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![]() The Link Magazine COPYRIGHT © 2003 by The Link Committee. Reproduced with permission. |
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Winter 2003 Issue 92 |
CHURCH NEWS | |
Ministry team: Robert Morgan (Lower Farm, 748848) priest-in-charge; licensed lay ministers: Brian Andrews (777011); Liz Shatford (772598). Church Wardens: Mrs Marjorie Harris (24 Henley Road) and Ray Lee (93 Henley Road). Organist: Daniel Chambers. Choirmaster: Christian Bradley. |
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Sunday services:
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There is a baby involved - and that is usually Good News. So we concentrate on the family, and there is merit in that. But the 3½ weeks of Advent invite Christians to some more sober thoughts, and challenge us to get our lives in perspective, and teach us to number our days. The end of the calendar year is a time to review the past twelve months and set a course for the New Year.
2003 will be
remembered as the year of the Iraq War and the folly and panic that the
fear of terrorist attacks have begun to stir up. The world that the light of
Christmas wants to illuminate is a dark place, even if we are able to close
our eyes to the darkness and have some fun. May it be a joyful time - but
in Advent we are invited first to open our eyes and see our lives in their
true light - and act on what we discover. The Christmas carols, the
midnight mass, the celebrations of Christmas morning, will then shine in
their true light, the light that lightens up everyone, coming into the world
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On October 18th seven of our ladies went for lunch in the Crusader Bar at the Four Pillars hotel. While we were there a wedding reception was being held and we were lucky enough to see the bride and groom passing through, which added interest to our own visit. We all enjoyed our lunch, and there was a lot of chatter and laughter.
We wish everyone a very merry Christmas
and a happy and prosperous New Year.
Welcome
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to | Hannah Gwendolen, a first daughter born in November to Jonathan and Fiona McLoone of Church Road |
to | Sophia McKisack born on 20th November to Catherine and Nick, a sister to Jonathan and William |
to | Jack Antony, a firstborn son to John and Emma |
to | Joshua David Poznanski, a son for Victor and Phillipa and little brother for Ilana |
to | Kiera Adela McCarthy, a third to Andrew and Christine of Henley Road, and sister for Cameron and Freya. |
to | Dorothy Jones on her latest greatgrandchild, via James and Nicola |
to | Liz and Michael Turner on their latest grandchild, via Nick and his wife. |
The vicar thanks Dave and Toni Whitlam of Main Avenue for their donation cementing the results of his inadequate driving. |
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If you have access to the internet, do visit the Sandford
website [web site no longer active] it's constantly updated and has loads of really interesting information about Sandford. Also the old 'Link' web site is in the process of moving to a new location, so why not have a look at the new 'Sandford On Thames village magazine on line' which can be found at www.SandfordOnThames.co.uk Here you can find, past editions of The Link magazine, along with information about the parish council, the latest news on the village appraisal, a diary of local events |
![]() Henley Road, Sandford on Thames, Oxford OX4 4GX Telephone: (01865) 334444 . Fax: (01865) 334400 WEB http://www.four-pillars.co.uk Email: enquiries@four-pillars.co.uk Set in 30 acres of glorious parkland on the banks of the Thames. Open to non residents for drinks, light meals and riverside dining. Carvery lunch on Sundays. Conferences, Weddings (including Ceremony) and private parties. Telephone 01865 334444. |
This was the very encouraging result from the village open meeting held on September 22nd. In a full hall, over 60 people found out the details of the green belt issues (a big thank you to Liz for this) and also to hear an informative talk by Steve Daniels, explaining how a village appraisal would enable us to strongly promote our preferred future for the village.
Is our village all it could be?
Those who came along were also able to look over several displays showing
how the appraisal could be developed. In a mini-survey, there was an
opportunity for people to add their own comments to a "village likes and
dislikes" list and to a transport survey. This gave some interesting and
varied results, but the vast majority of people liked the idea of a small
and friendly, green village, outside the City of Oxford.
The major dislike was the amount and speed of traffic through the
village, but also mentioned were problems of poor transport, crime,
vandalism and what might be called 'youthful excess'. Most commonly
suggested was a need for some type of traffic calming and the return
of a village shop. These comments are an excellent start point for the
appraisal project, so thank you to all those who took part.
So people do indeed care...
At the end of the meeting, fully half the audience volunteered to form a '
working group' to help in setting up and running the appraisal. Usefully,
together they also form a representative cross-section of people in the
village. At a subsequent meeting of the working group, the process of an
appraisal was discussed in more detail and how best to run one in Sandford.
So what's going to happen...
The working group discussed a basic timetable and target dates were
agreed that will lead to a result next summer. Further debate identified
surprisingly extensive lists of groups to consult and to be lobbied, if the
results are to be worthwhile.
Clearly there is going to be lots of work to do! To drive the project
forward, a 'steering group' was also formed and Steve Daniels was asked to
take on project co-ordination and Mick Hills the project's administration.
After detailed analysis of results and the lobbying of Councils and Service
Providers etc. the resulting draft plan is expected to be ready for public
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And what's happening now?
In December we expect to finalise the
arrangements for consulting the village in
January and February, to include a special
survey focussing upon the young people of
our village. To encourage a very high level of response, we hope to secure
some attractive free draw prizes.
In parallel to this, we hope to seek comments in the Science Park, Pubs,
Hotel and from river users who often regularly visit, but do not live in, our
village. The third element of the process is sharing ideas with neighbouring
villages to achieve even more pressure from even more numbers.
The costs of the appraisal are relatively modest, but the intention is to
minimise the impact on Parish Council activities through grant applications
that have been submitted to South Oxfordshire District Council, the
Countryside Agency and to Siemens Plc's Community Fund.
More information...
A report on our further progress will appear in The Link's spring issue and
updates will also be posted on the SandfordOnThames.co.uk web site.
If you missed the September open meeting and would like to know more,
Mick Hills would be pleased to hear from you. Just drop a note in to
18 Rock Farm Lane or e-mail 'appraisal @ sandfordonthames. co. uk'
Are You An Experienced MS-ACCESS Programmer ? The Village Appraisal will involve processing responses from up to 600 households and young people. The working group would be pleased to hear from you if you could spare some time to set up our consultation database. If you would like to assist us in helping the village, please do contact us at the above address. |
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Dumped cars Please telephone SODC Public Amenities on 01491 823416 or email to public.amenities@southoxon.gov.uk to report an abandoned vehicle on a public highway. If you have a car that you no longer need or want, the Council can collect it from your home and take it off your hands for just £27. Telephone or email as above. |
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Mrs Gwen Earp b. 13th September 1924, died 11th September 2003
Gwen cam from a large Sandford family, as her maiden name Beecham
indicates (see war memorial in church for her brother Maurice, also buried
here.) She was born at 3 Mill Cottages (now River View), her father working at
the mill, but the family had to move out of the tied cottage when he contracted
TB. Gwen served in the ATS during the war and worked at the Nuffield
Hospital, then later at the JR maternity wing. Although she emigrated to
Cowley and Headington after marrying Eric, Sandford is where her roots (and
some of her offshoots - younger Maurice and family) belong, so it was good
she came back for burial, in sight of Henley Road. She was a very special
person, greatly loved by her large (five children) family, and we join in offering
our sympathies to Eric, the five 'children', Gillian, Helen, Maurice, Lynda, and
Susan and eleven devoted grandchildren (including Sandfordette Kerry, and
Richard) and seven great grandchildren.
Michael Franklin
b. 6th May 1937, died 19th October 2003
Michael and Sue moved into Main Avenue in 1999. A Cowley man, Michael
had lately been working with the ambulance service as a voluntary driver, after
a variety of jobs. They married in Sandford church on 27th August 2001, a
memorable occasion. As he left his new home for the church, looking smart as
usual, Bob Oliver (remembered with affection) said, 'You're looking good,
Michael'. 'Should have seen me 20 years ago', he replied. Twenty-six months
later a packed crematorium heard son-in-law Matt quote a close friend from
Canada recalling 'his cheeky smile, irresistible personality and sense of humour
that was priceless'. Michael's dry humour was well known. As he said to this
friend 'You're so lucky to have me as a friend, Al. All I have is you'. Frank
Sinatra was heard at the end (Come fly with me) and at the entry Moonlight in
Vermont, where Sue and Michael had just spent an unforgettable holiday.
Deepest sympathies to Sue, well supported by Lisa and Jo, and to Simon and
Sarah and all the rest of the family. Lots of us will miss Michael, and the
atmosphere at his funeral and after it reflected in the best possible
way what this precious man meant to so many people.
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Notes from meetings October - December 2003
Chairman: Nigel Northcott (773569); Clerk: Liz Shatford (772598)
Councillors: M Norton, M Inston, H Hutton, M Hills, P Tuson, I Reveco
District Councillor's report J Stimson reported on a meeting at SODC at
which H Hutton and some of the residents committee had made a very
successful presentation. It was hoped to set up a task group. There was now an
element of harassment occurring by the owner mainly aimed at the more
vulnerable residents. The parish council supported residents and protested at the
treatment they were receiving.
County Councillor's report Apart from fighting for a lessening of the gravel
extraction requirements especially relating to the Berinsfield area, R Tudor
Hughes report formed part of the Green Belt discussion. The parish council
were concerned about the disruption to village life caused by the recent home
match at the Kassam Stadium which hadn't even been a full capacity crowd.
The measures taken to date were ineffective. If the 1,000 houses south of
Grenoble Rd became a reality how would the huge increases in traffic be
accommodated? R Tudor Hughes said he would see if the provision of the 700
agreed parking spaces at the stadium could be hastened. Control Plus was not
doing an adequate job of enforcement.
R Tudor Hughes suggested that P Egawhary arrange a meeting with him and
parish council representatives to walk the site and view the problem areas.
Matters for consideration
* Green Belt - N Northcott said he felt that we were powerless in the face
of the threat from other bodies, witness the Kassam Stadium which had been
forced through and imposed on us and which was still causing huge problems in
regard to traffic. We were also being bombarded with other applications by the
Donnington Hospital Trust for two large sites within the village envelope and
now for a new roundabout which was obviously placed to enable access to one
of these sites. He suspected that various authorities and agencies were in
cahoots and he asked is it worth protesting? J Stimson said he couldn't
comment about anyone being in cahoots but he also is concerned about the
impact of the Kassam Stadium and in hindsight thinks maybe SODC could have
done more.
The officers at SODC had scrutinised the Draft Deposit Structure
Plan and thought that in the context of the document as a whole the relevant
paragraph H1 was an aberration and last minute addition. SODC was in total
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* Village appraisal - following the initial meeting, a very successful public meeting had been held attended by about 70 residents representing all the different areas of the village. From that had come 36 volunteers and at a subsequent meeting 24 people had come to form a working group from whom about 9 would form a steering group. N. Northcott congratulated M. Hills on the very successful progress so far, and hoped the momentum could be kept up. The parish council unanimously offered all possible support.
* Church Rd recreation ground - a complaint had been received about groups of young people congregating noisily on the recreation ground and partying until the small hours. The beat officer had recommended dialing 999 if an infringement of the law was thought to be occurring.
Planning - New roundabout on A4074. PC unanimously agreed to oppose this proposal.
Minutes of the meeting held on Monday November 03 2003
Matters arising: Park Homes problems - a meeting had been called by the
parish council to try and resolve persistent and unresolved problems.
Matters for consideration
* Traffic calming - It was agreed that the OCC would be contacted to
request action on Science Park moneys and Kassam moneys to create
mini roundabout and pinch point narrowing at Church Rd junction.
Minutes of the meeting of the Parish Council held on Monday December 1st
2003 at 7.0 p.m. in the Village Hall
Matters arising At the AGM of the Park Homes Residents Association on
many questions had been put to the officers from the floor but no satisfactory
answers received. J Stimson said Councillors had been shocked by the non
enforcement of regulations and a task group of Members had been agreed by
the scrutiny committee to make recommendations. He suggested the site owner
should be asked to prepare a phased plan to show how improvements would be
made over the next 10 yrs. The Clerk to write to the SODC Chief Exec. to
District Councillor's report J Stimson reported that he had attended the recent Fringe Area Forum where one of the agenda items was the proposed threat to the Green Belt. Oxon County officers had received over 3,000 responses from the public which was unprecedented. He still thought it was a good idea for Sandford to take the lead and invite other interested local parish councils to form a combined parishes group to campaign. Clerk would sound out contacts on other parishes.
Matters for consideration
* Green belt - by invitation, John Howells of Warborough parish council
spoke to the meeting on behalf of the 9 Parishes Against Gravel
Extraction group which had been set up to fight the proposal to extract
gravel from an enormous area of south Oxfordshire. They had put
together a substantial objection, mainly on these grounds:-
o The area of extraction would be visible from a very large area.
o The gravel extracted would not be needed in Oxfordshire
o The percentage of total gravel extraction was too great for south Oxfordshire
o The major impact of extra heavy haulage traffic on local roads.
It was the last item which would particularly affect Sandford. So far SERA
was ignoring Oxfordshire's objections, the timetable for consultation had been extended and it
was hoped to petition in the new year.
The parish council agreed to consider taking part in the petition when it
was ready and would consider a donation towards costs later.
* Traffic calming - The county council proposal to paint traffic calming
measures on the roads had been dismissed as being inappropriate and
too short lived. Mr Kassam had been approached about a contribution
from the stadium but he said the benefit to Sandford of traffic calming
would be greater than disturbance caused by matches. This would be
pursued through Oxford City Council planning department.
The Clerk would write to County Council regarding the highways signs on the
A4074 and ask for them to be removed or covered over if they were not legally
constituted. It would be preferable for stadium traffic to be directed up to the
Heyford Hill roundabout and then back rather than through the village.
* Rock Farm project - Clerk would investigate taking up the lease on this
land from Magdalen College via Savills
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COPYRIGHT © 2003 by The Link Committee. Reproduced with permission. |
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Last update: 15 December 2003 | http://www.sandfordonthames.co.uk/thelink/link92.htm |