Mill Street Closure in Wantage

This is to inform everyone that Mill Street in Wantage will be closed on Monday 30th September for three weeks due to sewer repairs.  I am sure this will be an inconvenience to many of us during this time, but essential that these works go ahead for obvious reasons!  I am hoping that diversion notices will be put in place, but best to avoid if possible. 

Access will be maintained for emergency service vehicles and those residents within the closure area, subject to the progress of the works.

Hole Finally Repaired at Wick Green

 

This is a photograph of a hole next to a drain cover in Wick Green which a resident reported to me at my last surgery.  He had reported this over a year ago and it has taken this long to eventually get repaired, but meantime the original markings had worn off.  I have spent a lot of time this week trying to chase up on a number of casework issues like this and thankfully it has now been dealt with before there was an accident. These new multi-coloured markings were a  sight to behold, so I had to take this photo!

The Highways contract at the County Council has now been taken over by a new company called Skanska, and we are all hoping that there will be some improvements made to the poor service we have been receiving up until now.  We shall wait and see, but if residents do have any potholes or pavement repairs they need to report, you can either do it directly at the website here or let me know and I shall report it for you

Crab Hill Exhibitions Coming Up in Grove and Wantage

This is to alert residents of two exhibitions coming up regarding the Crab Hill housing development proposals north east of Wantage. These will take place as follows:  

Thursday 12th September 5 - 8pm at Old Mill Hall in Grove 

Tuesday 17th September 5 - 8pm at Wantage Civic Hall 

I hope that people will be able to go along to one of these events to see what is planned and to ask questions of those involved.

New Footpath by Old Mill Hall Completed

This is a photo of the new footpath which has been reinstated by the side of Old Mill Hall in Grove which is very well used by all our residents going to the school, library, the hall itself and all the facilities in School Lane by the car park.  I was able to fund this improvement with £5,000 from last year's Area Stewardship Fund.  You can see my previous post and photo here.

We have funds to spend this year, though not quite so much as previously, and I have put forward some proposals for improvements based on residents' local concerns.  Once I have these costed and approved I will post on this blog.

A reminder that my monthly surgeries will continue tomorrow (Saturday 7th September) after the summer break, so I shall be in Grove Library from 10.30am until 11.30am, if anyone would like to come along to discuss any issues of concern.

Councillor Community Budget Available

Readers of this blog will know that last year I had a budget of £10,000 to spend on voluntary and community projects in Grove and Wantage. Many local organisations benefitted from this including the Independent Advice Centre, Grove Challengers, Grovelands Playgroup, Sweatbox, Wantage Air Training Corps, The Vale and Downland Museum, Wilts and Berks Canal Sackhouse project, Friends of Grove Library toddler computer, South and Vale young carers and the Wantage Betjeman Literary Festival.

I now have another £10,000 to allocate this year and I would like to take this opportunity of raising this possibility again.  So far, I have given a small grant to the Oasis project which ran a fun day for local autistic children at the Sweatbox in July. The photo above shows the displays on offer for the 'Bright Sparks' hands-on science part of the afternoon, where I went along to see the event in progress. It was a great success and I would like to ensure that any organisation working locally to support our community is aware that funding is available to help make things happen. 

To apply, you can do so online at this link  http://www.oxfordshire.gov.uk/cms/content/councillor-community-budgets or otherwise you can contact me at zoe.patrick@oxfordshire.gov.uk to find out more.

WaGCG Garden Party at Ardington House

This afternoon, I attended the excellent Garden Party arranged by the Wantage and Grove Campaign Group (WaGCG) in the beautiful grounds of Ardington House. This was a fund raising event and in the marquee by the lake we were treated to tea, cakes, a raffle and entertainment by Catherine Bulpitt, Flower of the Quern, Shotgun Weather Ferret and Laura Manning & David Lyons. Congratulations to Julie Mabberley and the whole team for the organisation of this fantastic event.

Back to Business - Grove Footpath Repairs

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I have just returned from holiday and have been trying to catch up - not helped by my broadband not working both before and after I was away!  Apologies for being unable to post to this blog for those of you looking for updates.

I was at Grove Library yesterday afternoon to do the storytime session and noticed that the diagonal footpath by the Old Mill Hall (above) is being repaired at long last.  I was able to secure £5000 funding from my Area Stewardship budget towards this well-used path to ensure that it was brought up to a good standard, having received many complaints from residents about the poor state it was in.  The path is the responsibility of Grove Parish Council, so they were able to go ahead and get a contractor in to do the work.  I was pleased to see them on site yesterday starting the repairs.  I look forward to seeing it completed, hopefully before the end of the school holidays.

Housing Infrastructure Needs Urgent Solutions

Yesterday my motion to the County Council regarding housing development being planned in a sustainable way with infrastructure in place at an early stage was passed unanimously. I had hoped that this would happen in May before the County elections, but unfortunately the meeting ran out of time and it had to wait for the next Council meeting to be debated. 

Having been delighted to retain my seat as County Councillor for Grove and Wantage, it has been the first opportunity to bring this issue back on the agenda. At the Council meeting yesterday, the Wantage and Grove Campaign Group also presented a petition on the same subject which was very timely. A resident from Woodstock also came to speak to the council in support of my motion.

As residents will be aware, the Grove Airfield development has still not yet started, but more housing developments are being given planning permission in the area by the Vale of White Horse District Council.  We are all aware of the challenges we face regarding the transport network and the demand for local school places continues to grow.    My motion to the Council is "urging the Cabinet to take heed of these problems and to work with officers to find urgent solutions to this issue. This will include closer working with district planning officers and improved liaison with local members."

I shall continue to press for this at every opportunity to ensure our concerns are heard.

Denchworth Road Closure Anticipated

This notice has been in place for some time in anticipation of a road closure sometime this week.  Today I went out to investigate, but there is no activity about.  I expect work to be carried out on this part of the highway soon.  I have also asked that they do the white line refeshment at the junction and the 'Keep Clear' markings and the mini-roundabout at the junction with Brereton Drive.

Stockham Farm Housing Exhibition

Last night after a busy day, I managed to call in at the Dandara public consultation exhibition regarding another 100 homes on the Stockham Farm site.  The exhibition is taking place at Stockham Primary School and will open again tomorrow if you wish to have another chance to take a look.  It will take place from 10am until 12pm.  You can see the website here.

There were a large number of residents there to discuss the planning issues.  As many people are aware, 200 homes have already been given approval and work to clear the site has begun.  I do hope that there will be some contributions from developers towards highways and transport improvements.  I could not see any evidence of this whilst I was there asking the questions.  I shall be following this up.  300 new homes in this area is not going to come without added cars to our busy roads.  This should certainly be taken into account.

Raising the Flag on Armed Forces Day

Yesterday it was time to celebrate Armed Forces Day at Oxfordshire County Council, so along with many dignitaries, representatives and councillors, we went along to watch the 'Raising of the Flag' ceremony which was held at the Oxford Castle complex next door.  We all came out of the first meeting of the Performance Scrutiny Committee which was taking place next door.

In the afternoon, I went along with some of my council group to visit the University of Oxford Department of Oncology at the Old Road Campus in Headington.  This was an excellent opportunity to see the innovative and inspiring work which is going on in cancer research and treament.  It is the centenary of the Medical Research Council this year, so a good time to celebrate the work which has been undertaken so far.  We have gone a long way over the years and todays' pioneering research will hopefully go even further in the future.  Of course, a lot of this would not happen without generous donations from Cancer Research UK.

Oxford University Encaenia

 Yesterday I had the pleasure of attending the University of Oxford Encaenia at the Sheldonian Theatre (see photo above).  Honorary degrees were presented to The Honourable Andrew Li Kwok Nang, Dame Anne Owers, Professor Anthony Grafton, Sir Tom Stoppard, Professor Ingrid Daubechies, Baroness (Tanni) Grey-Thompson, Mr. Colin Smith and Mr. Murray Perahia.  This was followed by lunch at Rhodes House and a Garden Party at Trinity College. 

It was a beautiful sunny day and it was a wonderful occasion which I am sure many of us will long remember.  

Wantage Summer Festival Opens

This weekend kicked off the start of the 18th Wantage Summer Festival which brought with it some sunny weather too!  Last night,  I attended the Evening Supper Concert in the New Band Hall (see photos above) on Tugwell Field in Wantage where The 12th Street Brass Quintet played some well-loved numbers which everyone enjoyed.  An excellent evening all organised by Wantage Silver Band.

Today was the Ray Collins' Wantage Carnival in the Market Square where the funfair and many  stalls were on display.  There seemed to be a good turnout again, I am sure because of the lovely sunshine.  Money was being raised for Wantage Church of England School, Charlton Acorns pre-school and several other charities.

There are lots of events to go to over the next few weeks so do check out the programme which can be seen here.  Tickets can be booked at the Vale and Downland Museum (Tel: 01235 760176 or 771447).

Local Schools Consultation

This is to flag up a forthcoming consultation on schooling in our area. Wantage and Grove residents are being urged to have their say on plans for new schools to accommodate an expanding population in the coming years.   Two public events are being held to seek local views on the future of primary and secondary education in the area, which is earmarked for significant housing growth.

Wantage and Grove are expected to see up to 5,000 new homes by 2029, with sites including Grove Airfield, Crab Hill (north-east of Wantage) and Monk’s Farm (north of Grove) identified for housing development by Vale of White Horse District Council.   The county council has developed a number of possible options for the number and location of new schools, based on anticipated housing growth, which will be available to view from 3 June at the county website here

Anyone visiting the site – or attending the public events - can submit their views on these options, as well as giving their own suggestions as to what would work best. The consultation runs from 3 June to 15 July.
Drop-in sessions to discuss views directly with council staff are as follows:

5 June from 2pm to 4pm at Grove Village Hall, Main St, Grove

11 June from 6pm to 8pm at Wantage Civic Hall, Portway, Wantage

New Toddler Computer in Grove Library

I called in at Grove Library yesterday to see the brand new Toddler/Children's Computer which has now been installed ready to use (see photo above).  This was all made possible by the funding received from my County Councillor Community budget allocation.  The Friends of Grove Library applied for £750 which paid for the computer, mouse, fun keyboard, table and chair and some learning software to go onto it.  This will be a very welcome addition to our local library and a first in Oxfordshire!  I am looking forward to seeing it in use soon and I am sure many young children will enjoy having their turn.  There is to be an inaugural ceremony on 14th June to which I have been invited to attend.

Cow Lane Resurfaced

I took a walk down Cow Lane this afternoon in the sunshine and was delighted to see what an excellent job has been done to resurface this by-way with money from my Area Stewardship Fund.  I met several cyclists, dog walkers and pedetrians who stopped to say how much they appreciate this excellent new surface.  There was no need for wellingtons, and indeed, one lady was walking in flip-flops!  This new surface makes the route so much more enjoyable and easier for everyone.  The route past the bridge will need to be looked at in the future, once the work has been done on the footbridge due to the electification of the railway which is planned.

New Floor at Grovelands Park Playgroup

Today, I went along to the Fun Day at Grovelands Park Pre-School Playgroup. This was a good opportunity to see the new floor that I contributed to from my County Councillor Community Budget fund.  The new floor is much more serviceable for young children (especially when they have lunch) and replaces a carpeted area. You can see me standing on it in the middle photo and where the floor meets a remaining carpeted section in the right photo. I remember going along to see the opening of the new building at the Grand Launch two years ago - see previous blog post here.  Since then, it has come on in leaps and bounds.

It was lovely to see so many families all enjoying the day and browsing the stalls on offer. This is an excellent facility for Grove and provides much needed play opportunities for our young pre-school children.

New Banner for Wantage ATC 1861 Squadron

Last night Jenny Hannaby and I attended the Annual General Meeting of the Wantage Air Training Corps 1861 Squadron to present their new banner which we had contributed to from our County Councillor Community Budget.  The cadets had won a Thames Valley Wing Banner drill and came second in the Regional Final (South West) and their old banner was in need of replacement.  The £700 we put towards this meant that this splendid new ceremonial standard (see photo above) will now be on parade on many occasions in the future.

Last night they had their annual inspection and passed with flying colours.  It was a lovely sunny evening and parents, cadets and their officers all enjoyed the event.  Their drills were very impressive and the exciting programme of events to come means they have a lot to look forward to.  Jenny and I were delighted to be at this wonderful occasion supporting our young people.

Election Thanks

Many thanks to all who voted for me and Jenny Hannaby in the Oxfordshire County Council elections on Thursday. The count was held on Friday morning and I am happy to report that we successfully retained our seats for Grove and Wantage. We look forward to continuing our work with the local community for the next four years.

The full results are available from here and here.

Harcourt Road Improvements

The photos above show the hardstanding laybys in Harcourt Road that myself and Cllr Jenny Hannaby have funded from our Area Stewardship grants at the County Council.  Residents and commuters have long complained about the poor state of the grass verges, which have become so badly damaged from parked vehicles that the whole area looks unsightly.

It would have been good to do more, but we only have limited funds, and this pot of money will come to an end now as the budget will only be used for road maintenance purposes in future.  Let us hope that it makes travelling through Charlton a little bit easier once the work has been completed.