TIDDINGTON WITH ALBURY & MILTON COMMON

# From the Editor

Best wishes to everyone for an enjoyable summer. There doesn’t seem to be too much happening over the next two months but make a special note of the following. On page 2 you will see that the mobile library is changing its visit to Wednesday – perhaps it will be better supported now that it is moving from market day. Note also the first of regular police surgeries at the Village Hall (see page 11)

Zena Knight

Picture of the Neighbourhood Watch logo

Milton Common NHW (West Side)

To our residents in the Tiddington half of Sandy Lane welcome to neighbourhood watch – your NHW packs will be delivered shortly.

In the last month there has been a car dumped at the top of Sandy Lane. After reporting to the Police it was removed within two days. Watch out for the Fir Tree thief – one resident has lost six young trees from their front garden already. In June there will be a Neighbourhood Watch Regional Meeting for South Oxfordshire Police Area, covering Henley, Thame, Didcot and Wallingford police sectors. All NHW Co-ordinators and Deputy Co-ordinators have been invited to attend.

On behalf of Oxfordshire Trading Standards:

URGENT - due to the sudden increase in rogue trader incidents, please can you contact Oxfordshire Trading Standards immediately if anyone knocks on your door and offers to sell you goods or services e.g. garden work, driveways or dusters. Also let us know if they want to buy from you e.g. antiques or jewellery. Please take as many details of callers as you can, for example any vehicle registration numbers and descriptions and report it to Trading Standards on 0845 051 0845 selecting (option 2)

Thank you.

Elaine Horne

NHW Co-ordinator M/C

01844 279520

Bonfires

During the coming summer months can all residents who light bonfires ensure that they do not cause a nuisance to neighbours. If any are deemed to be causing a nuisance, action may be taken by the District Council.

Thank you

Parish Council News

Affordable housing, Station Yard – Chairman John Nowell-Smith has written to SODC, giving notice of the Council’s intention to take action to get the Planning Committee’s approval revoked and we await a reply.

Pelican crossing – this was discussed at both the April and May meetings. County Councillor David Turner has written to our MP, Boris Johnson about the matter, but no reply has been received. Statements made by the County Council appear to be at variance with that of the Government Minister in her letter to our MP.

Closure of the A329/M40 bridge – there was still no definite date for the start of the work to replace the bridge at the May Council meeting but our County Councillor has the latest news (see page 5).

M40 noise abatement - M40CEG have presented a report which showed 70-75 decibels in Milton Common gardens, needing ear defenders, and discrepancies in the costings provided by the Highways Agency. Tom Harris, Minister, has called for a review of costings as noise management could be incorporated with bridge closure, thus reducing costs.

Tiddington with Albury Parish Council Members

Chair John Nowell-Smith 339650

Econ.development, businesses

Vice Chair Elaine Horne 279520

Planning, highways and Milton Common

Councillor Ken Field 339671

Housing, planning, building & controls

Councillor Zena Knight 339340

Planning; recreation, arts, grants

Councillor Brian Price 339977

Health & safety

Councillor Janet Willis 339415

Environment, conservation, recycling,

waste

Clerk Ken Poyser 339216

Rosewood, Ickford Road, Tiddington

Mr Nowell-Smith and Mr Turner have asked for SODC and OCC to fund the consultation with Charles Parker, a Euro consultant. They have agreed to share the costs.

Commemorative tree – you may have noticed that the tree has recently been planted. It is part of the celebrations of 1000 years of Oxfordshire and also replaces a tree planted to celebrate the Silver Jubilee of King George V. We are pursuing the matter of watering of the tree, which should be carried out by OCC.

Concessionary fares – the Council agreed that, following the introduction in April of national bus passes, the Parish will continue to provide £13 of tokens, but for those 70 years old and over and the registered disabled.

Memberships - the Council agreed to renew membership of CPRE and Oxford Green Belt Network.

Annual meeting – John Nowell-Smith was re-elected Chairman and Elaine Horne elected as Vice-Chairman.

Ken Poyser

Mobile Library

From the week commencing 2 June

the mobile library will visit Tiddington

and Milton Common on alternate Wednesdays at the following times:

Tiddington, Cricket Club entrance 10.40-11.10

Milton Common, Sandy Lane 11.25-11.40

The first visit will be on 4 June

Refuse Collection

Please do not put out your refuse until the day of collection. Foxes, cats and birds contribute to rubbish being scattered everywhere and the rat population is increasing.

From your Council Chairman

During the past year we have continued negotiations with regard to the Pelican Crossing, but have made little progress – the County Council and the Department for Transport passing the buck to each other.

Approval for the scheme to build “affordable” houses in Station Yard was granted by the Planning Committee of SODC. Action to get this revoked has been started but we await a response from SODC.

The bridge over the M40 at junction 7 is to be closed for six months and diversion routes will inevitably mean increased traffic on the A418 and the old A40 at Milton Common.

The memorial tree planted to commemorate the Jubilee of King George V has been replaced but without consultation so we do not know who is supposed to be watering it or what memorial plaque there will be or what ceremony, if any, is to be arranged by the County Council who cut down the original tree.

Better news on noise levels on the M40 at Milton Common. SODC and OCC have agreed to provide funds to initiate a study to investigate the cost of a noise reduction scheme.

Our local MP, Boris Johnson, has announced he will resign, having been elected Mayor of London, but has given no date. Those of us who have been in contact with him have found he has served us well. There is, as yet, no indication of who will be chosen by any of the major parties to fight the seat.

John Nowell-Smith

339650

Green Bins for recycling

Remember these may be collected free from Tiddington Garage

From your District Councillor

Council Tax

The District Council portion of Council Tax as SODC rose by 3.5% this year as we had a less generous grant from central government towards expenditure than for the past three or four years. More will go on providing for free bus travel to the over 60s through bus passes which are proving very popular (especially if you have a convenient bus route). From this year the passes will be useable on ”local” buses (stops less than 15 miles apart) anywhere in the country. NB - doesn’t include the Oxford Tube.

Planning

Work is continuing on developing a Local Development Framework and plans which will eventually replace Local Plans. We still don’t know when the site specific allocations of housing land will be examined again. Since the ball started rolling on this a couple of years ago it has been extremely difficult to get land for affordable housing as so many areas now have “hope value”. This is one reason for the pressure to approve the Station Yard scheme.

!MOST WANTED!

A Co-ordinator

for Tiddington

Neighbourhood Watch

If you would like to volunteer to help

support this valuable service,

please contact the Parish Council or

Milton Common NHW Co-ordinator

Elaine Horne 01844 279520

This is even more vital following recent thefts and vandalism in Tiddington

Housing

SODC is soon to introduce a new system, “HOME CHOICE”, for letting affordable (Housing Association) housing. The current points system will be replaced by a simpler priority banding. Most of the vacant housing will be advertised so that those wanting a house will be able to see what is available and can put in a request for anywhere they fancy. The homes will be allocated to the household in greatest need, chosen from those who expressed an interest (more details will be sent to those on the housing register nearer to the start).

Website

The District Council continues to improve its website www.southoxon.gov.uk - this received an award this year. It is a good place to look for SODC information. Try Thame Town Hall or Library if you don’t have access to the internet at home.

Didcot Town Centre

Cornerstone, the new Arts Centre in Didcot is progressing and should be completed later this year. Staff are currently being recruited. A caterer, Couture, is to run the café/bar – they “aim to provide high quality food and drink from the local area at reasonable prices”

Waste Management and Recycling

SODC and the Vale of White Horse District Council are jointly going through a tendering process for a new waste management contract which should start next year.

I hope it will include a kerbside collection for glass and a weekly collection of kitchen waste in accordance with the consultation exercise carried out last year. As always, if anyone needs a recycling box, or knows of someone else who might use one, collect from Tiddington Garage. The brown wheelie bin system for collecting garden waste, emptied fortnightly for £30 (still subsidised) is quite popular. There are two sizes of wheeled bin available: 240 litre or 140 litre (recommended for people who do not create much garden waste). Please contact Environmental Services at SODC (telephone 01491 823416) if you would like to know more, or look at the website – if you pay for a garden waste wheelie bin by direct debit, you get a modest discount (£28.50).

Transport

The Council rejected an opposition budget amendment to provide a Dial-a-Ride service. This decision seems to have been driven solely by Council Tax considerations, not the benefit such a scheme could provide.

A very brief run through – We keep getting told by Central Government that more powers are being handed down to local government. If this is happening, it isn’t obvious to your local councillors as most things at district level are run by officers of the Council or cabinet members!

John Nowell-Smith

339650

Freedom of Information Act

Publication Scheme

Residents of the Parish can see the records of the Council held by the Parish Clerk or learn where they may be accessed. Records include minutes, financial information and responses to planning consultations.

Application can be made to the Clerk

(Tel: 339216) and documents viewed by appointment.

Any copies required will be charged at 10p per page.

From your County Councillor

Highways Issues-Future Temporary Closure of A329 at Milton Common.

The start date for the closure of the bridge for repairs at Milton Common continues to be a moving target! Just six weeks ago we were led to believe it would be late June /early July, but now I am hearing a closure date of September 2008. The company doing the work have now said it will not be possible to do a partial bridge closure, so when they finally close it we will be in for six months of pain. UK Highways have promised to give village newsletters details of the diversions which will be put in place for the duration of the closure. There is renewed hope that it may still be possible to include noise barriers along the M40 at Milton Common at the same time as the bridge repairs. The local Action group are working very hard to achieve this and we all hope they are successful.

Pedestrian Crossing. We are still awaiting a response from our MP Boris Johnson. I queried the statements made by the County Council which are at variance with that of the Government Minister in her letter to our MP. This is a very unsatisfactory situation where the Parish Council was given information by the County Council and the Government Minister which do not seem to match up as to the reason for not proceeding with the crossing. I hope I can get this information from our MP before the next newsletter.

Older Peoples Homes. The new homes replacing older ones project continues to bring provision up to modern standards. For example, larger rooms and removing the shared room situation which was not liked, in particular, by new residents. The first phase of the Thame one on an expanded Meadowcroft site is due for completion in October 2008 with the second phase following early in 2009.

Youth Service. The Youth Service still provides two “Chill Out” sources of grants for young peoples’ activities. One is for capital items and the other for revenue items. Both funds which have to be bid for total £100k each and grants on a matched funding basis are up to £5k. The major problem in the Youth Service is employing youth officers. This is a nationwide problem, but is particularly acute in the South East because of the high housing costs.

Park & Ride Expansion. As you may know the County Council recently consulted on options for expansion of Park & Ride facilities on this side of Oxford. The preferred option is to expand the site at Thornhill. However this would mean a further expansion into the Green Belt. If SODC oppose this then this could result in looking at the other options, one of which was to expand at the Wheatley Motorway Service Area. This option will not be popular with nearby residents and is also not popular with the coach operators who would then have to pull off the A40 twice to pick up passengers. Policy allows Park & Ride in the Green Belt and whilst this is not ideal I trust that Thornhill will prevail as the best option.

Please feel free to contact me about County Council issues that concern you. My contact details are as follows:

Address: David Turner, 50 Hardings, Chalgrove, Oxford, OX44 7TJ.

Home Telephone: 01865 891169

Email: david.turner@oxfordshire.gov.uk

David Turner (18^th May 2008)

M40 CEG Progress

On Wednesday, 26 March 2008, Boris Johnson, MP for South Oxfordshire, and David Lidington, MP for Aylesbury, led a delegation from the M40 Chilterns Environment Group to meet the Minister for Transport responsible for Roads, Mr Tom Harris. The delegation consisted of Dr Ken Edwards, Chairman of M40CEG, Tony Giddy of Milton Common and John Thompson of Tetsworth, together with Mr Giles Parker, Chairman of the British Standards Institute sub-committee for Noise Barrier Standards.

The delegation put the case that an opportunity exists, whilst work is carried out on rebuilding the bridges over the M40 at Junction 7 (Milton Common) and Junction 5 (Stokenchurch) during the next two years, to install effective noise barriers at these locations at a fraction of the normal cost, since road traffic management schemes - normally around 60% of project cost - would already be in place.

This would go some way to alleviating the noise pollution for residents at these locations beside the ill-designed old M40.

From the Vicar

In England Augustine brought Christianity to Canterbury in about 595AD. Augustine was the first Archbishop of Canterbury and founder of the English church. Augustine was a Benedictine monk and came to Canterbury from Europe. Christianity arrived in Britain about 30 years earlier when Columba left Ireland for Scotland and landed on the beautiful Isle of Iona. The isle of Iona is a special place and so this month I would like to write about Columba whose day we celebrate this June.

Saint of the month

St Columba 9^th June

Columba was born in Donegal of the royal Ui Neill clan, and trained as a monk. He founded the monasteries of Derry (546), Durrow (c.556) and probably Kells. But in 565 Columba left Ireland with twelve companions for Iona, an island off southwest Scotland.

Columba went to Iona and spent the rest of his life in Scotland, returning to Ireland only for occasional visits. Columba’s biographer, Adomnan, portrays him as a tall, striking figure of powerful build and impressive presence, who combined the skills of scholar, poet and ruler with a fearless commitment to God’s cause.

Able, ardent, and sometimes harsh, Columba seems to have mellowed with age.

As well as building his monastery on Iona, Columba also converted Brude, king of the Picts.

Columba had great skill as a scribe, and an example of this can be seen in the Cathach of Columba, a late 6th century psalter in the Irish Academy, which is the oldest surviving example of Irish majuscule writing. In his later years Columba spent much time transcribing books. He died in the church just before Matins, and it is a tribute to this man that his traditions were upheld by his followers for about a century, not least in the Synod of Whitby and in Irish monasteries on the Continent of Europe.

Iona is a tiny and beautiful Hebridean island off the west coast of Scotland, and today remains a centre for pilgrimage and tourism. The abbey has been extensively restored and the Iona community (founded in 1930 by George Macleod) maintain a living worshipping presence. If you plan to visit the Scottish isles on your holidays do try and visit Iona and remember the special role it plays in the Christian history of the British Isles.

Here is a prayer of St Columba:

Christ With Us

My dearest Lord,

Be Thou a bright flame before me,

Be Thou a guiding star above me,

Be Thou a smooth path beneath me,

Be Thou a kindly shepherd behind me,

Today and evermore.

NEWS FROM ST HELEN’S

We had our annual general meeting at the end of April, where the PCC and church officers were elected for another year. I am grateful to them all for standing again and for all they do for the life of our church and village. We are very aware that St Helen’s is a cold building and in the near future we would like to do all we can to improve the heating. This will almost certainly mean a new heating system costing a great deal. Once we are able to do this we believe that St Helen’s will be a much more comfortable building to be in, and that it

will also have a significant benefit in helping to preserve our church. In the meantime we will keep in touch with news and hope that you will support our fundraising events as they happen. Other events to look forward to include a visit from the Bishop of Dorchester who is coming to dedicate our altar frontal in October.

With best wishes

Caroline

Waterstock & Tiddington W.I.

In April, David Smith’s talk on Country Life of the 1850s to 1950s included interesting pictures of days gone by and also some rural memorabilia of the times. We were pleased to have visitors from Holton and Thame.

We received a warm welcome to Holton Village Hall for our Group Meeting in April. Edwin Rye gave an amusing talk on his experiences entering the BBC Gardener of the Year competition and a behind-the-scenes insight into the making of the television programme. He was the winner and now opens his garden in Wendover for the National Gardens Scheme.

At our May meeting we discussed the resolutions going forward to the National AGM and voted on them. Unfortunately the speaker from the Donkey Sanctuary was unable to come, so we had further discussions on the Healthy Lifestyle Challenge competition. Following that, many thanks to Jenny Gray and Christine Canham who volunteered to bring the ideas together and complete our submission.

On 12 June, we will be “Round Cape Horn and Easter Island” with Geoffrey Holden and the competition is for a bloom from your garden.

The talk on 10 July is very topical – “Climate change and you” with Pat Clark. The competition is for a favourite kitchen gadget.

Earlier in the year, in March, we had a visit from a wren in the Hall during our meeting. In May, our discussions were accompanied by a chorus from baby birds in a nest in the Hall loft! Earlier in the day they had attempted to peck their way through the ceiling – could they be woodpeckers?!

The Institute is having an evening boat trip with buffet on the canal near Milton Keynes on Thursday, 26 June. If anyone is interested in joining us, please get in touch with Anne Purnell on 279429.

The County has arranged outings, including a very successful visit to a symphony concert at Birmingham and in the future trips to Portsmouth, the City of London and Compton Verney. In the autumn, at the half-yearly council meeting, the speaker will be Ann Widdecombe.

We look forward to seeing you on the second Thursday of the month for our regular meetings at 7.30pm in Tiddington Village Hall.

Zena Knight

Tel: 339340

0845 8 505 505

The single number for non-emergency calls

Thame and District

Citizens Advice Bureau

Opening Hours

Monday, Tuesday, Friday

9.30 – 4.00 Open door

Wednesday 9.30 – 1.00 Specialist debt

clinic (appointment)

Thursday 9.30 – 1.00 Telephone advice

Advice line: 01844 214827

Appointments line: 01844 217186

A Drop-in session is held at the offices of the United Reformed Church, Crown Square, Wheatley on Monday mornings from 10.00am

To book an appointment ring 01844 217186

Farmers Market

Tetsworth Village Hall

3^rd Saturday in the month

Newington Nurseries

Hardy Exotics

If you are thinking of revamping an area of your garden and want something that will cause excitement year round, why not choose some hardy exotic plants? Some have powerful architectural shapes and others just have a magnificent presence. Whichever plants you decide to have, you’ll certainly create a distinctive and unique look to your garden.

So to create some structure, start with the Chusan Palm (Trachycarpus fortunei). Despite looking extremely tropical with its large, fan-shaped leaves and hairy trunk, it can withstand temperatures of -20^oC. This palm is happy in all but the most exposed situations. A smaller but equally robust palm is the Mediterranean Fan Palm (Chamaerops humilis) which produces really tough spiky leaves. It tolerates all sorts of wild and windy weather, including snow, and is hardy to -10^oC. Like the Chusan Palm, it can be planted in a sunny position or light shade and puts up with most soils apart from waterlogged conditions.

Bamboos create a wonderfully tropical feel in the garden and the sound of their leaves moving in the breeze is truly relaxing. The Arrow Bamboo or Metake (Pseudosasa japonica) makes an excellent screen or container plant. It is one of the most forgiving bamboos, tolerating conditions that most bamboos dislike. It is happy in virtually any soil, sun or shade. Or try the Black or Golden Bamboo (Phyllostachys nigra or Phyllostachys aurea). Again, both can be used as screens and are very tolerant of cold conditions down to minus 20degC as is the Metake.

And don’t forget the Cabbage Palm (Cordyline australis) or the New Zealand Flax (Phormium tenax). Both are equally exotic in look but extremely hardy in nature. The Cabbage Palm is forgiving of winds, salt and frost! When mature, it produces beautiful and superbly fragrant sprays of white flowers. The New Zealand Flax will also produce stunning flower spikes in various shades of red/brown, sometimes twice the height of the plant, and their fragrance is reminiscent of pine needles.

Having created some structure, you can add some smaller but just as resilient plants such as the False Castor Oil Plant (Fatsia japonica). Its delightfully glossy green foliage is topped by gorgeous white flower spikes in the autumn. Or the Heavenly Bamboo (Nandina domestica) whose young foliage is bronze in spring, turning green in summer then rusty red in autumn. Its mass of white spring flowers are followed by shiny red berries in the autumn. And don’t forget the hardy ginger (Hedychium ‘Assam Orange’) whose lush green leaves are complemented by masses of orange flowers on tall stems.

The best thing about all (except for the hardy ginger) of the plants listed above is that they are evergreen! Maintenance is minimal so you can spend more time enjoying your garden 12 months of the year. Just give the plants an occasional feed, water if weather conditions are really dry and remove the odd bit of dead foliage. It couldn’t be easier!

Newington Nurseries, Newington, Nr Stadhampton, Oxon, OX10 7AW

Tel 01865 400533

www.newington-nurseries.co.uk

Wheatley Library

The National Year of Reading began on 26 April 2008. According to their website:

“There's a building quite close to you where many murders have been committed. Secret agents have been found there, aliens have invaded, love has conquered, several wars have been fought, rings of power have been hidden, witches have been burned and great lives have been lived.

If you haven't discovered your local library, you're missing out on a whole universe of imagination, adventure and knowledge ... all of which is ABSOLUTELY FREE. … Libraries are really so wonderful that it's quite easy to forget they're there. Join today!"

Obviously we agree completely. On Saturday, 26 April we held a coffee morning in the library. People seemed to enjoy the chance to have a look round and have a coffee and a chat. We plan to hold another on Saturday, 28 June. This is for everyone. You do not have to be a member of the library. Just come and meet the staff and find out what we can offer you.

Thanks to our kind volunteer, Paul, we can now offer help to people who think they might like to use the computers in the library, but are unsure of where to start. Paul helps people on an individual basis according to what they need. If you know nothing at all about computers or you know a little but would like to find out more, he will help you. The feedback we have had so far, has been excellent. If you want to know more please give us a ring. Sessions usually last an hour and are free.

If you have any queries please contact us on 01865 875267, or better still call in and see us.

Anne Spruce

Library Manager

Wheatley Library

Opening Hours

Monday Closed

Tuesday 2.00pm – 7.00pm

Wednesday 9.30am – 1.00pm 2.00pm – 5.00pm

Thursday 2.00pm – 5.00pm

Friday 9.30am – 1.00pm

2.00pm – 6.00pm

Saturday 9.30am – 1.00pm

The Merry Bells, High Street, Wheatley

Tel: 01865 875267

Email: wheatley.library@oxfordshire.gov.uk

Great Haseley & District

Horticultural Society

Garden Visits 2008

BROUGHTON CASTLE AND BROUGHTON GRANGE,

NEAR BANBURY, 12 JUNE

A double bill of visits to two wonderful and very different gardens

Broughton Castle 10.30 am

Walled gardens surround the castle within the moat.

Lovely herbaceous borders, knot garden and roses Beautiful parkland

We will be given coffee and biscuits on arrival.

Broughton Grange 2pm

Formal gardens of terrace, borders, wildflower garden and arboretum. Also an amazing six acre perennial flower garden designed by Tom Stuart-Smith, in a contemporary style of many grasses, herbaceous and prairie flowers, with wonderful use of colour. Frequently featured in magazines. In a beautiful setting.

We will be shown round by Andrew Woodall, the Head Gardener

Members £9 for the 2 gardens- includes coffee and biscuits

Guests £12

There is a nice pub in the village of Broughton, which would be a good place to stop for lunch between the two.

GHHS SUMMER PARTY

Tuesday 8 July 6pm at Rofford Manor, Little Milton

Join us at beautiful Rofford Manor for a glass of sparkling wine and strawberries. Mrs Hilary Mogford will welcome us and introduce the garden. A lovely garden of vegetable, herb and rose gardens, box garden with raised pool, herbaceous borders, parkland.

Members £3 Guests £5 to include wine and strawberries

Why not join the society as well- only £5 per family and this would cover the difference in cost of entrance!

For further information or to book, contact

Mary Isaac, Brooks Cottage, Latchford Lane

Great Haseley OX44 7LA

Maryisaac606@hotmail.com

Tel: 01844 279606

Great Milton Neighbours’ Club

Outings Programme 2008

18 June Cotswold River Cruise: City & Village guided tour. Morning tour and lunch at Cirencester. To Bibury and Lechlade for 2-hour Cream Tea Cruise included in price.

Cost: £18.50 + coach.

16 July Morning & lunch in Stratford, afternoon nearby at Coughton Court, Tudor Manor House, National Trust.

Cost: House & garden £7.30 + coach.

20 August Epping Forest and Capel Manor Gardens: City & Village guided tour. Coffee at Chingford, tour of forest & lunch at Epping; afternoon at Capel Manor College of Horticulture.

Cost: £15.50 + coach.

To book Tel: Celia Cope, 01844 279459

Church Services	St Helen’s Church, Albury
1 June	9.30am Morning Prayer
8 June	9.30am Holy Communion
15 June	9.30am Morning Prayer
22 June	9.30am Holy Communion
29 June	9.30am Cluster Service Holy Communion
6 July	11.00am Annual Team Service at Wheatley Primary School
13 July	10.00am Art in Action Dedication Service at Waterperry Preacher the Bishop of Oxford
20 July	9.30am Morning Prayer
27 July	9.30am Holy Communion

NEWSLETTER

www.tiddingtonoxon.co.uk JUNE/JULY 2008