Come along and join in the May celebrations with Maypole Dancing and the crowning of the May Queen. Lots of fun and games for the children as well as Cream Teas, Cakes, BBQ, Craft stalls, Church Plant Sale, Dog Agility Show much much more!
DO YOU:
The Open Meeting at the Village Hall on 23rd February and the ‘Public Consultation’ hosted by Kler Group on March 10th at the Plough have prompted a few people to approach the Neighbourhood Plan Steering Committee asking for further discussion and explanation of the plan.
You are invited to come along and ask questions and discuss the current proposals.
We intend to publish the plan in the next few months so this will be one of the last opportunities for you to contribute to it.
There will also be an update on response to the developer’s proposal for ‘Site 1’ (field behind Challis Farm).
Further details of the development of the plan and the current proposals are available here or phone Steve Brown (01865-407589)
The road from Long Wittenham to Clifton Hampden is to be closed for up to three nights between the 21 and 25 April 2016 to enable BT to carry out overhead cabling works.
The road closures will start at 9pm in the evening and last through to 6am the next morning.
Access will be maintained for emergency service vehicles and those residents within the closure area, subject to the progress of the works.
Traffic to and from Clifton Hampden will be diverted via Appleford and Culham whilst the road is closed. More details of the closure and the diversion routes can be found here.
The Earth Trust are holding a public exhibition between Thursday 28th April and Sunday 1st May on their plans to improve visitor facilities. It is an informal, drop in exhibition at times still to be confirmed. More details can be found here.
This year’s 5k fun run and walk will take place on Sunday 15 May 2016, starting at 11am from the Plough.
It’s a fun day out for all the family and features:-
Click here for more details and a downloadable entry form.
This Thursday’s Parish Council meeting will include a Q&A on the Neighbourhood Plan, picking up on the discussion held at the recent public meetings.
Also on the agenda is the footpath on at the east end of High Street.
The meeting starts at 7.30pm in the Village Hall and all are welcome.
Oxfordshire County Council has published a briefing note on options being considered for a new river crossing from Culham to Didcot.
You can read the Thames Crossing Briefing Note here.
We have unfortunately seen an increase in dwelling burglaries on our area in recent weeks. House breaks are normally very rare in this area so I do not want to alarm you, but make you aware of simple steps you can take to protect your property. Remember burglars don’t need brains, just an opportunity.
Ensure you have good window locks and use them.
Make sure you deadlock the doors and that your doors are fitted with good locks.
Get into the habit of double checking doors and window locks before going to bed.
Use timer switches on lights and radios when you are not at home. Burglars will think twice if they think somebody might be home.
Burglar alarms are a really good deterrent to the opportunist burglar.
Ensure garden gates are locked and that you cannot reach over and unlock the gate. Consider fitting Prikka Strip ( plastic spikes) on top of tall gates and fences. Flimsy trellis is good as it breaks easily and burglars do not like this as there a risk of cutting themselves and leaving DNA behind. Prickly plants also act as a deterrent.
Also please do not leave any tools or items in the garden that could be used to break windows or force entry to your property.
Ensure you have a solid garage door and ensure they are always locked. Consider upgrading the locks on your garage door.
Ensure sheds are locked with a high quality padlock and that the clasps are fitted with non return screws. Consider fitting a shed alarm which can be purchased for approximately £20.00.
Local Police Community Support Officers can attend your address and carry out a survey for free. Please email sue.harris@thamesvalley.pnn.police.uk to arrange this.
If you look at the Thames Valley Police website you can find a section entitled crime reduction which offers really good advice on home security.
If you see someone in your street who you think is acting suspiciously try to get a good description of them and a registration number and description of any vehicle they are using. Don’t hesitate to phone us either on 999 if you think a crime is being committed or 101 (non emergency number) and we can stop check them and find out what they are doing. Remember your instincts are normally right. If something feels or does not look right it probably isn’t.
Have you ever criticised planning decisions about Long Wittenham; wondered ‘why don’t they ….; or why in God’s name have they… ?
Have you wondered who ‘they’ are and decided that you can’t change or influence anything?
Well, for the first time since the introduction of planning laws the Government decided in 2011 that local people should be ‘they’. Not County or District Councillors, not salaried Officers of the District but YOU – yes YOU and the person next to you!
Parliament decided that YOU and your neighbours should decide what is important to you and how your village develops in the future.
And that is what the Neighbourhood Plan is all about. Preparing a plan involves you and needs your opinion. The next update will be at 7.30pm on Tuesday 23rd February in the Village Hall.
Mark it on the calendar, set the video recorder for your favourite programme on TV and get along to hear the latest. We can’t promise you any Midsomer cliff-hangers but you can play your part in ensuring that Long Wittenham continues to be a ‘highly desirable, well-regarded and thriving’ village to live in (as the Estate Agents describe it!).
And why not knock on the neighbours door and get them along too?
Before we finalise the Neighbourhood Plan for submission to the District Council we will hold a meeting in the village hall to invite discussion about these proposals- they will only be binding if over half the village votes for them in the subsequent referendum.
The neighbourhood plan is now reaching an important stage and this is the time when we again need views from all residents. Although the Steering Committee was convened 18 months ago, we have mainly spent this time preparing the necessary background work required by the District Council before we can develop the plan itself. This work is now complete (and available on the village web site as our ‘Scoping Document’). This document has now been out for consultation and approved with very few suggested amendments.
Through the work of Wittenham Vision, the two previous village meetings and the survey, we now feel we understand the most important issues and changes that the village wants. At the forefront of our thinking is the need to maintain the present character of the village (small, separate from Didcot etc) but also provide new facilities that will enhance the life of our residents. However, we have to be practical and only include in our objectives plans that are actually achievable with available resources.
Our first priority would be to build the ‘hub’. This would be a new development comprising new school building, pre-school and village hall. The current school buildings are old, have high maintenance and running costs and lack suitable space for PE and sport. New schools will be built near to us in Didcot. To maintain our village we need to enable our school to continue to provide high quality education with high quality facilities. The pre-school in the village does not have a permanent home. We will also consider as part of this development providing other facilities such as a shop, café, meeting area especially for home workers, village groups and an all-weather sports facility. It may not be financially feasible to build this whole development in one go. Preferred sites for the development are at the western end of the village centre. This scheme also includes some new houses, partly to fund the hub but also to provide the type of houses identified in the survey to fulfil local need.
The other two important issues raised by residents are traffic flow and parking in the High Street. Moving the school, pre-school and hall to a site with adequate parking should resolve the issues of traffic flow around peak times. This will also reduce traffic as most children driven in from other villages to attend the school come from the West. We feel there are no other reasonable and affordable measures that we can undertake to reduce traffic flow other than lobby for the new bridge over the Thames between Clifton Hampden and Culham. It may also be possible to improve off road parking in the High Street and we will investigate this as another option which would improve the townscape and appearance of the High Street.
Proposed objectives for the Neighbourhood Plan
The preferred site is on the land East of Didcot Road from Fieldside to Saxons Heath. There are 2 possible sites being considered, the owner of each site is different: Challis Farm (Site 1) and the field to the South of Challis Farm (Site 2). Site 1 is not large enough to accommodate the whole project and is adjacent to the conservation area. So, Site 2 is the only site that could possibly accommodate this project but building on this site would leave an area of land that could be filled in at a later date. A third possibility would be to use both sites but this would require agreement from both landowners.
Currently we do not know the exact number of houses we would need to build to fund the hub as this would depend on housing mix, numbers of affordable houses, cost of land purchase. As a result of the recent village survey, we have identified a small housing need within the village for smaller market houses as well as some affordable housing.
Building the hub will result in a reduction in congestion and noise in the centre of the village at peak times when children are being dropped or collected from school/pre-school or when the hall is in use. Most children who come to the school from outside enter the village from the South and we expect this will more than compensate for the small amount of traffic generated by new housing. We will ensure sufficient parking in the new development for both hub and houses. As part of a new development we will ensure new footpaths, upgrading existing footpaths and a safe crossing point to ensure it is possible to walk to the hub from anywhere in the village.
We will consider a badminton court as part of the new hall, all weather court on the hub site as well as supporting the circular foot/cycle path including the cycle path to Clifton Hampden
This will ensure a central green focus to the village as well as enhancing the High Street and conservation area
This will be an aspiration of the plan rather than an objective. We feel that improving traffic flow and parking in the High Street as well as improved pedestrian access is not feasible until the new river crossing is certain.
A kaleidoscope of spectacular colour lit up the night sky of Long Wittenham as the village celebrated its seventh annual bonfire night in Ward’s Field.
A huge bonfire with its bright, curly orange flames leaping high into the star-studded sky radiated a cosy glow to help keep warm more than 400 spectators.
Fears of a wash-out from torrential rain and high winds earlier in the day proved groundless as the skies cleared and the wind dropped on cue for the event which raised more than £1,000.
Emma Newman, one of the main organisers of the Wittenham Warriors-run night on November 7 said: ”It was a huge success and our thanks go to the village and our local school community for supporting the night and our team which worked so hard. But what really makes it is the team spirit, the community feel and the atmosphere on the night.”
The majority of tickets were sold in advance from Long Wittenham School and Clifton Hampden Post Office with further gates sales made on the night. A profit of more than £1,400 was generated which will go to local causes.
The Guy Fawkes competition sponsored by the Plough Inn was won by the Crosskey family from the High Street with their phoenix dragon called Sparky taking pride of place at the top of the bonfire.
Sparky was the creation of the whole family. Adam (Dad) made the skeleton from some left-over wood and Robert (aged four) helped to nail the covering on. Seven-years-old Edward helped with filling the belly of the beast, painting and finishing touches, and sister Anna (11) made the scary eyes. Anna also managed the project and mum Evelyn was roped in to do the tricky sewing bits.
Runners up with the Minion effigy were Millie Green and Jaimie-Leigh Orme from Berinsfield. Millie attends Long Wittenham School and Jamie-Leigh goes to Clifton Hampden School.
A total of eight guys were entered into the completion and although two were stolen from where they were displayed on the school railings in the lead up to the event, they remained key entrants in the competition. The incident attracted press coverage and the children demonstrated real maturity in response to the theft.
Judging the guys were the Rev Anne Ilsley, who was attending one of her last functions in the village before retiring. Helping her were last year’s winners Georgie and Lewis Newman. The competition was organised by Victoria Mellor and Louisa Jackson.
Other key players in the event were Sarah Bowden who helped with the planning and overall organisation and the Wittenham Warriors team. The Long Wittenham School Association ran the sweet treats stall and the village women’s cricket team organised the barbeque. Antonia Cotton was joined by a team of villagers who ran the drinks bar and Georgie Newman sold glow items.
Explorer Scouts helped on the day and were in the forefront of the big clear-up. Thanks also went to all who helped collect wood – provided by local villagers, the Earth Trust, Bill Symonds and Gary Carberry – and Sean Newman supported by a team of villagers who helped build and successfully light the bonfire on the night.
CamoSkips provided a courtesy skip, Wildwood Didcot provided the candyfloss machine, the Mellors and the Green family provided electricity supply which was set up by Matt Clamp, and use of their homes during the day. The Parochial Church Council gave permission for use of Ward’s Field. Sally Duff, Anny Greenland and Sara Cooke staffed the main entrance and there was a team of marshalls. Parking was provided by Long Wittenham School and Pendon Museum.
The parish council funded this year’s insurance (£450) and underwrote the event should it have been a washout. The Hemmery’s provided hay for the track, Dave Whenmouth and Pete Wilson provided the fencing – and a team of volunteers helped make the event such a success.
The event is to be included in a scrapbook of Wittenham events for 2015 being compiled by the History Group and WI. It follows on from scrapbooks published in 1965 and 1985.
