welcome to longwittenham.com
LATEST NEWS
PARISH COUNCILLOR VACANCIES
Due to the resignation of Councillors Catherine Nicholson and David Whitehead over the past few months the Parish Council has two co-option vacancies available. The PC have restructured their activities and as such are looking for parishioners interested in tackling transport and infrastructure issues, as well as an Internal Village Liaison. If you would like more information about either of these positions please go to the PC page, or alternatively if you would like to express an interest and apply, please contact the Parish Clerk.
MINUTES FROM THE JANUARY LWPC MEETING ARE NOW ONLINE
EXTREME WEATHER CONDITIONS:
PLEASE check on elderly or vulnerable relatives and neighbours during the extreme weather, ensuring that heating is working and that the individuals have enough food.
EXTREME WEATHER INFORMATION: RUBBISH COLLECTION
Due to the heavy snowfall and continuing freezing temperatures, rubbish and recycling collections have been suspended until further notice. The roads are too dangerous for the 26 tonne trucks and their crews.
Please leave your bins out of it is safe to do so and they will be collected as soon as possible. If the bins are a hazard to pedestrians then please collect them and put them out again when collections have resumed.
If you see your neighbours please let them know that collections are currently suspended.
Keep an eye on the website www.southoxon.gov.uk as we will update it as soon as we have any further news. You can also ring the Verdant-manned customer helpline on 03000 610 610.
Minutes of the December LWPC meeting are now online
PARISH COUNCIL - A vacancy has arisen on LWPC. For more information on how to apply please go to the PC page or click here. November minutes and December's agenda now online.
NOVEMBER-DECEMBER 2009
LWPC are consulting residents of Saxons Heath on the possible installation of a new bus shelter on the green for school children. If you haven't responded to the flyer please do so to 42 Saxons Heath by 11th December.
Zero Waste Presentation on the Dorchester Carbon Project by Mark Stevenson
Unfortunately Mr Stevenson was unable to attend the meeting due to ill health - the presentation will be rearranged in the near future and details will be posted on this website.
No wet feet for walkers on south Oxfordshire route
Walkers using a popular countryside route from the Thames Path National Trail near Clifton Hampden to Long Wittenham will be able to avoid getting wet feet thanks to an innovative improvement made by Oxfordshire County Council.
The county council's Countryside Service has installed a new boardwalk on a public footpath across Northmoor Trust land. The former boardwalk had become extremely dilapidated. Following reports from the public and the Northmoor Trust that it was no longer effective in enabling walkers to avoid the wet boggy ground, work to replace it was scheduled by the countryside service.
The boardwalk has been built using an innovative combination of materials including recycled plastic which provides durability in a wet environment and prevents vegetation growth through the structure, and timber to give the structure strength.
Sustainable solution
Councillor Rodney Rose, Oxfordshire County Council's Cabinet Member for Transport Implementation, said: “The boardwalk has been built with a clever experimental design that should provide a sustainable solution to the drainage problems on this popular footpath. I am glad that our Countryside Service has been able to carry out this important work to maintain access for visitors to this attractive and well-used part of the countryside.”
OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2009
Wittenham Vision are holding a Village Bonfire Night Party on Saturday November 7th from 7pm in the paddocks behind Challis Farm. There'll be a bar, Guy Fawkes competition, professional fireworks display and a BBQ. For ticket prices and more information just click on the link opposite
LWPC - Minutes of the September meeting are now online
SEPTEMBER 2009
Coming soon - LWPC 'back catalogue'
I am in the process of building a page that will make minutes from past meetings available for reference
purposes. I hope to have this online by the end of the year.
LWPC - Minutes of the last meeting and this month's agenda now online
A VERY SUCCESSFUL AND ENJOYABLE AFTERNOON
The Annual Church Fete attracted scores of visitors and raised a wonderful £3400 - read the write-up here, and visit the gallery to see pictures of a wonderful day.
ST MARY'S CHURCH FETE 2009
Long Wittenham’s traditional Annual Church Fete will be held as usual on August Bank Holiday Monday, August 31st at the Plough Inn, Long Wittenham, from 2.00 to 5.00 pm. See the What's On page for more information.
WITTFEST CHARITY MUSIC FESTIVAL 2009
Friday 26th June to Sunday 28th June
This year sees the tenth annual Wittenham Free Charity Music Festival, in the grounds of the Plough Inn, Long Wittenham, near Didcot, Oxfordshire - the friendliest, most enjoyable, eclectic and entertaining small festival anywhere!
Wittfest is a free music festival raising money for local charities. Everybody involved gives their time (and raffle prizes!) for free. There is a wide range of musical genres on offer and plenty of opportunity to join in with all of the themed sessions throughout the festival weekend. The festival starts on the Friday evening and runs until late Sunday afternoon. ADMISSION IS FREE – you can camp, moor or simply rock up! For more information please visit the official Wittfest website
LONG WITTENHAM 5K FUN RUN! Results now online!
The village fun run returns again this year with a friendly 5k route suitable for all the family - see What's On for more information and links
NEW CHAIRMAN ELECTED BY PARISH COUNCIL
At the last meeting of LWPC, Paul Otter proposed Jason Sherwood as Chairman and the motion was seconded by David Whitehead. Jason agreed to accept the position for a six month period after which he requests the situation be reviewed. Paul Otter was elected as Vice Chairman.
SUTTON COURTENAY INCINERATOR - THE COUNCIL'S RESPONSE
After a number of meetings and consultations between LWPC and local action group, Wittenham Against Incineration WitAI), LWPC strongly objected to the intial planning application to the Sutton Courtenay Incinerator. That planning response is available online. The second stage of the application is for an environmental permit, and again the council along with representatives of WitAI objected on several grounds. That response can be seen by following the links below. LWPC would like to thank members of WitAI for their responsible, informed and scientific contributions and assistance.
Permit letter
Appendix A
Appendix B
March 2009
CHAIRMAN OF LWPC JOHN STIMSON RESIGNS
It is with great regret that LWPC announces the resignation of its Chairman, John Stimson. John has served the Village as a parish councillor for 25 years. His experience, knowledge and wisdom will be greatly missed by the serving Council; his resignation is a great loss not only to the Council but also to the village as a whole. John's resignation statement follows:
"Although I continued to enjoy the broad support of the elected Councillors I have grown impatient with the continuous challenges to my advice and experience from some quarters. Being chairman has ceased to be fun and I will not continue.I resigned with immediate effect on 19th March.
The incinerator issue and the furore which has been created following the meeting called in February has served as a catalyst to hasten my departure. The incinerator proposal is neither local nor immediate.There has recently been a barrage of ill-informed and ill-natured criticism directed at the Parish Council and me in particular and I will not have it.
I apologise to those who elected me and am most grateful for the many expressions of support from current and past members of the Council. I condemn the small clique who have been most critical and will observe with interest their future actions. In particular I condemn the ludicrous suggestion that we wished to delay the response to the planning consultation until the last minute in order to avoid making a decision. This suggestion betrays complete ignorance of the procedures and of the Parish Council's intentions.These were, and are, to support the views of the majority of the village,provided always that these views were informed and within the parameters of the planning process.
If requested to do so I will continue to provide advice to the Council and in particular to Julie Braley, for whose efficiency as Clerk , the Council ,and the village should be most deeply grateful."
John Stimson
SUTTON COURTENAY INCINERATOR – A REAL ISSUE
As most of you will be aware, there are proposals to build an excess waste incinerator in Oxfordshire; two sites have been proposed – Ardley, near Bicester and Sutton Courtenay, near Didcot.
Unrecyclable waste is a huge problem throughout the UK, and something must be done. You and I must make the change. We are running out of landfill sites and many parties agree that landfill cannot be the future of waste disposal. Recycling is up throughout the county, but still we live in an economy where excess waste is prolific. How we deal with this waste is one of the most trying questions of our time, and not easily or quickly solved.
The proposed incinerator site at Sutton Courtenay is a controversial topic – this website is not here to persuade you one way or the other, we must all make our own decision. You may have been approached by NO or YES campaigners and you will shortly be approached by the Parish Council to give your views in the form of a flyer. Search the internet, look at the links given below, talk to neighbours, talk to councillors,
BE INFORMED.
www.wrg.co.uk/suttoncourtenay/Data/Page_Downloads/PDFofboards.pdf
www.scai.co.uk
www.witai.co.uk/index.html
There are lots of other webstes conerning this issue; use search engines such as google to find out more.
LWPC are meeting on the 24th of March to confirm their response to the Planning application for the SC Incinerator. Further meetings and discussions will be held as the OCC consultation process progresses. This includes the environmental issues not covered by this application.
NOVEMBER 2008 - SAXONS HEATH GREEN
Many thanks to all the residents who attended the meeting on the future of the Saxons Heath Green. The overwhelming view was to keep the green as it is, and erect a No Ball Games sign in order to protect cars, property and privicy. It was put to the PC members present that Bodkins should be made the main children's play area, and that Acklings should be used as an area where older children can play football, basketball, and other games. These views were presented to the PC at the meeting on the 25th November, and the Council are looking into ideas and funding. Should you have any further comments or opinions, please contact Anne Byard (details on the PC page). New!! the PC have approved up to £5000 for swings to be erected at Bodkins - last meeting's minutes now on-line.
OCTOBER 2008 - CARS & PROPERTY TARGETED
Over the last couple of months Long Wittenham has been experiencing a mini-crime wave. Cars and property have been stolen and one resident of Didcot Road was the victim of a 'diversion' burgulary. There have also been a couple of instances of thefts from garden sheds. As we all know, Long Wittenham is pretty much a crime free village but occasionally we are targeted. Please keep your cars and sheds locked over night and be vigilant - report any suspicious activity to the Police. LWPC
NEW CONTENT ADDED
As you all know, the website is a work-in-progress. Newly added is the Child Learning & Development page, which provides information on services available to children of school age, including contacts details and the School newsletter. New photos have also been added to the Gallery page. If you have anything that you would like to see on either of these pages, then please drop us a line.
SEPTEMBER 2008 - POST OFFICE CLOSURE
Long Wittenham Post Office has now closed. The Parish Council are looking into support for and the feasibility of one of the so-called 'Outreach Services'. This may take the form of a Hosted Service where Post Office services would be available in the village on a selected day for a few hours a week. A small survey was conducted at the Open Day in May, and the results are promising. It is likely that the survey will be conducted village-wide in the New Year to gauge feeling and comment on past and future Post Office services in the village. Unfortunatley PO Ltd have not been very open to an initial request for further information on their Outreach Services. Further details will be published on this website and in the newsletter in the near future. Anni Byard LWPC.
FUNDING SECURED FOR PARISH PLAN!
A Parish Plan is an exciting opportunity to identify what the village wants and needs, giving everyone the chance to have their say and resulting in a considered and prioritised plan for the village. Following on from the success of the Open Day, and with the support of LWPC, the Parish Plan will be driven by a steering committee of 8-10 people representing all aspects of the community. If you would like to be involved and are interested in helping to influence and direct the future of the village, please contact Catherine Nicholson of LWPC for further information and an informal chat. Additional information on Parish Plans can be found on the Oxfordshire Rural Community Council's website.
Against Breast Cancer sponsored bike ride May 2008
|
WEBSITE CONTENT WANTED!
Do you have an event coming up, a job vacancy you'd like advertised or images of life in and around the village you'd like to add to our gallery? Are you a business or club that would like to be featured on this website? Then email images and content to us here at longwittenham.com and help to make this website a complete resource for everyone who lives, works and visits our village. Contact us
The site is still under development so keep checking back for updates. We are keen to hear your views and opinions on the site.
|
|
