Cllr Dr.Paul Barrow - Report for Parishes - March 2022

DC Report 20220313

Call for development sites and MP

One of the many potential development sites in this part of the Vale, V041 is of concern as it will effectively obliterate the gap between Wantage and East Challow. We met David Johnston which was useful as the MP sympathised with our position and it was clear that the overall level of development in the Vale also concerns him. A discussion followed on housing land supply figures (below) which indicated that, in the western vale sub-area, house building has exceeded proposed numbers.

The following table is taken from the VWH Housing Land Supply Statement June 2021. Another review will be undertaken April 2022 expected to be published June 2022

He has also been in contact with Michael Gove to try and insist that new houses adopt environmental standards that exist at the time of building and not at the time when the planning application was approved.

Contact with the Wasborough Estate

I have contacted the Wasborough Estate to (i) remind them that they agreed to clear the massed vegetation along Woodhill Brook during 2021, which would reduce flooding risk on the A417 at Haynes. This has not been done as yet, and to (ii) mention that they are required to keep footpaths clear on their land north of East Challow up to the railway line and we hope that this will be done before the height of this summer. This will open up extensive new walking/dog walking opportunities connecting both Challows and Denchworth.

BOATs

Cornhill, Green and Shelley’s Lanes remain closed. I have asked the concrete slabs to be separated allowing horses, pedestrians and m’cycles through and Highways have been meeting to discuss this.

Landowners and road-side ditches

Drainage on Warborough Rd (Letcombe Regis) and Gramp’s Hill (Letcombe Bassett) is in awful condition from poorly maintained ditches, uncut drainage grips and blocked drains. We have started a serious conversation with OCC and the Vale about resolving some of these issues and have an agreed plan for both. Road-side ditches have not been cleared in some cases since the Land Drainage Act 1991! This is an important aspect of basic infrastructure which needs regular routine maintenance by the adjacent landowner whose responsibility this is. Could I ask parish councils to contact landowners where possible to remind them of their responsibilities in this regard. I do see some signs of activity of this sort but reminders will not do any harm. Many thanks.

I spent some time with Mark Bradfield of the Letcombe Brook Project last week to look at the road drainage in Letcombe Bassett which discharges silt into the brook at it spring. We explored the possibility of getting new grips cut down Holborn Hill which might help. OCC said that they will “get to” Holborn Hill in due course. 2023???? Don’t hold your breath.

Nature Recovery and Biodiversity Forum

I sat in on several parish council meeting outside this ward last year and a few asked for advice on Nature Recovery in their own parishes. Together with Cllr Catherine Webber I have organised an online Forum on this topic which will take place on May 10^th. It will be a relatively short meeting nd we hope that this will give parishes ideas on what they might do. We will then invite parishes back to discuss options with us and the Vale Environment/Nature Recovery officer.

The programme will be:

1. Introduction and aim. Cllr Catherine Webber (2-3 mins)
2. Wildlife and Countryside Link. Richard Benwell. The value of biodiversity.  (10-15 mins)
3. Wild Oxfordshire. Roselle Chapman. Nature Recovery in the county and what PCs can do (10-15 mins)
4. Fresh Water Habitats Trust. Jeremy Biggs. FWHT and where the water environment fits into the picture. (10-15 mins)
5. Abingdon Carbon Cutters. Lucille Savin. What they are doing towards biodiversity. (5-10 mins)
6. Appleton and Eaton Parish Council. Felicity Dick. Nature Recovery in their parish. (5-10 mins)
7. Wrap up/what next. Cllr. Dr Paul Barrow. (1-2 mins).

We are hoping that this will start a thought process which might stimulate parish councils into initiating their own Nature Recovery programmes and, where appropriate, work together towards a common end which can help by reducing effort and costs.

Wantage Beacon car parking

Motorists parking in district council car parks in Abingdon, Faringdon and Wantage have now been informed that from Monday 4 April:

• Free parking will still be available but reduced to one hour a day*
• New fees will apply if you want to stay for more than one hour
• Other fees will go up by 40p
• New and renewed permits will be valid for the specific car park they are issued for and will not be transferable.

*except for Southampton Street car park in Faringdon, which will continue to offer two hours free parking a day. This will reduce the subsidies for car parking.

County health Overview Scrutiny Committee (JHOSC)

The committee met on March 10^th. A number of topics were discussed.

CAMHS (Childhood and Adolescent Mental Health Services). Levels of child and youth mental health issues are higher in Oxfordshire than elsewhere but this difference may not be statistically significant. Significant issues included greater involvement of the voluntary sector, which is vital since they often understand the community better, inequality and lack of coordination of services (they are starting to map inequalities between urban and rural provision), families not being aware of services and unacceptably long waiting lists, even for urgent cases. The link between autism and mental health is strong. The remedy to the above is seen to be improved access to information, training including e-training and a single point of access. Problems have been exacerbated by staff shortages, a feature across all health provision in Oxfordshire.  Some additional funding is being found for school nurses. Mental health services are under-supported financially compared with the rest of the UK.

Access and waiting times. Concerns remain over closure of the Wantage maternity unit. This apparently is due to staff shortages and sickness. ENT, Ophthalmology and some other services which were closed to referrals during the pandemic re-opened for referrals in December and are working to reduce waiting times some of which are still at >104 days; this is now falling but still excessive. Again, staff shortages, improved workforce planning, international recruiting and advertising were issues that are being addressed.

BOB ICS (Bucks, Oxon and West Berks Integrated Care System). Progress is being made to weld a considerable amount of health care provision across these three counties much of which gives the committee cause for concern. Advertisements have gone out for senior positions but concerns were raised about this additional administrative layer to NHS provision in terms of costs and increased bureaucracy. There were also concerns over the constitution since the ICS will cover integrated care including services currently provided by LAs. Public access to Board Meetings was regarded as essential – these may be online.

Community Health Services Strategy. You may remember that after our highly critical report on this review for OX12 as a pilot we said that OX12 cannot be reviewed in isolation and it must be done at county level. The current review is making progress, albeit slow. The number of staff on this exercise has now been increased. Member of the OX12 Task & Finish group discussed progress of this with the new staff member who will be doing much of the analysis work. We noted that this review has taken much longer than originally intended, Covid being one factor but a huge and hugely complex analysis is needed. The fate of community hospitals will be a key feature of this review which we will monitor closely.

Covid update. Cases are once again increasing after all restrictions were removed. The data presented only went as far as mid -Jan so not so much value (the Oxfordshire dashboard www.phdashboard.oxfordshire.gov.uk) gives figures daily). As we know, deprivation and ethnicity are factors in high rates which may related to housing quality and density. Some individual cases were mentioned including one patient who lost their place on a transplant list as a result of infection.

Oxfordshire Healthwatch. GP access remains a major feature. This will be dealt with in the next meeting. The result of the report on rural isolation will be published in April. I will look carefully at that since it will cover many areas of the county.

North Wessex Downs AONB

The Council of Partners (The Vale of White Horse DC is one) met on March 8^th.

Councils are now asked to give brief reports. We reported on the joint Vale/SODC climate action plan part of which will include grants for climate change mitigation which will be available to local groups. The fund is £50,000 and projects of up to £5,000 will be funded. I also mentioned (i) the problems that we had had with contractors who are rolling out optic fibre, (ii) the work being done between parishes, OCC and the Vale to reduce flooding from the roads running down from the downs, and (iii) the need for the AONB to receive information on all planning applications affecting the AONB

The new chair (Sarah Nicholls) is making a point of contacting all the MPs covering the NWD AONB to raise its profile.  She is hoping that a parliamentary sub-group will be set up to promote the AONB’s interests.

The NWD AONB is consulting on its own Nature Recovery Plan for the AONB.

A dark skies festival was run in Marlborough during last October and was deemed to be a success. They are looking to see whether similar smaller festivals might be run elsewhere.

A number of major national changes are obviously under way.

The Glover report proposes that all AONBs and National Parks now be regarded as national landscapes and more will be expected in terms of deliver more for nature, climate, and people, and increased national scrutiny. It is clearly hoped that government financial support will be increased.

The government response to the report has now been published and can be seen at  www.gov.uk/government/publications. A pilot project is being set up by the NWD AONB to establish how best to respond to the proposed changes. The public and relevant organisations are asked to contribute comments on the government’s response by April 9^th and this can be done at  https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/landscapes-review-national-parks-and-aonbs-implementing-the-review.

Farmers are key partners in the changes taking place. The Farming in Protected Landscapes (FiPL) project enabling funding for work leading to environmental improvement is now well under way. This is part of Defra’s Agricultural Transition Plan (The Path to Sustainable Farming.) This is separate to existing Farmer Clusters groups in the AONB some of whom have been involved in improving stream quality and hedge and tree planting.

Cllr Dr. Paul Barrow

March 2022

[email protected]

https://www.facebook.com/Cllr-Dr-Paul-Barrow-104943001583284 

District Councillor for Ridgeway Ward