Mayor Dixon is installed

Keith Mitchell, Tory leader of Oxfordshire County Council, admitted on Monday that schools in the county should be performing better at GCSEs. Good to know that OCC are at last waking up to their responsibilities. Its interesting that Town Councillor Keith Greenwell recently made exactly the same point about GCSE performance at Chippy School  and was savaged for his trouble at a Council meeting. Indeed school governor Councillor Gina Burrows recently quoted Keith's comments as one of her reasons for not voting for him as Mayor. Its about time the governors of Chippy School woke up and smelt the coffee. More than that, perhaps local Tory town councillors (like newly-elected Deputy Mayor Butterworth) will now show as much concern about GCSE results as their leader Keith Mitchell does.

Man jailed for cousin's death

The Dave Haigh fund
Celebrating Youth

1st Prize Joe "Mush" Shepherd  - CN Youth centre
2nd Prize Katie Hickman  - CN School

Other nominations  Yasmin Simms CN Youth Centre
Jamie Biles CN School Alistair Falconer-Hall CN School
Jack Davison CN School    Rosi Callery CN School
Ryan Souch CN Youth Musical Theatre

Performance by St Marys year 6 dance group

Thanks to Glyn Watkins for the pictures
 

SOME WARTIME MEMORIES

For the last six years an article by local resident and aviation expert David Nickson has been sitting in our Features Archive. Its a fascinating article and has continued to attract a lot of interest. Its well worth a look if you haven't read it.  www.chippingnorton.net/Features/chippyskies.htm. Last week David received an e-mail from Derek Holloway who lived in Chippy during WWII and now lives in Toronto, Canada. The article posed the question, “Does anyone remember the Harvards?” Here is Derek’s response, and some closely related memories.  Thanks for this vivid first hand account; the best kind of history.

The Post Office situation
is beginning to look worrying!

Last week the Post Office issued the following Press Release which sounds just a bit desperate....

When  the  Subpostmistress who runs Chipping Norton Post Office decided she
couldn’t carry on and tendered her resignation earlier this year she didn’t want  to let her customers down. She agreed with Post Office Ltd to stay on until  October in the hope that a replacement can be found before she needs to close. Post  Office  Ltd  immediately  began  the  search  for  a  replacement but unfortunately,  so  far,  despite  advertising  for  an  agent and visiting potential partners in the area no one has shown any interest in applying to provide Post Office services. Post  Office Ltd’s, Dave Shotton who is leading the search for a new agent, said,  “We’re  keen  to keep the Post Office service in Chipping Norton and  it’s very disappointing that no one has shown any interest. I  would  be  delighted  to hear from anyone with suitable premises who is interested in applying to provide the service.”

Jenny tells us: "As yet no one has stepped forward. A gentleman in the town did apply, got to interview stage and then withdrew.  Post Office Ltd have two subpostmasters looking at taking over the Post Office here in Chipping Norton, But as yet neither have been able to find suitable premises".

It is inconceivable that we could manage without a Post Office so some premises have to be found urgently. Here's my suggestion....what about the Ground Floor of the Guildhall at present used by WODC for their one-stop shop. That could all move upstairs! Other ideas in the Forum please.

14th May

Hi Gerry, just to update on the post office situation. We'd be quite happy to site the post office in our premises now that we have a lot more space to play with and have been in touch with the Post Office and hopefully they will look at the feasability of it all but as yet have had nothing back from them, hopefully that doesn't mean that they are not actually keen on finding another site.
 
Nadeem
Barons Retail
2-4 Hailey Road
Chipping Norton 

Increased police patrols in Chippy

A Visit to Chipping Norton School
Keith Greenwell writes:

I recently led a group of “Chippy First” Councillors to visit Chipping Norton School  The group consisted of myself with Gerry Alcock, Sue Bartholomew and Kristel Withers. We had been invited by the headmaster to see for ourselves how the school was performing following comments I had made about the disappointing results achieved in this years GCSE. The percentage of kids getting 5 GCSEs at level A* - C (including English and Maths) had suddenly nosedived from 65% in 2007 to 54% in 2008 and nobody seemed to know why.

We arrived at the start of the school day. Several of us  attended the School Morning Assembly. We listened to the headmaster's address and then watched  the young entrepreneurs of Chippy School - calling their company "The Polkadots and Bobs" receive their award for making the best presentation in a recent competition among teams from North Oxfordshire Schools.

The Head Master then formally welcomed us to the school and gave us some background information before we left for a tour in individual groups to see some classes in progress. Speaking for myself the immediate thing that struck me was the sense of calm in the school. Maybe in my day things were a little more boisterous. In Chippy School pupils appeared well ordered and extremely well behaved.

Sue and I “dropped in” on a class for Geography who were doing an exercise on crime, a Physics class, an English class that were working on aspects of writing advertising copy, a maths class and then a further science class. We saw a dance class rehearsing for a performance, we saw examples of work done in textiles and watched pupils designing and producing a Pasta meal.  Gerry thought the music teaching was inspirational. One group were revising the "characteristics of house music" and another were studying composition. The engineering design class had crafted some quite amazing pieces of furniture. The graphic design class were using Photoshop to produce professional-standard board games, while in another IT class Powerpoint presentations were being being prepared which were quite superb. Then there was a drama workshop going on in one of the beautifully equipped studio areas. All in all in just a couple of hours we saw  the most extraordinary range of activities and subjects - and  all of them were being taught with a freshness and enthusiasm and were deeply involving the students.

The teaching staff we met and watched were impressive. From my perspective everyone appeared to be doing a good job, committed to getting the best out of the kids they were teaching.

All this is great but it merely added to the puzzle: Why have the GCSE exam results as measured by 5 A* - C including English and Maths declined so sharply. A question we pursued again over coffee with the head and a group of teachers. So could the Head Master provide some explanation? What we had seen impressed us, so what was happening? Was there something structurally wrong with secondary education across Oxfordshire? There were only two schools in the county that achieved an “outstanding” rating from Ofsted, Chipping Norton School rated “good” – a middle of the road grading. Mr Duffy's explanation of the exam results was that the school had suffered from some kind of marking aberration - particularly in English where we were told the school had tried to appeal a large number of the results - unsuccessfully. Well if papers were incorrectly marked it is last year’s Chipping Norton children that are the losers. Its really surprising that the governors haven't been protesting about this so loudly that everyone in the town and the county has heard them!

However Mr Duffy and the Deputy Heads are confident that this year the results will be back to previous levels so by late Summer we will know whether 2008 was just an aberration. Likewise there is a confidence that at the next Ofsted inspection the school will be assessed as “outstanding”. These two forecasts represent an impressive confidence in the school's continuing performance and we wish them success in meeting them.

One last point about something which did surprise some of us. The school has excellent grounds and facilities like the MUGA and almost total use of the ‘Sports Centre’ -  but the classroom blocks are a different matter. There are some recent additions of a very high standard but we were very unimpressed with the older parts. They may be nicely painted and maintained but they are a hotch potch collection that the school has tried to adapt as best it can. Some years ago Gordon Brown committed this Government to replacing and rebuilding every secondary school in the country. It would be great to see that happen here in Chipping Norton. We should be pressing for a modern integrated school in keeping with the excellent teaching we saw. Buildings that everyone, pupils, teachers, governors and the people of Chipping Norton can be proud of. We were really impressed by the commitment of all the teaching staff. It would be nice if they worked in school buildings which were worthy of that commitment. But to be fair the last word should be with Kristel Withers who went to the school not so long ago and whose son attends now. "Its a lot lot better than it was in my day. I was well impressed with everything"

Many thanks to the headmaster and his staff for organising such an eye-opening morning for me and my colleagues.

Keith Greenwell decides not to stand.

Deputy Mayor Keith Greenwell (pictured right) had recently announced his intention of standing as a candidate in the County Council election. While acknowledging the sterling efforts which Hilary has made over the last four years - Keith felt that Chippy was still not getting a fair deal from the County Council. The County was making millions out of its land holdings in the town yet Chippy was still lacking basic amenities like a Youth Centre and a decent library. Keith found in some early canvassing that there was a lot of support for his point of view and he felt confident that he could attract a good level of support. However, after a lot of soul-searching and advice from his fellow Chippy First members, Keith decided that the more successful his campaign was the bigger the danger that he might end up splitting the Conservative vote and letting Labour in. In the last analysis Keith couldn't face the prospect of being responsible for a such an outcome. So he has decided not to go ahead with his nomination but to concentrate his energies on town matters instead. Keith credits most influence on his decision to Councillor Sue Bartholomew (pictured left) who apparently sat him down earlier this week and said "Look Keith. I will support you whatever decision you make, but being brutally realistic, can you win?" to which Keith replied "Probably not" "So" said Sue "cut your losses and concentrate on the Chippy home front where you can really make some difference". Having sorted Keith out Sue then told Councillor Watkins that he badly needed a haircut - but then she would say that wouldn't she?

Charges at last in "Footsteps in the Snow" case

Chippy's very own dinosaur

Young entrepreneurs compete

Town Council choose Mike Dixon as the new Mayor  and Chris Butterworth  as his Deputy (Chris who?)

Monday night and another lively session at the Town Council. The Council decided to ignore the tradition of the Deputy Mayor succeeding to the Mayor's job and to nominate Mike Dixon as Mayor. During the discussion there were a number of vicious personal tirades against the present Deputy Keith Greenwell - particularly from Eve Coles.  Keith understandably decided in the face of all this antagonism that he wasn't interested in carrying on as Deputy Mayor so he withdrew. The only other person who had expressed any interest in being Deputy Mayor was Mr Butterworth so he was elected.

READ TW0 REPORTS OF THE MEETING

COAL HOLE UNEARTHED SLAP IN THE
MIDDLE OF THE TOWN HALL STEPS

All of this is going to require serious council attention - including fund-raising. The tragedy is that when tiny Parish Councils were left with huge listed buildings to maintain there was no revenue stream or endowment to pay for them. The District and County made off with the land and the loot and left us with the liabilities. Faced with what is set to become a serious priority its a pity that only last night a coalition of Labour supporting the Conservatives ganged up to humiliate Councillor Greenwell who has done such a superb job so far in pushing ahead with this Town Hall re-furbishment project. I suspect this is now the last we will see of Keith's very knowledgeable involvement. Lets just hope that the new Deputy Mayor Chris Butterworh is an expert on listed buildings.

Hilary Biles' working party produces a really fantastic report on ambulance response times in West Oxfordshire.
A report that will make a difference!

A series of recommendations relating to ambulance service provision in West Oxfordshire have been set out by a working party formed by District Councillors to investigate “poor” response times in the area. West Oxfordshire District Council’s Cabinet has agreed to support the recommendations made in a Report by the Ambulance Services Working Party. The Report will be given to South Central Ambulance Service (SCAS), which provides accident and emergency services across Oxfordshire, Buckinghamshire, Hampshire and Berkshire, and the commissioning body, Oxfordshire Primary Care Trust (PCT), as well as several other health-related parties . The Council requests the Report’s findings and recommendations should be taken into account in the development plan currently being worked on by SCAS and the PCT, and lead to improved response times.

Cllr Hilary Biles (pictured left), Chairman of the Ambulance Services Working Party and the Council’s Cabinet Member for Health, said: “It is essential to recognise the hard work and professionalism of Ambulance Service staff, particularly the dedication of their paramedics and volunteers, and I would like to thank the Service for its openness in helping us to carry out this Review. The Council has been concerned about this issue for several years, but our efforts to get the Service to improve response times in West Oxfordshire have not worked. I hope that this in-depth report, which has not left any stone unturned, will mean that the Service and the PCT take note of the Council’s grave concerns and that of the public, and act upon them.”

The Working Party, which consisted of seven District Councillors (including Chunky Townley from Chipp), focused on response times to 999 emergency calls in West Oxfordshire. Response times in the District have traditionally been below nationally set target times. In September 2008, only 54% of Category A (life-threatening) call-outs in West Oxfordshire met the 8-minute response time target - significantly below the 75% target set by the Government. The Report looks into the reasons for these poor response times in West Oxfordshire and explores the clinical need for better response times by ambulances, particularly in cases of cardiac arrest and stroke.

It investigates the coverage provided by ambulances in the District and the impact of SCAS’s use of Fire Service and volunteer Community First responders. Ambulances are rarely stationed in locations that can get to areas of the District within the Category A 8-minute target time and co-responders are therefore often dispatched. Their response times are currently included in the overall response times achieved by SCAS. The Review found that, without this support service, response time performance in West Oxfordshire would be even lower than at present. It was felt by the Working Party that co-responders were not an acceptable alternative to an ambulance and paramedic, and that SCAS should not include their response times within their overall achievement figure. 

The Report sets out a range of other findings and makes the following over-arching recommendations, along with additional specific recommendations:

•  The commissioning Primary Care Trusts (PCTs) should dedicate more regional funding to improve ambulance services in rural areas of Oxfordshire.  In West Oxfordshire this would be £4.2 million.
   

• The commissioning PCTs and South Central Ambulance Service (SCAS) should agree minimum targets of meeting 75% of Category A responses within 8 minutes and 95% of Category B responses within 19 minutes for ambulance callouts across all of Oxfordshire.
   

• SCAS should ensure that the social standby points in West Oxfordshire have back up ambulances in place on a regular basis in order for SCAS to reach their West Oxfordshire destinations in the target times set out in Recommendation 2.
   

• SCAS should regularly staff ambulance standby points at Witney, Chipping Norton and Carterton to better serve West Oxfordshire.
   

• Paramedics should be based at Chipping Norton hospital to provide both an Out of Hours service and a paramedic provision for the area and this will reduce the demand on the Ambulance Service and acute hospitals.
   

• Although providing a valuable service to the community in responding to cardiac arrest, Community and Fire Responder call outs should not, and must not be used to calculate and achieve ambulance call out target times. It is imperative for heart attack and stroke patients to reach the appropriate hospital within the necessary time frames in order to be given the necessary interventions to preserve life and have improved and shorter recovery success. This is ultimately better for the patient and will in the long term have beneficial savings for the NHS.
   

• That SCAS be requested to respond to the recommendations contained in the report within 8 weeks of its publication.

The Working Party found that, in addition to other factors affecting ambulance service provision, West Oxfordshire has one of the largest predicted increases of older people in the population in Oxfordshire and is therefore likely to have a greater need for ambulance services in the future. It was also felt that the size of the SCAS area needed to be reviewed to provide more localised services. Cllr Biles added: “West Oxfordshire is the second most rural district in the South East. However, we are not isolated. All residents deserve equity of access to our public services and that of the Ambulance Service is paramount. In West Oxfordshire co-responders, although a valuable resource in certain circumstances, are used because Ambulances cannot realise the target times. Ambulances are centralised in the three largest Oxfordshire towns – Oxford (Kidlington and Headington), Banbury (Adderbury) and Abingdon (Didcot). Therefore it stands to reason that ambulances cannot meet the required government call out times for West Oxfordshire. While we understand funding and government targets are major factors, it is not right that rural areas should suffer because targets are able to be met in urban areas. Centralisation may help budgets, but does not provide essential services.”

New Care Home and Hospital Gets Underway

Work has begun on a new care campus development in Chipping Norton.  On Friday 24th April representatives from The Orders of St John Care Trust (OSJCT), Oxfordshire County Council (OCC), Oxfordshire Primary Care Trust (PCT), West Oxfordshire District Council and the Hospital Users’ Group (HUG) watched a mechanical digger breaking ground to symbolise the beginning of the first phase of construction.  

A 50 bed registered care home will be developed to replace the existing Castle View residential home and an NHS Primary Care Facility will replace the Memorial Hospital.  The development is due to be completed in the autumn of 2010.  A formal Foundation Stone laying ceremony is planned later this autumn. The care home will provide both high dependency nursing and intermediate care services.  The NHS Primary Care Facility will provide consulting rooms, x-ray facilities and outreach offices, as well as a state of the art Maternity Unit that will be operated by the Oxford Radcliffe Hospitals NHS Trust.

Nigel Reed, Chief Executive of OSJCT, said: “We are delighted that we are now in a position to commence work on this important new facility.  This is the culmination of a great deal of hard work undertaken by all involved parties, who are committed to seeing a modern, fit for purpose care campus on this site.”

Cllr Hilary Biles, County & West Oxfordshire District Councillor for Chipping Norton, said:  “This has been a long drawn out process, however, I am delighted plans for the Care Home and Hospital have at last come to fruition.  This is excellent news for the residents of Chipping Norton and the surrounding villages who also use the services of the Hospital.  Rural areas need access to local services and these facilities will serve residents well in the future.”

Andrea Young, Chief Executive of Oxfordshire PCT, said: “Today’s ceremony is the result of a great deal of hard work with partners and the community and we are delighted that work on the reprovision of services at Chipping Norton has progressed to this significant step.  The new facilities will provide high quality 21st century care for the people of Chipping Norton and will enable them to receive many of the services they need without having to travel further afield to see a specialist. These facilities will be a tremendous asset to the local community.”

Death of Chippy man caused by careless driving

LIDO GEARS UP FOR 2009 SEASON

Chipping Norton Lido is getting ready to re-open for the 2009 season next week. Volunteers from the Chipping Norton and Stow-on-the-Wold branches of Barclays Bank were joined at the weekend by young people who participate in The Lido’s Dip ‘n Chill nights and other local helpers in a major team effort to scrub out the pool and clean the changing rooms.On Thursday 30 April the pool will re-open to the public, having had a full behind-the-scenes refit over recent weeks. A brand new, energy-efficient plant room has been installed using skilled volunteer labour and includes new ultra violet water treatment equipment which will dramatically reduce the amount of chlorine used in the pool. The water treatment equipment was part-funded by a grant from West Oxfordshire District Council while other costs were met from The Lido’s capital fund which the charity has been building over the past two years. In addition, WODC supported the installation of a new domestic hot water system, showers and central heating which will replace the elderly, unreliable and outdated system previously in place. These elements of the works programme also benefited from funding from Oxfordshire County Council’s Chill Out Fund and the Youth Opportunity Fund.

A full programme of public swimming, lessons and special events is planned for 2009. Successful initiatives such as Dip ‘n Chill nights for young people and free sessions for the Over 60s are set to continue, despite the loss of a major commercial sponsor. Local insurance firm CETA and a private donor came to the rescue to ensure that the very popular Over 60s swim could continue throughout the summer. Claire Jarvis, trustee, commented, “We’re delighted to welcome everyone back to The Lido this year. The pool is looking better than ever this year and we are all looking forward to a successful summer season.” This will be The Lido’s fifth year of independent operation since West Oxfordshire District Council withdrew their funding at the end of 2004.  The Lido is now managed on behalf of the local community by Chipping Norton Lido Ltd, a registered charity. For more information about Chipping Norton Lido, timetables and 2009 events, including the annual Fun Run and Auction of Promises, visit www.chippylido.co.uk
 

 
Left: Lia Norman and Vicki Gibbons   Right: Eve Norman

Left: Gary and Joe: Centre: Lewis and friends: Right: Barclays staff

BREAKING GROUND ON THE HOSPITAL SITE

So its goodnight from him....
Mayor decides that a year is long enough after all.

Last night (20th April) :  With sighs of relief we staggered last night  to the last item on the agenda.  Election of Deputy Mayor. This should be quick. The pub was beckoning.  But wait....shock horror. Before we could even say "I propose Councillor Greenwell" the Mayor announced that despite all the fuss and brouhaha and acrimony which had been provoked at the last meeting he had decided after all that he didn't want to be Mayor for a second term.  People fell off their chairs around the table. So a month later what had changed? The Mayor didn't really explain. Perhaps he had been hoping that Chippy First would be annihilated in the election so life would get a bit easier. But in fact, Chippy First had won two more seats and were now the largest group on the Council so things would probably get more stressful. Perhaps he had just had enough. Perhaps - like with all of us - he was feeling his advancing years!  Councillor Burrows made her usual speech about how everyone should be ashamed for having kept the Mayor awake at night worrying about his decision and Councillor Butterworth confidently placed the responsibility for the Mayor's decision where  it belonged...which was in the same place as it belonged when Councillor Grantham resigned. Where was that then? Councillor Butterworth never elaborated.  It has looked for some time as if Councillor Butterworth is preparing his own bid for power which is the only explanation why such a true blue Tory is  building such a cosy coalition by snuggling up so closely across the party divide with influential ex-Mayors Rob and Gina. The fact that Councillor Butterworth  is completely unknown in the town outside of High Tory committee circles doesn't seem to worry him. Seems a bit of a blocker to me.  My advice is that he needs to get out a bit more to check how his ex-Public School Housemaster style goes down with a wider range of Chippy's social groups before biting off more than he can chew. Councillor Coles said she was very sad because the Mayor had never blown his own trumpet. In fact just about everyone was very sad. However, some of us were left wondering why on earth people volunteered for these jobs if they couldn't take a bit of heat now and again. As our County Councillor memorably commented to me the morning after..."For goodness sake. We're talking about the Chipping Norton Town Council here not the General Assembly of the European Union"  And so its back to finding a Mayor -  with even less time now to make the sausage rolls for the Mayor Making ceremony than we had in 2007. All hands to the rolling pins will be necessary. One of the Hilarys will surely be able to organise things. An Extraordinary Meeting of the Council has been scheduled for next Monday 27th by which time the political cabals all round town will have tried to come up with a Unity candidate. Somebody who can bind together the wounds of the last six months, build bridges across the political divide and take us back to the harmony that existed before the Headmaster and the New Street Gang circulated that defamatory letter about  Chippy First councillors to the local Press. Somebody who can lead the Council forward into the sunlit uplands of a prosperous future and not blow their own trumpet while doing it. Hmmm. Good luck with all that. Me I reckon there's only one person for the job and that's the one who wants it most.

Play Rangers are in town again this summer

    
On the left Play Ranger Helen Morrison having fun with children in Chipping Norton. on the right  local Chippy  girl Courtney Carter playing at a Play Rangers session at the Recreation Ground.

With the lighter evenings and warmer weather on its way, children in Chippy now have more opportunities to meet the district’s ‘Play Rangers’ and get active outdoors. The project, which aims to encourage children and young people to play outdoors and make the most of their local parks, is celebrating its first anniversary this month (April)

Equipped with bucket loads of fun items, from face paints to footballs, Play Rangers Helen Morrison and Mark Excell visit New Street Recreation Ground every Thursday between 3.30pm and 6pm to hold sessions for 5 to 16-year-olds:

Cllr Hilary Biles, West Oxfordshire District Council’s Cabinet Member for Leisure, Tourism and Health, said: “ The project gives children a chance to explore new activities.  It is a great way of having fun and I would like to encourage children and young people to go along and give it a try.” All sessions are free and children can come and go as they please. Children under 5 must be accompanied by an adult. Parents should be aware that the Play Rangers are not responsible for children who attend, but are there to help them use their own imagination and have fun creating activities.

Man held over Churchill Road burglary

HOARD OF CHIPPY GOLD COINS
 UP FOR AUCTION

A hoard of historic gold coins found by a builder in the cellar of a block of flats he was renovating in Chippy has been valued at £50,000. The 400 year old gold "unites" - minted after James VI of Scotland became the first Stuart king of England in 1603 - were found while digging the foundations for a block of flats in Chipping Norton, Oxfordshire. He gave the 59 coins to his ten year old grandson - and for many years they stayed in a shoe box with his others treasures of seashells, marbles and stamps.

Now aged 39 and married with two children - and following a lengthy treasure trove case - he has been given permission to sell 57 of the coins at auction. Two of the rarest have been bought by the British Museum but the rest are expected to fetch about £50, 000 at Morton and Eden in London on June 9.Auctioneer James Morton said yesterday the coins - also known as "jacobuses" - were all different and were minted in Scotland for circulation there. "Whoever hid these coins for safekeeping deliberately chose them as the most reliable store of wealth. Their first owner would have been a substantial, well-moneyed person, possibly a merchant or land owner."

The anonymous lucky owner said: "I was gobsmacked when I learned they were gold and worth so much money."The treasure was unearthed 30 years ago when the ground collapsed during digging to reveal the hidden cellar. The coins were found in a space behind a large stone in the wall of the cellar, which was later demolished.

Does anyone know which block of flats this was? ED

WODC invest in the property market.

Fresh from their financial adventures in Iceland, the District Council have now found another risky place to put our money. The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) has predicted that capital values in the commercial property market will fall by at least 16% in 2009, and continue to fall in 2010 by up to 10%.
 

Chippy First lead the way

Chunky Townley (Conservative) says good luck to Sue Bartholomew (Chippy First) on the Town Hall steps

When he was asked by Tory party headquarters to explain this cross-party indiscipline Chunky replied "But Sue is my favourite hairdresser!" Anyway the best wishes paid off and Sue was duly elected.

RESULTS
1404 turnout. 28.1%
 

The new face of Chippy Town Councillors - young, attractive, feminine and cheerful. Move over the old brigade!

Below: Councillor Kristel Withers (left) joins  newly-elected Tory Councillor Honor Stobart (centre) and Councillor Hilary Williams on the Town Hall steps.

Rogue trader sent to jail

A rogue trader who conned an elderly pensioner out of £1,200 by pretending to fix a leaking roof was last night behind bars. Hughie Fury of Old London Road, Chipping Norton, did work “of no value whatsoever” to the roof of 86-year-old Olive Cutler’s bungalow in Wheatley — but charged her £1,200. The 51-year-old was called to Mrs Cutler’s home in July 2007 after she reported problems with her roof. Robert Horner, prosecuting at Oxford Crown Court, said Mrs Cutler’s son was concerned about the quality of the work and called trading standards officials.

An expert examined the roof and concluded Fury had just repainted it and thrown some gravel on the top. Mr Horner said: “He said it was of no value whatsoever. If it had been done properly it would have cost about £700.” Fury admitted one charge of fraud on the day his trial was due to begin earlier this month.

The court heard he was convicted of affray and jailed for three years in 2005 after an incident at a wedding reception at the Holiday Inn at Pear Tree, Oxford, in which a 28-year-old man died. Anthony Bell, defending, said: “The amounts concerned are comparatively small when one compares them to other offences of this kind.”

Jailing Fury for 40 weeks and ordering him to pay £1,200 compensation and £2,000 costs, Mr Recorder Malek said: “The whole thing was nothing but a scam on an old and vulnerable person.” Speaking outside court, Graham Hill, group manager of Oxfordshire County Council Trading Standards, said: “We are satisfied with the result. He targeted an elderly victim. The loss was considerable.”

Minister visits The Phone Co-op
on digital fact-finding tour

 Left to right: Hilary Benn, Vivian Woodell and Dr Stuart Burgess (Chairman of the CRC)

Hilary Benn, Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, met with telecoms industry representatives and representatives of community-owned high-speed broadband projects at The Phone Co-op in Chipping Norton yesterday to discuss the role of digital technology in transforming rural economies and lifestyles. The tour, arranged by the Commission for Rural Communities (CRC), was the latest in a series of successful Rural Experience visits designed to give ministers and other senior players a unique insight into issues affecting rural communities. The delegates heard the hopes and concerns of rural businesses as the Government pursues its commitment to provide universal access to broadband by 2012. They first visited The Phone Co-op in Chipping Norton, the UK’s only telecommunications co-operative, to discuss regulatory issues. Vivian Woodell, chief executive of The Phone Co-op, opened discussions by highlighting the problems faced by many rural businesses and consumers in accessing fast, reliable broadband and called for greater support for local, community-led initiatives to encourage more investment in infrastructure. Hilary Benn said: “Technology has helped rural entrepreneurship to grow, and broadband is transforming lives, communities and jobs. I know that broadband is essential for rural communities and businesses.  I will make sure that access for rural areas is a central part of government plans for the future of broadband.” Subsequently the tour moved on to Everyclick in Moreton-in-Marsh, a search engine which enables online charitable giving. Delegates also visited Oasis, a specialist tent hire company who have relocated to take advantage of a faster, more reliable internet connection.

Recent news items.....

Chippy band Relay first on stage at the Cornbury Festival

Chipping Norton Town Partnership could be scrapped

CHIPPING Norton Town Partnership could be scrapped unless it succeeds in its objective to create business and jobs, a meeting heard. The Chipping Norton Town Council meeting was discussing a report about the partnership. Funded by Chipping Norton town, West Oxfordshire district and Oxfordshire County councils, the partnership launched five years ago after the town’s biggest employer, the Parker Knoll furniture company, closed with the loss of more than 500 jobs. The partnership’s purpose is to raise funds for the construction of an enterprise centre on Parker Knoll’s former London Road site, to create new jobs. Coun Jo Graves said the town council was to have dominated the partnership but other local organisations were to be involved. She said the town council was to have initiated projects that the partnership would take forward.

“I feel it has almost run its course, which is very sad,” said Councillor Graves, town council representative on the partnership. “The town council doesn’t seem to have supported it.” Councillor Gina Burrows said one of the reasons the partnership was formed was to get the town funding only available through such an organisation.

Saying he opposed the partnership, Councillor Keith Greenwell said: “Nowhere have I ever read anything saying that this is about delivering jobs to Chipping Norton.” Councillor Gerry Alcock said the partnership had failed to utilize the £400,000 the county council allocated to Chipping Norton to generate employment. He said: “If they haven’t got a purpose then it would be simple to wind the partnership up.”

Planning blueprint ignores
job creation in Chipping Norton

by  Simon Crump

Tensions boil over at the Town Council

TENSIONS boiled over at Chipping Norton Town Council as a furious row broke out over the election of the new mayor. At Monday's meeting, a divide appeared to form between the Chippy First party and other councillors as they argued over suggestions for the new mayor. Members of the Chippy First party, led by Cllr Gerry Alcock, felt discussions should be put on hold until the April meeting so the three newly elected councillors could have some input

However numerous councillors felt this would be breaking routine. Referring to current Mayor Martin Jarratt, who had been proposed as the mayor elect, Cllr Alcock said: "I don't want to have a battle now between Martin and someone else, I just want it to be postponed to the next meeting. It is unfair for people to come onto this council and find it has all been arranged." Cllr Alcock's suggestion to delay proposing the new mayor was met with annoyance by other councillors, including Cllr Sarah Wilkes who accused
Mr Alcock of "blowing a lot of hot air".

Cllr Hilary Williams said: "As a new councillor when you come onto the town council and vote for a mayor for the first time it is a very daunting thing.  I can see both sides of it in that we could wait for the councillors who are coming on and will be a part of the council for the coming year. But equally, we are the councillors who have seen the work which has gone on during the past year and people's strengths and weaknesses.  So do those people who are coming on have a better knowledge or understanding about who we should carry forward?"

Members of the mayoral select committee had proposed Mr Jarratt to return as mayor for a second term, being officially inaugurated at the mayor making ceremony in May. However it emerged Cllr Glyn Watkins, a fellow Chippy First councillor, had abstained from passing a vote of support, and said he could not give Mr Jarratt his "full support". Mr Jarratt sharply replied: "Thank you very much. I now know whose support I have got. "It leaves me cold the way this council has been brought into disrepute." Trying to calm the situation, Chippy First councillor Kristel Withers said to Mr Jarratt: "We all have an opinion and I don't think you should feel slighted. No-one meant to cause you any offence."

CHUNKY & HILARY FIGHT FOR A BETTER AMBULANCE SERVICE

John Nichols (Head of the Oxfordshire Ambulance Service) has said..."We acknowledge that our performance in rural Oxfordshire remains below an acceptable level"  The Ambulance Service made a presentation to the Joint Health Overview and Scrutiny Committee last week in Witney. Chunky Townley addressed the committee at the beginning of their proceedings. Here is a shortened version of what he told them.....

Since 2002 attempts have been made to get the Ambulance Service to improve coverage in West Oxfordshire especially in the rural areas in the North of the District. You may be aware that a Working Party has been set up by WODC to carry out a Review of the Ambulance Service - which will report next month. The consultations taking place as part of this Review have flagged up significant shortcomings in the performance of the Ambulance Service in our area. The claimed improvements have not been evident. Some of the response times have worsened rather than improved in the more rural areas - especially in and around Chipping Norton.

The national targets for reaching Category A calls (life threatening) within 8 mins is 75%. In Chipping Norton the figures show an average of 50%. Last December they actually dropped to 40%! The national target for category B calls - reaching the scene within 19 mins is 95%. In Chippy the performance is 60%  These figures show the response times for Chipping Norton are more than 33% BELOW national targets.

These performance figures cover co-responders (including the Fire Service). In many cases it is they who arrive first at 999 calls. Without their contribution it is difficult to imagine how bad the performance tables would look. Often the fire engine with 4 or 5 firemen, then a co-responder, then an ambulance arrive to answer the same call. Surely the cost of all these resources would be better spent on buying additional ambulances.

Until a few years ago when it closed Chipping Norton had an Ambulance Station equipped with two ambulances and paramedics. I find it difficult to see how South Central Ambulance Service think they can convince people living and around Chipping Norton that the service is improving in their area. Surely the very least we should expect is for an ambulance to be manned and on standby 24/7  at the new hospital when it is completed.

At the moment Chippy is served mainly from Adderbury Resource Centre. It takes 15 mins to travel from that station to Chippy by car - and a further 5-10 minutes for an Ambulance. Clearly it could never be done in 8 minutes - but it is also unlikely it could be done in 19 mins even if the driving conditions were excellent.

The Ambulance Service say there have been increases in ambulances and trained paramedics. This may be true but we have seen no evidence of it in our area, We all pay the same taxes so why shouldn't people in West Oxfordshire expect the same level of service as other places in the region?

The Ambulance Service say that an ambulance stationed at Chipping Norton would not receive enough calls to justify it. We don't agree. As I have already said, we used to have our own station with two ambulances full-time. Standy points for ambulances have been created around the area  -including one at Chippy Fire Station. It is hardly ever used and performance figures haven't improved. It is obvious there is a need for more ambulances - with additional funding dedicated to Oxfordshire and specifically rural areas. It is also obvious that the South Central Ambulance Service Area is too big and covers too large an area. Big is not always better.

Hilary Biles (left) also spoke at the meeting and wrote to us afterwards: "The Joint Health Overview and Scrutiny Committee strongly came out in support of the representations made by Chunky and I and have asked for the Ambulance Trust to go back and get a business plan together to bring back to the next meeting on 15 May. I am also taking one of their Directors on a tour of the area so they know first hand what the area is like. An absolute necessity as they are based in Winchester. It is so good after all the battles to see a glimmer of hope. They were told that should they not conform to what the Committee asked they would be referred to the Secretary of State.

Scrutiny committee chairman Peter Skolar later met senior trust representatives to demand improvements. He said: “We are looking for extra ambulances, extra staff and more money. The problem is that outside Oxford’s ring road the service is not able to hit the eight-minute target as required. I cannot see how things can get better without a great deal of extra resources from the Oxfordshire Primary Care Trust, and ultimately from the strategic health authority.”

The meeting agenda and charts of the presentation can be viewed at http://www.oxfordshire.gov.uk/content/public/Resources/hlpdownloads/JH/jh120309.htm  http://www.oxfordshire.gov.uk/content/public/Resources/hlpdownloads/JH/JH120309-07.doc
http://www.oxfordshire.gov.uk/content/public/Resources/hlpdownloads/JH/JH120309-07-an1.doc

Well done to Chunky and Hilary. keep up the good work. We are depending on you!

Mystery surrounds Partnership Resignation

So I was not surprised when I heard on my very authoritative grapevine that at last week's Partnership Meeting the Chairman (Simon Duffy) resigned. I decided to check the story out immediately with Senior Partnership member Hilary Biles who gave me one of her inimitable handbaggings. Don't be silly she said. Thats not true.  So picking myself up and thinking that perhaps Hilary was teasing me  I sought out newly-elected Partnership member (and straight as a die) Mike Dixon who I knew had been at the meeting. He would tell me.  Yes said Mike. He did resign. But Hilary said he didn't. Hilary was late for the meeting and wasn't there when the headmaster made his announcement said Mike. The Partnership hasn't done anything useful like issue any minutes yet so who knows what the situation is?  But it looks like an election for a new Chair may be imminent. The smart money is on Joe Graves (even though she has only been a member of the partnership for a few weeks) or Rob Evans who started the whole thing off five years ago.  But then maybe Hilary will have other ideas. Watch for a compromise candidate. Step forward Patrick MacHugh. Your moment may have arrived. Its an appointment that somehow feels right!

Lido wins yet another Award!

Chipping Norton Lido has received West Oxfordshire District Council’s Chairman’s Award for 2009 for Outstanding Achievement. Claire Jarvis and fellow trustees received the Award from the Council’s Vice Chairman, Cllr Derek Cotterill, at an Awards Evening on Friday (March 6^th). The Lido, which first opened in 1970 and has been run by community-founded Chipping Norton Lido Limited since 2004, was not only recognised for its Outstanding Achievement in providing leisure opportunities to residents of Chipping Norton and surrounding villages, but also for the innovation used in their new water treatment plant, the use of a ground source heat pump and boring their own water hole.

Presenting the Award, Cllr Cotterill said he was proud to give the award to The Lido on behalf of Council Chairman Cllr Roger Curry. He added: “The winners of this award have shown real determination. They have made an improvement to the community they live in and are providing a facility that is enjoyed by many.” Mrs Jarvis said: “It’s been an exciting, eventful four to five year for us now. We have had a huge amount of support, not only from the community but on many other levels as well. First and foremost, West Oxfordshire District Council has helped us enormously; we have received a great deal of support from members of staff, district and county councillors including Cllr Hilary Biles, our Cabinet Member who is also our county councillor. Our Town councillors in Chipping Norton have supported us all the way. There’s been an enormous contribution by our staff and the pool committee, and this award is gratefully received on their behalf.”

A cosy place where the food
is cooked to perfection
says The Oxford Mail

ATTENTION all foodies! Hitch up your wagons and head west – to West Oxfordshire that is, and the busy market town of Chipping Norton. For there you’ll find, tucked in between the antique shops and estate agents, a cosy little eaterie offering top notch modern British food that’s beginning to make a big name for itself since opening in December.

Cocking a snook at the credit crunch and waving talk of recession away with a jus-soaked spatula, chef Nick Pullen and partner Sally Daniel upped sticks from Portsmouth and opened Wild Thyme, a ‘restaurant with rooms’, cleverly spotting a gap in the market in Chippy for high-end nosh. We arrived to check it out after a flurry of posts on the chippingnorton.net forum and were immediately impressed by the cosy, but stylish, interior.

Despite being a chilly Saturday evening, we were shown to the last free table in the place. Or so we thought ... half an hour later we were amazed to see a party of 10 troop, in Tardis-like fashion, through to a second room in the rear. Offering a select range of dishes with locally-sourced ingredients – all homemade from the delicious sun-dried tomato bread to the chocolate truffles handed out with the bill – Wild Thyme’s seasonal menu is well thought out and makes mouth-watering reading.

SO WHAT DID YOU HAVE?

For starters, I had the seared Cornish scallops and parmesan with cauliflower puree and crispy pancetta. The scallops were cooked to perfection, lightly golden on the outside and juicy inside, while the cauliflower puree tasted so good I had to stop myself licking the plate. My vegetarian husband spent a few minutes torn between the wild mushroom and sherry soup and the Rollright goat’s cheese tartlet before plumping for the latter. He was more than happy with his choice, particularly the tangy filling and the accompanying caramelised beetroot, hazelnuts and lambs lettuce.

For mains, he enjoyed the multitude of flavours in his butternut squash and Crudge’s cream cheese ravioli with spinach, walnuts and parmesan, while I tucked into whole roasted Ducklington partridge, braised red cabbage, roast chestnuts and chipped Jerusalem artichokes – a beautifully wintry dish with a rich depth, which I savoured like a fine vintage wine.

With just the right amount of time to relax between the courses, we contemplated the sweet menu, noting some intriguing combinations such as beetroot and chocolate fudge brownie. In the end, I had the chocolate and hazelnut creme brulee, which consisted of whole soft hazelnuts in a light creamy, chocolately crème under a crispy topping – it has to be tasted to be believed. Obviously deciding he hadn't already had enough cheese, he ordered the local cheeses, which included a couple by local popstar-turned-farmer Alex James and Kingham cheesemeister Roger Crudge, accompanied by quince chutney and homemade biscuits.

WHAT ABOUT THE SERVICE?

Discreet and friendly, Sally is on hand with knowledgeable advice about which wines to choose – she picked Penny’s Hill McLaren Vale Vintage Fortified Chiraz from Australia to accompany the cheese board, which sent Himself home with a crimson-lipped grin of satisfaction spread across his face.

AND THE PRICES?

Not particularly cheap; the mains are priced around £10.50 to £18.50 with slightly less expensive items on the lunch menu, but we both agreed you certainly get what you pay for, if not more.

VERDICT: A wonderful way to spend an evening – truly fine dining in the intimate atmosphere of a lovely Grade II listed building, albeit easy to miss, occupying a thin sliver of space in a terrace of shops and offices. Perhaps we could persuade someone to rig up a giant red arrow in the sky, because believe me, you really DON'T want to miss it....

Local Solicitor legs it up north!

Local solicitor, Geoff Gafford, is facing the challenge of a lifetime as he gears up to walk from Land’s End to John o’Groats. On 5th April he will be heading down to Cornwall to start walking to the far north-east corner of Scotland, some 1,075 miles, to raise money for MS Research and Relief Fund, which aims to provide good quality information and a range of services to help people whose lives have been affected by multiple sclerosis to understand and cope with the condition. “This walk has been planned for the last eighteen months and now, suddenly, it’s almost time to go,” says Geoff. “I shall be camping most nights. My route is all planned and I’m really looking forward to it. Hopefully, blisters won’t be too much of a problem and maybe it won’t rain too much! I’m hoping that friends will join me for the odd day or more. My closest point to home will be Chipping Campden or thereabouts and Stratford-upon-Avon.”

The hard work will all be worthwhile for Geoff if he succeeds in raising £2,000 for MS Research and Relief Fund. His brother’s wife was diagnosed with MS some years ago. You can sponsor Geoff by visiting his online fundraising page on www.justgiving.com/geoffgafford. You can pay by credit or debit card, and the money will go directly to MS Research and Relief Fund. Where supporters are UK taxpayers, the charity will automatically receive 28% extra in Gift Aid, which makes Justgiving the most efficient way of sponsoring Geoff. Alternatively, a sponsor form is available at Dyakowski Gafford, Solicitors, 2 New Street, Chipping Norton.  Geoff will be posting daily updates of the walk to his blog at http://litehikersblog.blogspot.com His route and schedule can be found on the blog.

THE MUDLARKS

Martin gets very close!

Holly tells the Legion about Life in Afghanistan

Holly is shown above standing between members of the Chipping Norton Royal British Legion  - l to r Mike Howes, Neville Edwards Branch President and Alex Shepherd Branch Chairman.  

Anyone who would like to consider joining the local branch of the Royal British Legion and/or be advised of future local events, please contact The Secretary, Mike Dixon on 01608 643755.

Delight at grant for Town Hall

There was some good news, some bad news and some promising news at the Town Council this week. Which do you want to hear first?

The good news is that after some very crunchy accounting and cost saving the Finance Committee has succeeded in keeping next year's budgeted expenditure very close to this year's - while still maintaining the plan for vital maintenance work on the Town Hall. The Town Council decided to absorb any extra budget required from reserves so that no increase in the precept would be requested. This means that the share of Council Tax attributable to the Town Council will NOT be increased next year - something which local taxpayers will surely be grateful for. Lets hope the District, the County and the Police are able to achieve a similar outcome! The Town Council deserves some thanks for trying to keep residents' costs down in these difficult times.

The promising news came in a report back from a meeting last week (chaired by Hilary Biles) with representatives of the Oxfordshire County Council to discuss the provision of a new Youth Centre in Chippy. The atmosphere was extremely positive and the town's representatives came away convinced that things were now really moving forward. Deputy Mayor Greenwell said that he felt things had progressed at that meeting more than they had done in the previous ten years. Problems had previously centered around finding a site for a new Youth Centre. The Town Council had reviewed every possible option in the Town. They spent ages exploring the feasibility of the old Hospital site before agreeing that it just wasn't practical. Then a possible site down on the Common was rejected by the Field Reeves who thought such a development would be inappropriate there. Eager to push things forward, the Town then offered  to contribute its own property at Greystones House as the best available site. Although there might be planning issues involved, the offer was welcomed by the County who said that - in the event that the land and bulding was contributed by the Town - the cost of refurbishment and ongoing maintenance would be covered by them. They wanted to keep an alternative under review so they would also pursue the Old Tennis Courts next to the Leisure Centre (on County Council land) as a possible location. There was confidence that funding would be available - including money from a new government funding stream. The next stage would be a feasibilty study of both sites by County officers and the preparation of a draft planning application. (The County also undertook to do a final check on the plans for a number of other sites in its ownership like Chestnuts, the Ambulance Station and the old Council Depot to see if any of them had a role) There would be a follow-up meeting in early February when further consultation could begin on the basis of a better understanding of practicalities and costs. Everyone was grateful to Hilary Biles for having arranged the meeting, and to Louise Chapman (Cabinet Member for Young People) and  Melinda Tilley  (Cabinet member for Place) for their enthusiastic involvement  and commitment to progressing the project. It really does look as if things are on the way now.

WOW - The District is going to give us
£100,000 to repair the Town Hall

Our sincere thanks to WODC and our congratulations and thanks to Deputy Mayor Keith Greenwell and the Town Clerk Vanessa who prepared our grant application and  to County & District Councillor Hilary Biles who fought it through Witney.  They all played a blinder.

Chipping Norton’s Deputy Mayor, Cllr Keith Greenwell, said: “I would like to thank West Oxfordshire District Council for its support of Chipping Norton. We are extremely grateful.”

Chippy Sports Award Winners.

SUMMER BAY COMES TO THE KINGS

Sebastian has worked with the Sydney Theatre company in 4 productions, as well as the Australian Opera. His brothers, Peter & Dominic Elmaloglou, also appeared on Home and Away as did his his sister, Rebekah Elmaloglou - well-known for portraying the role of Sophie Simpson from 1989-1993. Sebastian's father is of Greek descent and his mother (who is a cousin of Dame Judi Dench) is  English. "As a child I was made to listen to music, and hated every bit. My Dad was head cello in the Sydney Symphony Orchestra for 44 years, so every wednesday of my life i was made to go to a concert. Now I am listening to some  great stuff, music for the ears".

CHARLBURY BEATS CHIPPY
in the Loo of the Year awards

 But we get a Plaque as a Consolation Prize!

Five West Oxfordshire’s toilets have received recognition for their high standards in this year’s national Loo of the Year competition. The annual awards, carried out by the British Toilet Association are to find the best place ‘to go’ when away from home. Toilets visited are rated on a ‘star’ basis – one star is poor and 5 stars are excellent.The toilets at the Spendlove Centre car park in Charlbury gained an impressive 5 star excellent rating. The other four that were inspected received a four star rating and they are based at: Chipping Norton Town Hall, Bampton Town Hall, Carterton, and  Woodstock. They were judged using a checklist of over 100 different criteria for assessing male, female, accessible and baby change facilities. West Oxfordshire District Council will now receive award grading certificates and a plaque for each site. 

COUNTY PLANNING A YOUTH CENTRE?

The interesting new information is  that the County seem to have costed a Youth Centre and are now collecting money towards it, Perhaps its time for them to start talking to the town about their plans because we are still in the dark about it!

Deputy Mayor Keith Greenwell opens the Chippy Beer Festival and wishes the organiser Mike Dixon every success for the day and drinks his health with a pint of Ginger Tosser -  He could have chosen Pot Wallop or Old Moggy or Old Knobbly or Jail Ale or any other  of the 12 West Country real ales on sale. There was a steady stream of knowledgeable visitors throughout the day until late evening - and a lot of compliments about the range of ales which Mike Dixon had managed to arrange. With the help of a dozen sponsors Mike is confident he will be turning in a small profit which will go towards the refurbishment of town playgrounds.

Air Quality action plan approved

West Oxfordshire District Council’s Cabinet has endorsed a plan to improve air quality in Chipping Norton. The plan will involve seeking approval to de-trunk parts of the A44 so that heavy goods vehicles are re-routed away from the town. The area around Horsefair in Chipping Norton was declared an Air Quality Management Area in 2005 because of the high levels of nitrogen dioxide pollution caused largely by traffic and, in particular, heavy goods vehicles. Further investigations followed and a draft action plan was published outlining a number of options. The Plan took into account any adverse impact each option might have, such as transfer of pollution to other areas, increases in noise or congestion or harm to the environment such as the destruction of ecologically sensitive areas and habitats.

Earlier this year the public gave their views on the options and a traffic management proposal was produced by Oxfordshire County Council as the Highways authority. The re-routing proposal includes changing road signs and imposing vehicle weight limit restrictions on traffic coming into Chipping Norton. Approval for this measure is dependent on consultation with neighbouring authorities, as the A44 signage crosses county boundaries and will impact on several local authorities. Oxfordshire County Council will also investigate whether introducing a low emission zone in Chipping Norton will allow for better enforcement of the restrictions.

Cllr David Harvey, Cabinet Member for Environment said, “People living in Chipping Norton have had to put up with the effects of heavy traffic for many years and so we are pleased to be supporting this proposal.  We are concerned that in the long term it may not solve the air quality problem. Because of this we are asking Oxfordshire County Council to seek regional funding for a more significant scheme. In the meantime we will continue to monitor air quality levels.”

"Councils should never
have put that money at risk"

TOWN COUNCIL  0   WODC PLANNERS 4

The amazing precedent of 1, Churchill Road rumbles on and on. Originally permission was granted in 2005 for four houses. This has been progressively increased  as new owners have tried to extract more profit from the site. Work has already started on the basis of the last approval in August 2008 which was for eleven flats. Now just a couple of months later there is a new application for 14 flats. The Town Council thought "enough is enough" - restated their concerns about overdevelopment, parking and congestion - and said they didn't like being asked to comment on plans which had already been started on. The Planners don't think the new application changes much about the way the new building looks. The Town Council argued for rejection of the application. The Planning Officer recommends approval anyway.

The Co-Op want to put up some signs in their Car park showing people where to go. No problem says the Town Council. The planning officer says "The proposed signage will change from a blue to a lime green colour. The colour is not one commonly found within the Conservation Area and makes the signage more prominent from the street scene. In your officers opinion the green signage is not in keeping with the character and appearance of the Conservation Area"  This from the same council who allow an illuminated kebab van to park every evening slap in the middle of our beautiful market square - a sight not commonly found within a Conservation Area!. The Town Council thought the application was OK. The Planning Officer recommends refusal.

Now down to the Station Mill Antiques Centre.  There is a local policy which opposes the switch of industrial sites to housing (don't ask about Parker Knoll - that's another story!) But that policy does not apply to a switch from retail use. So here's a tip - if you've got an old industrial building that's still in use and you want to turn it into flats - make it a shop first. Easy! Back in 1998, permission was granted for the conversion of this industrial building into an antiques retail centre. On to Stage 2.  In 2005 there was an application to demolish the Mill altogether and turn it into flats. According to the law this is not covered by "loss of employment " provisions. Crazy! So an "outline" application was approved - despite loud protests from the Town. This permission lapsed after three years. Now there's a new application for fourteen flats. (although there seems to be some confusion about the exact number since neighbours say they have received notices talking about nine flats. And the Planning Officers report for next week's meeting says they won an appeal for 24 flats earlier this year) The Town Council took its chance to say that the loss of a business/employment site is even more undesirable now than it was in 2005, there are enough flats being built in the town and by the way the Station Mill Antiques Centre is always busy at the weekends and is one of the very few attractions for visitors.  There would be a significant loss of jobs. The Town Council argued for rejection of the application. The Planning Officer recommends approval anyway.

But hey this is unfair. The fourth application which the Town Council thought was OK is rejected by the Planners because of  "loss of employment". Miss Buckingham of Witney wants to open a Ladies Gym in one of the units on the Elmsfield Industrial Estate. No problems about the amount of parking. No impact on the surroundings. But say the Planners - "The use of the building as a gym would not involve the employment of the numbers of people that the current B1/B8 use class would and therefore officers consider that the proposals would be considered as a loss of an employment site". No numbers are quoted but we do wonder whether Dawn Brodie - the Planning Officer has actually visited a Ladies Gym - we are reliably informed that there are usually swarms of attendants in them - not to mention the manicurists and beauticians. Beats another storage warehouse any day and could bring in a few visitors. The Town Council thought the application was OK.  The Planning Officer recommends refusal.

IT DEFIES BELIEF! BOOKSHOP LEAD
IS STRIPPED AGAIN

STOMPIN' IN THE MARKET SQUARE
Jazz Day got off to a cracking start with the CN Allstars
attracting a big midday crowd outside the bookshop.
It was great having music belting out across the square. Reminded me of France!
Why don't we have a bandstand??