D.A.D.S. Treasure Island Readthrough and Auditions

Ahoy there me hearties – all aboard for the adventure of a lifetime! Long John Silver and his fearsome crew may thing that the treasure is within their grasp, but they’ve reckoned without the ladies of the Smugglers Cove Women’s Institute!

Filled with mischief, custard pies, songs, and laughter, this is a voyage into a panto mayhem that you definitely do not want to miss!

  • Readthrough/Singalong: Monday 1st July 7.30pm
  • Auditions: Thursday 4th July 7.30pm

For more info contact Ann: pantotreasure@gmail.com

Creating vital wetland habitats: Earth Trust and partners to embark on River of Life II

Earth Trust is delighted to announce it is to receive a Water Environment Grant, through the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development, for an exciting new partnership project to revive and create natural riverside wetland systems and increase biodiversity. Building on the success of the first wetland creation project, River of Life, near Shillingford, Earth Trust is partnering with local landowners, Church Farm Partnership and The Hurst Water Meadow Trust, to improve water ecosystems along the River Thames and River Thame.

Land next to rivers and streams can provide healthy life support systems for all life through biodiverse, functioning, natural freshwater ecosystems. To do this, land needs to be able to slow down and filter water and this can be done through the addition of wetland features such as ponds and water channels that are within the floodplain, some of which are connected to the river. The creation of these features alongside mosaics of other natural habitats such as woodland improve the quality of the landscape. These features also provide havens for spawning fish and wildlife essential to a thriving living system, from dragonflies to kingfishers and otters.

“Our first River of Life landscape scale project was hugely successful and pioneering. It created an incredible new wetland ecosystem on the Thames, demonstrating the management of water and wetlands in the landscape, and the benefits and value of water to society. We’re delighted to receive this funding enabling us to work with other local landowners to build on this success, and re-wild more of Oxfordshire’s riverside,” said Jayne Manley, Chief Executive of Earth Trust.

River of Life II will create these vital wetland habitats at three locations within the Parishes of Long Wittenham, Little Wittenham and Dorchester-on-Thames: at Earth Trust’s Clifton Meadow on the south bank of the River Thames; at Church Farm north of Days Lock, owned by the Church Farm Partnership; and at Overy Mead on the banks of the River Thame, managed by The Hurst Water Meadow Trust. Once completed, the new habitats will include 16 ponds and seven backwater channels, plus wet woodland at each of the three locations, all of which will connect to the main river to provide a refuge habitat for fish.

The project will also fund the creation of several new ponds in Little Wittenham Wood, home to one of the country’s most significant populations of great crested newts. Nationally, populations have dramatically declined due to loss of habitat and these new ponds will help strengthen the population of newts and other amphibians as our climate changes in the future. Little Wittenham Wood is managed by Earth Trust and is a designated a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) and Special Area of Conservation (SAC) due to its importance as a habitat for great crested newts

The funding will enable Earth Trust to put in place boardwalks amongst the features and way marking so that people can access and explore the wetland ecosystems.

Pre-construction work will begin this year and include discussions with local communities and other interested stakeholders, negotiating access agreements, archaeological and ecological surveys, and refining designs. The main earth works construction period will take place in summer 2020, followed by the final physical elements of the project relating to access and interpretation.

Jayne added: “River of Life has significant impact beyond these works: rewilding the River Thames and creating a functioning ecosystem is a demonstration of the creative thinking and action needed as we face up to the climate change challenges ahead. We need to radically rethink our approach to managing the Earth’s resources, such as water and soil, and accelerate projects that are going to sustain life on Earth.”

Parish Council Notices

Members

At the uncontested Parish Council Elections which took place on Thursday 2nd May the following Councillors were elected: Michael Corran, Maurice Day, Chris Hill, Michael Rimmer, Keith Russell and Mark Williams. At the Annual Meeting of the Parish Council which took place on Wednesday 8th May the following were co-opted to the Council: Rob Ballantyne and Viviane Quirke.

Officers 2019/20

Following the Annual Meeting of the Parish Council which took place on Wednesday 8th May the Chairman of the Parish Council is now Cllr Mark Williams and the Vice-chairman is Cllr Rob Ballantyne.

June Meeting

The June Meeting of the Parish Council will take place on Wednesday 12th June. The meeting will take place in the back room of the Village Hall. The Agenda will be posted on Parish noticeboards and on the Parish Council section of the Village website – https://www.dorchester-on-thames.co.uk/parish-council/ – three clear days in advance of the meeting.

All Parish Council meetings are open to the public; a resident who wishes to raise any matter of concern is welcome to do so at the start of the meeting.

Contacting the Parish Council

The Parish Clerk is Geoffrey Russell of The Pigeons (next to The Fleur de Lys), 5-7 High Street, Dorchester-on-Thames OX10 7HH

Telephone (during normal office hours, please, unless an emergency) 07745 311439. Text messages are always welcome. e –mail: parishclerk@dorchesteronthames.co.uk

For information about the Parish Council go to https://www.dorchester-on-thames.co.uk/parish-council/ This includes the minutes of all Parish Council Meetings and financial information such as monthly bank balances and payments as well as a record of all planning matters upon which the Parish Council has been consulted and reports from our County and District Councillors.