recommendation was voted through. Let us hope this new system will work.