Dear [Forename]

It's almost the middle of February already - where does the time go?

First the Reservoir. The County Council hosted a meeting with Thames Water and the Environment Agency this morning to look at the flood risk and their modelling associated with the reservoir plans. There appear to be two types of problems, Fluvial Flooding (related to the streams and rivers in the area) and Groundwater Flood Risk.
Obviously an area of roughly 4 square miles will mean that Cow Common Brook and Mere Dyke will need to be diverted but in theory Letcombe Brook and East Hanney Ditch will not be affected. Most of the inital work was done in 2007 but the climate has changed a little since then, more flow modelling will be done in 2024 to assess the fluvial flood risk from the reservoir. Water flows from our brooks into the Ock and has an impact on Abingdon and the rest of the Thames Valley so this needs very careful checking. The area covered by the reservoir is currently absorbing water which then flows toward Abingdon so replacement flood plain storage areas near East Hanney and Drayton will be required.
Ground water could be more of a problem. Although much of our bedrock is clay covered in various types of superficial deposits, we have two aquifers, the Coralian Aquifer and the Lower Greensand Aquifer. The groundwater will be affected by two things, the weight of the reservoir affects ground water pressure and the cessation of ground water extraction by a farm which will be replaced by the reservoir. The report goes on to say that the the impact on the aquifers will be negligible but models show that groundwater which currently flows north will be diverted by the reservoir, and ground water levels in the south and east (Wantage, Grove and Steventon) could rise by up to a metre. An engineering solution of a groundwater drain around the reservoir is being added to the design to mitigate this risk. Of course we will have to rely on Thames Water to install and maintain this drain and make sure it doesn't get blocked or affects the flows in the water ways.
As far as we can tell, no work has been done on the risk of the banks around the reservoir failing and the impact that a leak might have on our homes.
If you believe that a Public Inquiry is necessary to ensure that we understand what the risks are from the plans, then please write to the Secretary of State for DEFRA, the Rt Hon Steve Barclay at the House of Commons. defra.helpline@defra.gov.uk

Joint Local Plan. 
You can access the consultation about the local plan at https://theconversation.southandvale.gov.uk/jlp/. The deadline for comments has been extended until midnight on Monday 26th February.

As I said in the last newsletter (https://wantageandgrove.org/newsletter.php?DateID=2401241338), no other "Major" sites will be required in the Vale. So additional housing is not the issue this time but:
The Council want to introduce a policy that deals with all of the carbon associated with new buildings, setting the highest standards possible to deliver true NET ZERO CARBON buildings, while not making it too expensive for development to go ahead, but we are concerned about the lip-service currently being paid to the use of things like solar panels. Many new homes are having solar panels fitted facing in directions which mean that little (if any) energy will be generated. Developments need to be designed in such a way that dwelling face in the directions necessary (or have roofs facing in the appropriate directions) to gain the optimum solar gain. Otherwise - why bother?

Although the plan still safeguards land for GROVE STATION, it only includes the site with access from the north. The location near Grove Cemetery is no longer deemed suitable due to access constraints, with Denchworth Road overbridge to the west only allowing a single directional flow of traffic at any time due to width constraints. We thought that this location near to where the the Grove Northern Relief Road will be would be very accessible to the populations of both Wantage and Grove.
We did receive assurances from Network Rail that the rebuilding of the bridge over the A338 and the electrification would not mean that the original site of the station could be used and are very disappointed to see that a switching station and pylons installed for the Great Western Railway conflicts with the eastern safeguarded plot of land.
The site that they now prefer (north of the railway line) will only be accessible from the A338 which does not have suitable footpaths and cycleways to be suitable for sustainable access.

There is a proposed policy that seeks to safeguard against the loss of essential community facilities and services from change of use or redevelopment. Yet at the Cabinet meeting this next Friday, Councillors will be reviewing future plans for the BEACON. This building currently loses about £460,000 per year and the Council will examine future potential options for the operation of what is Wantage Town Hall over the next 18 months. So this may be the first community facility to be considered after the Local Plan has been approved.

We are still waiting for the LEISURE STRATEGY which, we were informed, was an essential component of this plan. To our knowledge none of the sports and leisure groups in this area have been involved in, or asked to comment on the strategy. We are also still waiting for the all-weather pitches and replacement for or improvements to Wantage Leisure Centre which were included in the last Local Plan and which are necessary to support sport and leisure in this area.

GREEN SPACES We support a policy which seeks to "protect, maintain and where possible enhance existing open space, sport and recreation, play facilities and land including playing fields and allotments to ensure their continued contribution to the health and wellbeing of visitors and residents", but would like to ensure that this is not funded by management fees levied on new dwellings. We know of examples where councils are refusing to take on green spaces, play spaces and sports facilities and therefore new residents are paying for recreational facilities used by the entire community in their management fees. These should be funded through a more equitable tax on all residents of the parish or local area.

NATIONAL LANDSCAPES (formerly called Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty) will be protected in the Local Plan but the housing sites appear to allow any development adjacent to any existing settlement even if they are in AONB so it's all very contradictary.

Don't forget that the Local Government Boundary Commission wants to hear what residents and organisations think about the Vale of the White Horse Wards.The consultation runs until 18 March 2024. This is a consultation on District Council voting areas. Go to https://www.whitehorsedc.gov.uk/democracy/have-your-say-on-a-new-political-map-for-vale-of-white-horse-district-council/.

As I mentioned last time the NHS has an online survey about the draft Primary Care Strategy looking at the future of general practice, community pharmacy, optometry (eye care) and dentistry at: https://yourvoicebob-icb.uk.engagementhq.com/primary-care-strategy  – I can't find a deadline for this but please fill it in.

Finally on a positive note, Grove and Wantage Extravaganza to be held at Grove Recreation Ground on Saturday 15 June 2024 from noon to midnight. This year’s theme is the 80^th anniversary of D Day (which is on 6 June 2024). They have got the promise of a Bomb Disposal display and RAF Brize Norton and are in the process of getting 1940s army vehicles along with hopefully some people dressing up in the clothing of that era as well as more modern activities eg fair, stalls, live music etc. So start getting your act together now!
If you want to share your stories and photos of Second World War with the University of Oxford project, launched in July 2022 with funding from the National Lottery Heritage Fund, which aims to share and digitally preserve stories and objects relating to the Second World War. Then you have until 5th April to do so at https://oxford.omeka.net/s/theirfinesthour-archive/page/direct-submissions

As you know, you can read previous newsletters at https://wantageandgrove.org/newsletters.php and find a list of many of the sports, cultural and community organisations in OX12 at https://wantageandgrove.org/organisations.php
For roadworks see https://one.network/.

Thanks for reading.

Best wishes
Julie

Julie Mabberley
Campaign Manager

Wantage and Grove Campaign Group
www.wantageandgrove.org

https://www.facebook.com/groups/wantageandgrovecampaigngroup