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Newsletter 12 July 2018

Sorry for the length of the email this week but it's suddenly busy again!

  1. Save Wantage Hospital
    You will have received a leaflet about the Save Wantage Hospital Rally taking place on Sunday 22 July. It's our Hospital and we want it back.
    We are meeting on Foliat Green at 2pm and winding our way past the hospital (at roughly 2.15) and along Wallingford Street to the Market Place where Ed Vaisey and Jenny Hannaby will address the rally. Hopefully they will explain why the Hospital has been temporarily to in-patents for more than 2 years and why we have lost Physiotherapy as well and what can be done to get these services resumed.
    We will need a number of stewards for this event so are looking for volunteers to assist to keep us all safe on our route across the town. If you can volunteer then please get in touch by replying to this email.
  2. Planning Applications:
    1. Leisure Centre:
      There is a planning amendment to the application for the new leisure centre but only for changes to the footpaths and roads in the site not for any increase in size of the centre. As usual the District Council will take no notice of comments from residents or even the swimming club (who want a larger pool). See application P18/V0760/FUL
    2. King Alfreds East Site:
      Bovis have submitted a application to discharge the boundary condition of planning permission P17/V2479/RM (see application P18/V1691/DIS). This shows the types of fencing/hedging to be used.
    3. Naldertown:
      Thomas Homes have submitted a application to discharge the a number of conditions relating to the planning consent for this development P17/V0569/FUL (see application P18/V1286/DIS). 
    4. Grove Airfield:
      There are new plans for the second tranche of development on Grove Airfield - it doesn't seem to change the layout of this phase of development but does now include the landscaping of the footpaths on either side of the planned Charles Church homes. See application P18/V0399/RM.
      Persimmon have also submitted a application to discharge the drainage condition of planning permission P17/V2807/RM (see application P18/V1593/DIS). It proposes to extract the rainfall/drainage catchment for the current phase of build and control it via "primary, secondary and tertiary systems including a large swale system and pond before discharging via a 1:1 year hydrobrake control chamber with overflow weir to a 1:100 +30% climate change hydrobrake control before discharging to the existing dual 300 dia culverts under Denchworth Road." This sounds complicated to me, let's hope someone understands it and will make sure the Wellington Gate doesn't live up to it's name!
    5. Park Farm East Challow:
      We mentioned a few weeks ago that the planning application for this site had been withdrawn, but have now found that there are amendments to the application P18/V1113/DIS to discharge the drainage condition on this development so we aren't sure what is happening. We know that work has started but we understood that the changes to the A417 had to be completed before any building work could start. We tried to speak to the Planning officer for clarification but he was unavailable for comment.
  3. East Challow:
    Thank you for your comments on Dandara's proposal to build the Western by-pass and up to 800 new homes. It appears that we have mixed views. Some think that the they could accept the additional new houses for the sake of the road, but others believe that 800 houses is too high a price to pay. As one resident said "I'm not sure that I trust the developers not to find some way of getting out of that one when it came to it." Other are now seeing the work in progress on the A417 at Crab Hill, on the A338 at Monks Farm, as well as Grove Airfield and East Hendred and realising how gridlocked our roads will become and how little impact the relief roads will have given no changes to the roads outside of Wantage and Grove.
    We are continuing to talk to Dandara and will keep you informed.
  4. Local Plan Part 2 Examination
    The Planning Inspector began the examination of the Vale Local Plan Part 2 last week. Most of the discussion last week was around the overall housing numbers in Part 2. Part 1 of the Plan allocated almost enough housing sites to meet the 20,560 target and stated that sites for the remaining 990 homes would be allocated in Part 2 as well as a further 2,200 homes to meet the need for Oxford City residents. The current housing applications and planned developments in the Vale will provide 21,328 new homes so based on our calculations only another 1,432 homes should be included in the Part 2 Plan so we were very surprised to see plans for 3,420 more homes (not including the 800 that Dandara want to build).
    We were also very surprised to hear that as part of the deal to get £215 million funding from the Government the Vale would be preparing a new Plan by 2021. So when the current "Part 2" is complete, they will start planning all over again!
  5. Thames Water Reservoir
    At the County Council Meeting earlier this week, the Council agreed to write to the Secretary of State asking for a further consultation on the revised Thames Water Draft Water Resources Management Plan when they have made the changes and reviewed all the comments received. We may also be doing the same thing and will be working with GARD (Group against Reservoir Development) over the next few weeks.
  6. Road works
    - There may be some delays on Mill Street near Rolls Court for the next couple of days for Thames Water
    - Thames Water will also be working on the A338 near Williams Roundabout from today until 16 July
    - Roadworks continue on Newlands Drive and Cane Lane in Grove for a variety of utilities until 10 August
    - Officially there are no traffic lights on the A417 at Crab Hill (they are a figment of your imagination - the licence to use the road finished on 29 June).
    - OK we were wrong about no more traffic lights at East Hendred on the A417. Stop Go Boards will be in use from 19th - 23rd July for Truckfest and and Featherbed Lane will be closed.
    - There is a cycling event on the B4507 from Kingstone Lisle to Wantage on Sunday 15th all day so please be careful.
    - There are two sets of roadworks planned for East Hanney from 25 - 27 July at the Summertown turning and at the Main Street turning.
    - Slightly further afield: Sutton Courtenay Lane (between Sutton Courtenay High Street and Milton Park) will be closed from 9 July until 16 November.
    - Advance notice that Ickleton Road will be closed from Priory Road to Ham Road from 6th - 31st August while repairs are made to the retaining wall and Denchworth Road will be closed from the Airplane Roundabout to Camel Roundabout for resurfacing from 16-24 August with possible work in the preceeding week.

That's enough for now. Thanks for reading.

Best wishes
Julie Mabberley

Campaign Manager
Wantage and Grove Campaign Group
www.wantageandgrove.org


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