Expressway Action Group – urgent request for action

The group, of which Dorchester is a member, held  a “Stakeholder Engagement” meeting with Highways England’s team and their Engagement contractors Jacobs in late December.  Because Highways England recognise that the Expressway Action Group represent a large number of communities across Oxfordshire and beyond and have a wide range of issues of concern re the Expressway, they have given EAG a special status alongside the ‘Environmental’ groups they are consulting. This allows us to bring evidence to them on the O2C Expressway’s impact in economic, amenity, growth and other areas as well as our important Environmental / Wildlife evidence.
They have opened an email address for us, so that we can submit evidence directly to the Highways England experts who are studying the 3 proposed Corridors for possible O2C Expressway routes: we are already submitting evidence using this new portal, including environmental data as they become available.This gives EAG and its member communities and their environment / wildlife friends direct access to the technical team at Highways: so we want to maximise this opportunity to affect O2C corridor and route choice – and we need your help.
We have been asked by Highways to gather as much information on important wildlife habitat areas, heritage sites and other risk areas and places which an Expressway would harm, either directly or by running nearby within the ’Noise Footprint” which a major dual-carriageway / motorway-standard road would generate.
Can I therefore ask all of you to speak to your, neighbours and friends within your Parish, and draw up a list of important locations in the parish which would be impacted by an O2C through / past your community: this needs to be in the form of a list giving details of each site / heritage building, plus a map showing those sites.
Please note, the evidence has to be based on objective data and should ideally be validated by one of the recognised Oxfordshire wildlife organisations: they may be willing to help you with data on your local key wildlife areas.
These include important Heritage sites – for example, here in Dorchester-on-Thames we would want to include Dorchester Abbey on the list of sites threatened by Noise pollution: we would list the Abbey and give a short description of its huge historical importance etc. There will undoubtedly be many Heritage sites and buildings which Highways team may overlook if we don’t tell them…!
We have very little time to gather this information – if we don’t get it to Highways England by the weekend of the 3rd February, we may miss the boat. Anyone able to make a submission should tryto get a map and list of sites back to us by the 3rd February: that will give us a few days to collate everything and submit it for inclusion. Please note, YOUR SUBMISSIONS WILL MAKE A DIFFERENCE, AND COULD SAVE YOUR COMMUNITY FROM THE EXPRESSWAY’S IMPACT – so please do what you can!
Dawn McGiveron in the Baldons is kindly helping us by gathering all this data together: please send your responses back to her marked “EAG Evidence Pack from Dorchester on Thames Parish” at dawn@mcgiveron.co.uk as soon as it’s ready.
On the wider campaign there is an opportunity to meet the Treasury Minister on the 6th Feb in Whitehall, to make EAG’s case: we are also meeting John Howell MP and Ed Vaizey MP on the 2nd Feb to do the same (many thanks to Cllr Lynda Atkins and Cllr Lorraine Lindsey-Gale for setting up the Howell / Vaizey meeting).

LOST BRACELET

LOST BRACELET, please let me know if you come across it, reward for its safe return. It is similar to the one below but has a gold star clasp. Contact Claire 07952 981936.

Thank you.

Volunteers needed: Could you help a child to read and change their life forever?

St Birinus Primary have a need for ARCh Reading Helper Volunteers to support a number of their older children (aged 7 and above) who are not heard reading at home, and need the real boost that trained ARCh volunteers provide.

Could you help a child to read and change their life forever?

Volunteers needed

ARCh (Assisted Reading for Children) is a local registered charity which operates in Oxfordshire primary schools to help children who are struggling with reading.

All it takes is one and a half hours twice a week during the school day as an ARCh volunteer in a primary school near you.

Full training is given and we provide ongoing support and reimburse travel expenses.

To find out more, visit our website www.archoxfordshire.org.uk

Or telephone us on 01869 320380

The charity obtains enhanced DBS checks on all volunteers before placement

Registered Charity Number 1146276

Hurst Water Meadow Trust News: January 2018

Dr Peter Pritchard – an appreciation

Peter died on 6th January in his 100th year. He was a leading figure in the initiative to purchase the Hurst in 1995 and it is largely thanks to him that we can enjoy the meadow today.

The Hurst was owned by a company called Dorchester Lakes Ltd, which tried to restrict access to the land, but when they went into receivership this was seen as an opportunity for the village to step in. The Parish Council, led by Cllr Maurice Day, called a meeting which was addressed by Peter, in a packed St. Birinus Primary School. Peter set up the Hurst Water Meadow Trust and led the initiative to raise funds, delivering a letter to every household in the village and receiving donations or loan promises totalling some £34,000. The sale was to be by sealed bid and the prospect of success was thought to be slim until South Oxfordshire District Council moved to make a Compulsory Purchase Order in the event that the Trust was outbid. Peter said that the receiver’s fury on learning of the CPO was enough to “melt the telephone line”. Driven by Peter’s tenaciousness and energy the Trust acquired the 18 acre meadow for £31,000 and the fishing rights for a further £2,000.

Peter was a founder trustee and hon. secretary, steering the Trust through its early days and starting to develop the Hurst meadow into a haven for wildlife and an important area of recreation for Dorchester residents and visitors. Even when he had retired as a trustee Peter maintained an active interest in the work of the Trust and the management of the meadows, applauding the purchase of further land along the lower Thame in 2009 (Old Bridge Meadow) and 2015 (Overy Mead Piece). He was often in the meadows inspecting our efforts from the seat of his ‘all terrain’ buggy and on at least one occasion this vehicle, with him still on it, had to be extricated from the mud when he was too ambitious in his site inspection! It was always a pleasure to see him when he joined us during our working party coffee breaks.

We feel that we have lost the ‘grandfather’ of the Hurst Water Meadow Trust but it is good to recognise that generations of future Dorchester residents will appreciate and benefit from the Hurst which Peter helped to secure for their enjoyment.

Tree planting

In early December members of Sonning Common Green Gym joined us for the last working party of 2017 when we planted 120 small bare-root hedging plants on Overy Mead Piece. They are planted in two short sections alongside the post and wire fence which separates our meadow from Shillingford Farm land. The species we have used include hawthorn, common dogwood, guelder rose, wayfaring tree, spindle, field maple, hazel and dog rose. These should grow to provide shelter and food for wildlife and to relieve the visual monotony of the long wire fence. A further two short sections towards the Thames will be planted at a future date.

The plants were purchased with money donated to the Trust to mark the wedding, in September, of Matt Kirk and Tanya Morris. We hope that Matt, Tanya and their generous friends will visit the meadows to see the growing hedge.

Gillian Johnson (Hon. Secretary) on behalf of the Trustees
01865 340925
admin@hurst-water-meadow.org.uk
www.hurst-water-meadow.org.uk

Raising the bar in recycling: Your chance to talk rubbish and recycling with Oxfordshire’s councils

Do you know that each household in Oxfordshire produces one tonne of waste each year? We are amongst the best in the country at recycling and composting for a few years now at about 60% but recycling rates have started to drop in Oxfordshire.

Residents are being given the chance to talk rubbish and recycling and tell Oxfordshire’s county, city and district councils how they can help them recycle more and create less waste.

This consultation will inform the review of the joint countywide waste strategy. This sets out shared priorities across Oxfordshire for waste and recycling until 2030, that will be approved by the Oxfordshire Environment Partnership over the summer. Then, each council partner will adopt changes later in the year.

We want to do better at recycling and the new joint countywide waste strategy is critical to this. We know that on average over half of the items put in the general waste bin could have been recycled by placing them in the other bins available.

Through this consultation residents are being asked what would help them to reduce their overall waste consumption and recycle more. This includes expanding the range of materials that can be recycled at the kerbside and tips and advice on left-over food, upcycling clothing or donating or buying second hand goods. The councils are also seeking views on more radical schemes that have been implemented elsewhere in the country, such as changing bin sizes and collection frequency.

Councillor Yvonne Constance, Cabinet Member for Environment at Oxfordshire County Council said: “We want to help residents to increase the amount they recycle and have looked around at what other councils are doing. This is a long-term strategy and we will not be making any immediate changes however we are interested in which of these the residents of Oxfordshire think may work for them as we seek to minimise the overall amount of residual waste produced in the county.”

Do you want to help us recycle and reduce waste? Take part in the online survey at www.recycleforoxfordshire.org.uk. The survey runs for six weeks until 18 February.