Proposed extra money for Westway Centre defeated

At the February Vale council meeting, the following amendment to the Tory budget was proposed by Councillor Tony de Vere and seconded by Councillor Debby Hallett:

“This Council wishes to increase its funding to support the vitality of our towns and main shopping areas, including an increased expenditure on Botley.  The revenue expenditure should be increased by a one-off figure of £100,000 for the year 2012/13.”

Cllr De Vere said:

The amendment seeks to increase the financial support to the vitality of our towns and main shopping areas by making an additional £100,000 available – in particularly supporting the retail sector. I am not going to be too specific about what and where, although would highlight previous examples where this Council has supplemented projects undertaken by other authorities in improving the retail and community environment in our shopping areas. I know that my colleague Cllr Hallett will draw your attention to the Botley Westway shopping area and we acknowledge the development plans currently in discussion. There is a £30,000 budget proposal for strategic property advice, but I think this Council must also acknowledge the important community facilities element that goes alongside this development and we must make plans now for the relocation of the parish council’s and community activities at the Seacourt Hall. So I would propose that some of this increased expenditure is used for this cause.

No doubt there are other projects in our three main market towns that would welcome support from this Council and I am convinced that with the advent of New Homes Bonus money, which seeks to reward Councils for their progress in housing growth, we should take the opportunity to plough a small fraction of this money back into our communal shopping areas.

Cllr Hallett said:

North Hinskey and neighbouring Cumnor are about to begin a period of rapid growth, with development expected soon on hundreds of new homes now that Thames Water is addressing the sewerage capacity problems. The Westway Centre is to also have major new development, and to make way for it, the buildings housing Seacourt Hall and our beloved library will be demolished. This amendment would provide money that would go some way to putting in place real plans to ensure the community gets replacement library and community hall.

Council has previously made clear its commitment to the revitalisation of our town centres and retail areas. Westway Centre didn’t benefit from the new free parking scheme, because parking was already free there.

This year, the rate of deterioration of West Way precinct has increased:

  • two units are long-term vacancies, one has serious internal damage that makes it hard to rent;
  • a storm brought down large parts of trees which were found to be diseased and so were removed;
  • police ejected squatters from the flats above the Co-op;
  • outdoor light fixtures have broken and fallen onto the pavements in the precinct.

Shoppers report they no longer feel safe there. In Botley!

North Hinksey is doing its share to meet the Vale’s housing needs. In order to revitalise the main shopping area for thousands of residents, I’d like to see some extra money targeted to bring this shopping area up to the standards the Vale council holds for other shopping areas.

The vote:

All district councillors from Cumnor, Dean Court, Appleton, Kennington, Radley, North Hinksey and Wytham voted for this proposal, except for Cllr Eric Batts of North Hinksey & Wytham, who voted against.

Warm Home Health People Project

Vale of White Horse and South Oxfordshire District Councils are part of the Warm Homes Healthy
People project which has recently been awarded £160,000 from the Department of Health to help
vulnerable people who are struggling to pay their fuel bills.

The project, led by NHS Oxfordshire, brings together a wide range of organisations including all of the Oxfordshire local authorities as well as the Citizens Advice Bureaux, Age UK and the Oxfordshire Rural Community Council. The funding, which has to be spend by the end of March, is being used to provide the following assistance:

• small energy saving home improvements (e.g. draft-proofing) for over 60s;
• benefit entitlement checks for anyone;
• free membership to the ORCC oil bulk-buying scheme for those struggling to afford the cost of heating oil;
• fuel vouchers for benefit recipients and those in fuel poverty;
• food boxes for those struggling to afford or unable to get food.

For more information about the Warm Homes Healthy People project and the help that is available can call the Warm Homes Healthy People Helpline on 0844 887 0005.

Or contact Synthia Sullvan, Energy Officer, 01235 540537, cynthia.sullivan@southandvale.gov.uk

Reprieve for petrol station?

Word from the Vale’s planning officers is that the Seacourt Retail Park redevelopment is proceeding along the lines of an earlier application, approved in 2008, rather than the newer 2010 application that was met with so many objections to the closure of the last petrol station in the area.

The project will see three stores (those once occupied by Allied Carpets and Habitat, plus Homebase) re-vamped and sub-divided into seven stores. It has minor car park changes, but keeps the same overall footprint and traffic flow. The really good news is that they have no plans to close the petrol station.

The approved plans can be seen on the Vale’s planning portal http://bit.ly/wOOSoh).

Win your Council Tax for a year!

Residents are being encouraged to sign up to receive their council tax bill by email to help save money, and those who do will be entered in a draw to have their entire 2012/13 council tax paid for them.

Council has agreed to pay the entire 2012/13 council tax bill for one resident drawn randomly from the e-billing list. To enter the draw, council tax payers need to sign up by Tuesday 31 January.  Send an email to vowh.counciltax@secure.capita.co.uk

Vale House change of use Planning Application withdrawn

After my urging for the owners of Vale House to hold an open community meeting about their planned changes, Ede Builders and Botley Alzheimers Home hosted a Q&A session on 2 Dec 2011. It was well-attended by members of the community, as well as community leaders:  I spotted county councillor Janet Godden, district councillors Eric Batts and  John Woodford, a Cumnor parish councillor, but I didn’t see any North Hinksey parish councillors.

The atmosphere was somewhat heated, as many people expressed their strong concerns and fears about the intended use of the building as an HMO. Most of these concerns can also be seen in the letters posted on the Vale website.

On the 9th of December 2011, Ede withdrew their application. Their withdrawal letter, which can be viewed on the planning web page,  http://bit.ly/sYfMne , says they plan to re-submit quickly, and that they’re likely to request permission to convert to flats.

Once a new Planning Application is received, I’ll post details on this site, on the page called Planning Applications.

Report to North Hinksey Parish Council – 24 Nov 2011

  1. The Vale now stocks some 360 litre green recycling bins, which are half again as large as the standard green bins. At the moment, they are only for households of 6 or more, but that policy is to be reviewed soon. If you’d like a larger green bin, contact the Vale 01235 520202, or waste.team@southandvale.gov.uk
  2. You can have a Collection Reminder sent to your mobile phone when your rubbish or recycling pick-up date changes due to holidays or bad weather. It’s easy to register: send a text message with the word “waste” and your collection day to 07797 870371. For example, “waste Thursday”. This is the best way to keep up to date throughout the winter.
  3. The Vale hosted the first ever Town and Parish Council Forum on 23 Nov 2011. Town and parish councillors were invited to meet with other parish councillors, councillors and officers from the district council and local public sector representatives. I know that a few days before the event, no one from North Hinksey had signed up. If someone had a chance to attend, I’d like to hear how it went and what you learned.
  4. From 9 Dec 2011, there is free two hour parking in Vale owned car parks in Abingdon, Wantage and Faringdon. (Ours in North Hinksey are already free all the time.)
  5. The Vale plans to bring free Wi-Fi to Botley. Dates aren’t announced yet, and I understand we’re in the queue behind the town centres. But we’re definitely on the list!
  6. County Cllr Janet Godden and I hold a Get It Sorted Session every other month in a different part of the parish. Our next session is 29 Nov 2011, 6-7pm at the Westminster Sports Centre. This is particularly handy for residents of Harcourt Hill and the upper part of Elm’s Rise, but everyone is welcome.

Reminder: You can see all the current North Hinksey planning applications on my blog. I’ve tried to make it simple to find out what applications are currently under consideration in North Hinksey and Wytham ward. I add info as soon as I receive notice of the planning application from the Vale. I include the consultation period, targeted decision date, and a link to the Vale Planning site so readers can see what information about the application has already been received. See them at www.DebbyHallett.MyCouncillor.org.uk

A34 Wytham Embankment Maintenance

I received a notice from the Highways Agency. It says:

…We will be undertaing essential safety improvement work on the A34 southbound embankment, approximately 50 metres south of the Wytham Godstow Flyover. Badger excavations have destabilised the area adjacent to the existing safety barrier, and to ensure continued road user safety, we will be carrying out embankment strengthening work over a distance of approximately 30 metres along the southbound carriageway verge in order to protect the badger sett and stabilise the embankment.

To ensure work is carried out in accordance with the badger licence issued by Natural England, an ecologist will be supervising the works each night.

The work is programmed to start on Monday 17 October 2011, and should take approximately one week to complete, weather permitting. For the safety of our workforce and other road users, work will be carried out at night between 9pm and 5am, when traffic flows are at their lowest. During these hours there will be a lane closure on the southbound carriageway.

I would like to apologise in advance for any disturbance or inconvenience cause by the works. I would like to emphasise, however, that the Highways Agency and its contractors work to strict procedures to ensure minimal noise at night.

Should you require any further information regarding this scheme, please contact the Highwys Agency Information line on 0300 123 5000 or email them at ha_infor@highways.gsi.gov.uk

Thames Water – flood alleviation works

Thames Water are about to start work on their £7m scheme to alleviate flooding. It will involve the upsizing of the sewer along North Hinksey Lane and an upgrade of sewers on Cumnor Hill and Eynsham Road. The work will be completed in three phases.  First at the junction of Cumnor Hill and Eynsham Road, next section around West Way, and last, starting in January 2012, the building of a storage tank at the south end of North Hinksey Lane and upsizing the existing sewer for 1.7km along the road.

The upgrades are due to be completed in the autumn of 2012.

Drop-in sessions with further information are to be held on Tuesday 4 October between 6.30 and 8.30pm at St Peter & St Paul, Church Hall, West Way, and on Thursday 6 October between 1 and 5pm at Botley WI Hall, North Hinksey Lane.

Botley Air Quality

(This is from the Vale Website)

Part of Botley has been declared an Air Quality Management Area (AQMA) to help address air pollution problems affecting residents.

The AQMA was declared following an assessment of air quality in the area which identified levels of nitrogen dioxide above the Government’s national standards next to a stretch of the A34.

The assessment and a summary of air quality issues in Botley can be downloaded from the right of their website page. Maps showing the area covered by the AQMA and the monitoring locations in Botley can also be downloaded there.

A further assessment of air quality in the Botley area has been carried out to give more information about air quality. A report on this will be available shortly.

Last reviewed: 01 – 06 – 2011

Report to North Hinksey Parish Council – 15 Sep 11

Brown bins: The Vale has recently revised the terms and conditions of their garden waste service (brown bins). They want to make it clear that the fee is a contribution to running costs and that collections will be suspended for two weeks over Christmas, to enable Biffa to collect the extra household waste produced at this time of the year, when very little garden waste is created. In the past when they’ve tried to manage the two it has resulted in lengthy delays to collections of rubbish and recycling.

Extra collection: There will be an extra collection of garden waste (brown bins) during a week in spring, which they’ll publicise nearer the time.  Plus, to increase efficiency and effectiveness, new customers will only be able to pay via direct debit, and existing customers will be switched over before their service is next renewed. They hope some customers will switch now but gives all customers up to 12 months notice of this change.

Delayed collection message: You can sign up for a free waste text message to let you know if your collection day has changed due to bank holidays or bad weather. To register send a text message with the word “waste” and your collection day to 07797 870371. For example, “waste Thursday”.

Unvlaed scrapped: The cabinet member for communications has announced: “We decided to stop publishing the council’s residents’ magazine Unvaled in order to save £39,600 a year. Instead, the council will be making better use of other ways of communicating with residents, including via its annual leaflet in March with council tax bills and the tags that are left on all bins in the district to let residents know about revised waste collections over Christmas and Easter. This year the distribution slot that had been booked to deliver Unvaled in late November will instead be used to deliver next year’s waste calendar as the current calendar runs until December. The following year we will include the waste calendar in the booklet we send with council tax bills. We will be reviewing the way we communicate with residents in two years time.”

Yarnells Hill coaches: Residents in Yarnells Hill approached me about the coaches that take children to Matthew Arnold School. They understood coaches were supposed to use the main approach via Cumnor Hill and Arnolds Way, rather than Yarnells Hill and Lime Road. Queries to the school and transport service providers, via the Oxfordshire Highway & Transport steward for our area, Laura Hutchins, found no contracts or agreements regarding the route to be taken by the coach drivers; they can take whatever route they like.

Metal theft: An increase in the cost of scrap metal has meant that thieves have been targeting lead on buildings and vans with catalytic converters.  Thames Valley Police advise businesses and van owners  to take some simple steps to help prevent these kinds of thefts:

  • If you own a van with a catalytic converter, get a catalytic converter marking kit (these are available on line at http://bit.ly/mYPpJj ).
  • If you have lead on the roof of your business or property, use anti-climb paint to prevent access to the roof and put up signs to say that the paint is being used.

Electoral Review: Local Government Boundary Commission for England has confirmed that it has included a Further Electoral Review (FER) of Vale of White Horse in its work programme. The goal is to reduce the number of councillors from the current 51 to around 34. The FER will commence in March 2012 and should last no more than a year allowing for the implementation of any new electoral arrangements prior to the next district council elections.

Local emergency plans: Oxfordshire County Council encourages all parishes in the Vale to develop community emergency plans. The county intends that these plans would identify key contacts within a parish or town that should be notified by emergency services in the event of an incident, as well as buildings that could be used if residents need to be evacuated. This information will also be shared with the district council. The county is also holding a series of events for parish about emergency response and winter, to which your parish councillors have been invited.

    Thames Water work: The Vale council has welcomed plans from Thames Water to start work improving the drainage problems in Cumnor Hill and Botley. Thames Water has written to the council to outline its plans to carry out work to upgrade the sewerage system in Botley. This work is due to start in January 2012 and should be completed by the end of next year. This also means that planning applications, which have been on hold because of the sewerage problems, can be determined now that the drainage improvement works is due to start. Since October 2007, the council has been unable to permit any planning applications for new housing in the OX2 0, OX2 9 or OX1 5 postcode areas because of a holding objection raised by Thames Water due to the ongoing drainage problems. Thames Water has confirmed that as the planned work will be carried out shortly, it has no objection to the council permitting applications for new housing in the area subject to a condition being imposed on planning permissions stipulating that no new houses can be occupied until the drainage improvement works have been completed.

      Contact Stuart Walker, (01235) 540505, stuart.walker@southandvale.gov.uk

      Community Payback: Is there a public area in your neighbourhood that could do with being cleared, cleaned or painted? If so, Thames Valley Probation could help. They run the Community Payback scheme, where offenders who have been sentenced to an Unpaid Work Requirement are given jobs that benefit the local community. For example, placements could involve:

        • clearing overgrown public areas
        • removing graffiti (on public rather than private property)
        • conservation work
        • painting and decorating (especially schools and other community/charity facilities)

        This scheme is particularly keen to take on placements where offenders work alongside volunteers from the community. This helps offenders to understand the value of the work they are doing.

        If you know of an area where you think Community Payback could assist with, please email the details to Karen Brown, Community Safety Projects Officer, Karen.Brown@southandvale.gov.uk .

        Town and parish council forum 2011: The Vale has invited town and parish councils to attend a town and parish council forum to be held during the evening of Wednesday 23 November 2011 at Wantage Civic Hall. This is the first of its kind in the Vale. It’s expected to be a well-attended event providing town and parish councils the opportunity to meet with other parish councillors, councillors and officers from the district council and local public sector representatives.

          The evening includes a buffet and networking session, service information stands, an address from the chief executive and an opportunity to discuss current issues and how organisations can work together to tackle them.

          If you’re interested in attending the forum or would like more information contact Anne Hall,  Corporate Strategy, 01491 823311, anne.hall@southoxon.gov.uk