February/March 2010
Parish Council
Councillors are currently making progress on a number of big issues for the parish as well as dealing with the usual day to day aspects of village life caused by burrowing rabbits, rampant brambles and planning applications.
IMPORTANT NEWS 750 new houses in Wallingford
The Four Councils group, consisting of two representatives each from Brightwell, Wallingford, Cholsey and Crowmarsh has been working closely with SODC. A consultancy was appointed in October to conduct an independent review of all existing and new evidence. The consultant recommends site A (the site north of Wallingford) as the optimum development site for Wallingford while recognising that careful design is needed. This is the site your council originally recommended to SODC two years ago!
On 11 January the SODC cabinet agreed to undertake a further consultation exercise that adds A as a preferred site. The sites of B (opposite Brightwell and largely in our parish) and E (Winterbrook) are still under consideration. We will be circulating more information shortly to keep you updated together with our recommendations.
Please participate in the consultation exercise which is due to run from 25 January to 22 February (but may be subject to change!) We feel this is a big step in the right direction.
Mooted new roundabout on bypass
The would-be developers of site B, PRUPIM, as part of their misguided plan to put 750+ houses on site B would like to build a new roundabout on the bypass. Such a roundabout together with any new housing would permanently damage the rural setting of Brightwell-cum-Sotwell. We wrote to Oxfordshire County Council setting out our objection to such a roundabout. They replied, ‘This roundabout is not something that Development Control (Transport) support and they have indicated this to the developers in the pre-application discussions about the development proposals for the site.’ A victory for Brightwell!
Exiting the village
The Council is aware of the difficulties of exiting the village at peak times. With increased housing in Wallingford, Cholsey and Didcot this situation can only deteriorate. OCC is conducting a Local Transport Plan consultation. We have submitted a response on behalf of the parish and pointed out that a holistic review is required.
2010/11 budget and strategic projects
The past year and the coming year are placing an unprecedented demand on Parish Council finances. Contributions to important items for the parish such as tackling the location of new houses in Wallingford, building of the Village Stores, repairs to the Village Hall roof and building a new bus shelter are included in our budget. As a result we may need to increase the precept more than we would ideally like in order to restore our reserves for the future. In real terms this may mean an increase on the council tax of a band D property of around £4 per year.
Telephone kiosk opposite the Red Lion
The contract and payment of £1 to purchase the kiosk has been sent to BT. There is an allocation in the budget to repaint it.
New clerk
We warmly welcome Eric Dore as our new clerk. Eric has lived in the parish for over 35 years and has been involved in many parish initiatives during that time.
Adrian Wood
Village Carol Evening – 14 December
Picture the scene. The Village Hall was packed. Andy Lewis was (beyond) compere. Malcolm Sutcliffe led the singing. Derek Brooker was in the kitchen mulling his magic potion. Only Norman Large of the usual suspects was unable to be with us – leaving a huge gap in the lineup, but one very ably filled by Elizabeth Cowan at the piano. Just another regular village Carol Evening then. We wouldn’t have it any other way…
Once again, Chris and Helen Baines helped Andy with the production. The star guests put in so much creativity: Alec ‘the Brightwell bard’ McGivan, the school choir group under Wendy Murton’s tutelage, the bell ringers, the panto team…and many other brave performers.
We made a good profit as usual, which was spent on Christmas Hampers for the over 70s in the village (with the addition of Community Association funds saved from previous events). We are, as ever, very grateful to Lynn Burridge, Hilary Rogerson, Trish Godfrey, Tim Scane and families for packing and distributing the hampers.
Hugh Roderick
Our Village Stores – and Maradonna?
There are eight inches of pristine snow on the ground as I write this – not ideal weather for building. Perhaps I was a little bit premature in beginning the previous report “at last we start” and truly the Hand of God has touched us as well as Argentina.
Building The wettest November in living memory made us redesign the foundations and we were all ready to dig on 7 January – just as the deepest snowfall for 30 years fell directly onto Brightwell-cum-Sotwell. In builder’s talk, it is described as “exceptionally inclement weather”. Now our plan is to start on 18 January, so stand by for a hail storm! This will inevitably mean a delay and Easter will be far gone before our grand opening. But after seven years, nothing daunts us and we plough on regardless.
Fundraising We have now received some £58,000 of the £62,000 pledged by our vastly generous village and it is safely in our bank account earning a measly amount of interest. The intrepid James Davys and I will be filling in the Gift Aid claim to get some money back from the Government so, if anyone has not yet donated, could you send your cheque soon, please. We have also registered for VAT, another bureaucratic hurdle but valuable.
Operations Inevitably, our concentration is moving from fundraising and building to planning the operation of the stores and Corinne and Celia are gathering their team together to run the stores. Not sure what to call it, they did not like “Moggies” so we might offer a prize for the best suggestion! Responsibilities are being allocated and regular meetings held to ensure that all areas are covered. Those who volunteered have already been contacted, work will begin on recruiting the paid manager in February and we are developing plans for a website. Like the proverbial swan, much is happening under the surface.
Members All those who donated become members of the Brightwell-cum-Sotwell Community Village Stores Limited with one vote irrespective of the size of the donation. We will be sending out Membership Certificates in early April, kindly and expertly designed by Jane Anderson who helped enormously on our flyers. For ease of communication, could anyone who has not given me their e-mail address send it to Jim@JimSanger.com.
Again we start… Yes, we are on our way. A few hurdles remain in the race before the Grand Opening, maybe on a lovely summer’s day with the sun streaming down from a cloudless sky onto the warm earth below with the birds singing in the trees. As I look out on the snow, that’s a good thought.
Jim Sanger
Eco-Renovators Club
Eco-Renovation is a term used to describe work carried out to reduce the energy wasted in the existing housing stock. Much has been made in the press about new build eco-houses. However even assuming a large number of existing houses are replaced it is projected that the existing housing stock will still form the bulk of housing in 2050. With energy prices likely to rise, there may be a need to reduce costs, as well as CO2 levels to combat global warming.
Experience in the village with the thermal imaging project, and also attendance at open days of eco-renovated houses indicates that there is much interest. However only a small number of people then carry on and make improvements to their homes. Oxford Climate Exchange, which is part of the University of Oxford, felt that in many cases lack of information and support prevented many people converting their interest into action. The solution they came up with is the Eco-Renovators Club.
The way the club works, in this scheme, is that local groups such as Brightwell-cum-Sotwell Environment Group, or Sustainable Wallingford, have eco-renovation coordinators. Each coordinator manages up to ten houses. At present I am the only coordinator for Brightwell, but more will be recruited as needed. Whilst myself, and other coordinators, will have received training on energy reduction and local energy generation, we are not experts. However via the club we have access to expertise.
As a householder you have the opportunity to join the club.
The benefits include:
- One to-one assessment of your current energy consumption, identifying quick wins, and medium term opportunities for eco-renovation
- Loan of energy monitors and low energy light bulb libraries.
- Regular updates about events, offers, grants, workshops, services and resources
Please contact me for further information by phone, email daveer@daveer.plus.com
David Evans-Roberts
Brightwell School
What a wonderful way to end the Christmas term with our church service – lovely to see so many parents accompanying us along the icy pathways through the village. The chilly weather along with the organ playing the carols we love to sing and hear really made it a special end to our term. The week before this we had our run of performances of the KS1 Nativity – The Hoity Toity Angel. The children were spectacular! Some had tremendously lengthy parts to learn. Everyone spoke up well and provided a wonderfully entertaining performance. We have some budding stars of stage and screen coming from Brightwell!
Taking a look back at the last part of 2009, everyone has been incredibly busy. We have produced the first edition of our new school magazine which is run and edited by a group of pupils taken from across KS2. They are each responsible for an area of the paper and report on that subject – watch out you may be asked for an interview – they are very professional but very honest!
In early January the children had only been back one day when the school was closed due to unprecedented weather in the area. The children, I know have enjoyed the snow and their extra time off. All of them have been working hard since we have been back and some have incredible tales to tell us about their snowy incidents!
We were pleased to wish Ron Wood a Happy 90th Birthday in January. Ron continues to support us at school with our walking bus and any walks around the village. Ron is very much loved by the children - he really is still a part of the Brightwell School Team!
We are now well into the Spring and eager to make as much use of the outdoors as possible. We have a new school minibus thanks to the hard work of the FOBS and sponsorship of Ridgeway Garage. This will help us get out and about and move the children’s learning to the most appropriate place rather than teaching within a single environment. I hope you will give us a wave if you see classes walking around the village making use of their local environment within their learning. If you know of anyone in the village who would be willing to share any spring-time observations with the children please ask them to give me a call.
Liz Hunt