Last month a local preacher at Sandford church proposed increasing Christmas from 12 to 40 days, and cutting Lent from 40 to 12 days. Neither his holiness nor the AB of C has taken this suggestion up - it would be too exhausting. But the last fortnight of Lent is a kind of mini-Lent as Christians focus on the cross of Christ, and Holy Week in Sandford follow Palm Sunday crosses at 10.0 on 20th March, with a 6.30 p.m. service of music and readings directing us to this climax of the Christian year.

Above all, beginning on Maundy Thursday (24th) a 7.30 p.m. service commemorates the Last Supper as we move into Good Friday (25th) with the usual 2.15 service of devotions and an additional children's service in St Andrew's at 10.0 a.m. This holiday above all is a holy day and everyone is invited to do something to mark it out as special. If all the children in the village could join together for this half hour something about this village would be different. Then Holy Saturday, and so to Easter. Then (oddly - but it's very early this year), back to school for four days until the holidays.

So why celebrate a brutal judicial murder? Because of who it was that was crucified and what his life and death reveal of God's love for the world. That is something many can live without knowing about. But for those who know it, it changes everything - how we treat each other (the brother and sister for whom Christ died), and how we want to treat the environment - God's world, as gift - with care, reducing pollution, giving our children cleaner air to breathe, water to drink (some don't have it), and food less poisoned by insecticides, and whatever else in our chemical Ali world increases instead of fighting disease, or imperils the future.

All that in an Easter lily or daffodil? Yes, because these are symbols of the new life bursting through each Spring. The beauty of the earth that we celebrate week by week, the new world of peace with justice and an end to greed and oppression that we pray for and (so far as we can) work for. The meaning of Jesus for those who have learned to love and to follow is often measured in personal terms, but the Easter message of Resurrection reminds us that God works on the cosmic scale, changing the world and involving all who can accept the invitation to join in promoting fairness, forgiveness, freedom, and a better future. Four Fs.

at Hinksey Heights Nature Park:
Easter holidays and summer half term
Run by the Oxfordshire Forest Schools Project

Monday 11th April & Friday 15th April and Thursday 2nd June
£8 per child, 8-13 year olds only. 10am to 3.30pm. Please bring packed lunch.

Family Days:
Tuesday 12th April & Wednesday 13th April and Friday 3rd June.
£5 per child, any age. All children must be accompanied by an adult. Max. 3 children per adult. 10am to 3.30pm. Please bring packed lunch.

Activities such as: team building games, pond dipping, making birdboxes, bug hunting, environmental games, nature walks and environmental art.
Please call Naomi on (07941) 312654 or email hinkseywarden@yahoo.co.uk
Booking essential and book early to avoid disappointment.

What happens in Sandford? A lot, and not a lot. A thousand souls live out their lives, much of it elsewhere but returning home at the end of the day - often too tired to participate in local organisations or activities, but happy to be at home here, in the narrower sense of having a house here and making it home.

BINGO in the Village Hall every Thursday 7.0 for 8.0 in aid of Village Hall funds

There are the annual village events that a minority enjoy joining in - quiz nights, river runs, fetes, flower festivals - and the more frequent events, and the warm welcome for those who enjoy public space from Nigel and Clare, and Barry and Barbara etc. night in and night out - and lunchtime. But one village institution that stands out is the weekly Bingo, called by Janet for the last twenty years since she took over from Mary and Alan - and the help received from Hazel.

It is a very inexpensive night out, and yet manages to raise substantial funds for the village hall. There is always room for more punters, and a good friendly atmosphere each Thursday at 8.0 (until about 9.30 - time to combine with other things). A vote of thanks to those who make it happen. Keep up the good work - please!

to the King's Arms: Tracy and Andrew Davies (further support for Welsh rugby);
to Church Road: Rita and Don Walker; to Henley Road: Drs Manish Gupta and Catherine Bracewell; to River View: Sharon and Steve; to Rock Farm Lane: Chris and Alison, Kylie and Amy MacKown and Mollie Grant

Terry Robinson's remarkable success as quiz-master resulted in a near dead heat, with all 12 teams coming out within 18 points of each other - any of the top 9 might have won, if they had stuck with their hunches instead of allowing weaker links in the team to infiltrate wrong answers. But enough sulking! Out of this lottery Maurice and Wills again emerged victorious, and this time without any poaching, so warmest congratulations. They retain the Mike Norton cup. Church teams came second, third, fourth and three other runners up and other village teams did well.

Terry writes: this has been my third quiz night; I am now handing over the pen to Maurice who I am sure will test your knowledge to the full. May I give a big thank you to all who have attended and given support to my term as quizmaster. Special thanks to June, Sylvia and Janet for their help with the food preparation. To Maurice and family for their invaluable help with the scoring. To Janet who raised £125 with the raffle. To Nigel and Claire for the bar.

And thanks for the prize donations. Two bottles of homemade sloe gin and strawberry vodka raised the grand total of £108.25 in the vicar's auction. A stand up round of bingo started the evening, and Sylvia Friday was the lucky winner.
After expenses a sum of £407 was raised, to be distributed to local groups as follows: Disabled Christmas lunch £100; Oxford P.H. residents £40; Toddlers £75; Youth Club £75; St Andrew's church £100; Orchard House £17.

Results: Comfortably Numb (Maurice's gang) 103; Mill Racers (Instons and Foxes and Rhodes) 100; Pink Panther 100; Squad 99.5; Half Baked 99; The Liners 98.5; BGs (Betty and family) 96.5; South Islanders 95; 1901 (Janet and tribe) 95; Beer and Winers 93.5; Lockjaw 86.5; The Quizotics 85.5

So far this term is running well. Many thanks to the parents who help: it's so much easier to know in advance that there will be enough helpers for the evening. Thanks to a new shop in Kennington (Hockles) I now have a good source of craft materials and they are very helpful in providing me with endless good ideas!

The Oxfordshire Association of Young People's Infozone bus has recently completed a four week programme of visits to Sandford Village Hall. This is a project for 13-19 year olds in rural villages where there is no provision for this age range. It gives the young people an area to relax, chat, play computer games and discuss and learn about topical issues through workshops. This was enjoyed by several of our ex-members who left in December and will be sorely missed by them.

I am currently in the research stages for my plans to split the Youth Club and provide a service for the teenagers. I have received a few completed questionnaires from teenagers and a few parents but will be needing quite a lot more before this becomes a feasible proposition. If you are a teenager or parent in the village and have not completed a questionnaire yet please contact me on 730427 and I will send you one.    Thanks, Naomi.

There are vacancies for new members,
and Easter is a good time to join as out-of-door activities
provide good exercise in the summer.

Well, not news exactly, but the Link committee (or parts of it) would like to congratulate the French team for a very fine first half performance against Wales before being slayed by the dragon. This was very encouraging for France's future prospects in the World Cup after their truly dreadful performances against Scotland and England, which scarcely would have beaten the Old Boys.
We look forward to the next of the six nations championship with high hopes for the celtic fringe, one way or another. Irish eyes will be smiling in the land of our fathers. Maybe. Chickens and cocks must not be counted. Also congratulations to Dick Rudman.

After many months of work on the Village Appraisal, the final Parish Plan was delivered to all households in the village early in January. It has been generally well received with many complimentary comments to those involved. A few copies are still available for those new to the village wishing to see the appraisal results and the proposals for the future development

ELITE ELECTRICAL SERVICES Electrical contractors Martyn Akrigg 07771 781947

of the village. Some projects are already underway to implement the actions in the Parish Plan, and several others will be starting soon, but all are dependent on the active support of villagers to make the overall plan a success.

Neighbourhood Watch
This part of the Parish Plan is progressing very well, with a recent follow-up meeting in the village hall to further develop the new and existing schemes in the village. The Regional NHW Co-ordinator and PC Brian Price were again on hand to describe the benefits and answer questions on setting up the scheme.
New areas being established are: part of the new Mill estate by the river and the middle section of Church Road; the top and bottom part of Henley Road; also the Janaway area and opposite side of Heyford Hill Lane; a section of Broadhurst Gardens and along Yeftly Drive. There is also some interest in the Park Homes and Pheasant Walk areas of the village. These are alongside the existing areas in Keene Close & Rock Farm Lane, and the part of Church Road by the lock.
Anyone wishing to join in and become part of a local watch, please call: Mick Hills tel. ******, Steve Daniels tel. ****** or call the Regional Neighbourhood Watch Co-ordinator, Carol Rudd on 01235 556 957.

Traffic
The Parish Council, with the active backing of our County Councillor, John Howells, is continuing to press the County Council about village traffic. The Appraisal Group awaits an official response to the actions requested the Parish Plan, which has been presented to Mr Dix, the County Council's head of Transport.

The Village Hall
The hall is also an important facility in Sandford, and if new initiatives and activities are to succeed additional support is needed to help the hall management committee introduce them smoothly. These will be discussed at the next Village Hall Management Committee meeting, prior to the hall AGM in April. If you can help with new activities at the hall, or assist the committee with the running of the hall, please speak to Steve Daniels tel. ****** or contact the hall secretary via 07759 890 696.

The Village.
In the Village Appraisal many people commented on how friendly and what a pleasant place Sandford was to live in. However, some areas of the village could do with a little extra help in keeping it this way. So, in conjunction with aid from the Parish Council, a Village Environment Group is being set up, along with a Village Good Neighbour scheme. But these are very much reliant on additional support from the village, so if you can assist in keeping Sandford a nice place to live in please contact Nigel Northcott on 773569.

More Information
Additional information is currently being added to sections of the website at www.SandfordOnThames.co.uk, where regular status updates will be posted. The 'Village Directory' is under development, as reported in the last issue of The Link. Several people have already passed on their details to be added but there is still some room left so if you also wish to be included, or have ideas on what topics you want the directory to cover, please contact Mick Hills on ******.

Ray Clark 13th June 1925 - 26th December 2004
Ray lived alone with his cat Tibbles for many years in a chalet at Willow Bank by the riverside, close to the Four Pillars which he liked to visit for Sunday lunch. He had friends among the boat people as well as in the church and village where his gentle Oxfordshire humour and caring were appreciated.
His grandfather had established Clark's garage at Rose Hill and when he died in 1958 Ray took it over until it closed in 1978, sold on the death of his grandmother. He then worked at Lodge Hill Garage on the way to Abingdon and among the friends he made there Jane Soper spoke movingly at this funeral in St Andrew's, prior to internment in the family grave at Rose Hill.
He had taken his turn on duty at the church welcoming visitors and made good friends there too. Thanks to his nephew Anthony, who made final arrangements and to all who visited him in hospital.


Mrs Val Fox died 6th February 2005, aged 76
Val came to England from Italy in February 1955, found work at Littlemore hospital and studied cookery at the Poly. She married Charlie and they lived for many years on the Crescent. Charlie was buried in Sandford in November 1999 in a moving West Indian ceremony with much singing and spadework at the graveside. After a short illness Val died in the JR and a similar service took place at St Andrew's and at the grave. Charlie's friends from way back, especially Beauty and her children, took care of Val, Richard doing her shopping.
Sharon gave a moving tribute at the service. Val also had some good friends among her neighbours and congregation, despite not going out much except to church and Charlie's grave. She knew her cat would be safe with Bill. Sue's smile lovingly returned was almost her last fully conscious act before the morphine eased her pain.
The congregation sang 'How great thou art', 'Amazing grace', and 'What a friend we have in Jesus', then, at the graveside 'The Lord's my Shepherd' and 'Rock of Ages' before sharing their sorrow and friendship further at the Four Pillars. Val will be missed by those who came to know here, some only towards the end of her life when her fortitude was an inspiration.


Mabel Leach 8th July 1925 - 27th February 2005
Mabel came from Rose Hill and when she and Reg married in 1946 on his return from the war they lived with her family in Asquith Road until 33 Henley Road, Sandford, was ready in 1951. Here they brought up their large family and Mabel became a well-known and much-loved member of the village and church congregation. She worked at Press Steel and also at the Post Office for

many years, was School Caretaker at one point and helped with the Reading Room. It was not an easy life and the loss of sight in later years was a burden borne with fortitude. The quiet bravery of her last few months of cancer were exemplary, and the way she was determined not to be a burden extended to planning her funeral and arranging to go into Sobell House for her final few days. She welcomed visitors with a smile and never complained.
The care she received from Rose and Stephen was precious to her and the faithfulness of old village friends (who would not wish to be named) and more recent ones - on the phone and regularly visiting - made her last illness a serene time of quiet strength and encouragement to others. We shall miss her.
Burial at Sandford on the 9th March followed much singing and a tribute from her grandson Andrew. Our sympathies go to all the family, especially four sons for whom she was a strong and loving mother: John, Michael, Stephen, David. And Rose, and Reg, who is now in care having been well looked after by Mabel over nearly 60 years.


Geoff Pugh 14th April 1945 - 1st January 2005, aged 59
Geoff and Patti met as young teenagers and married in 1967 and remained young lovers for 45 years, first in Liverpool and since 1988 in the Old Vicarage at Sandford. Geoff was a manager with Timbmet and highly respected in the timber trade, while Patti was and still is a much loved Macmillan cancer nurse, able to be a wonderful support in the few weeks between Geoff's diagnosis and death, bravely coping together.
Liverpool to the core, Geoff knew his footballing priorities, as did his son Lee - known to readers of the Link a few years ago as a boxing champ - his very moving tribute to his father at the funeral must have been one of his hardest rounds. Geoff's admiration of and pride in and love of his children and grandchildren stood out a mile - as did theirs of him.
His great sense of humour helped him through the hard times and did not desert him. He was also a noted badminton player and even entered the Sandford river run, with Patti, walking when no-one was looking, and entering into the spirit of it. He was a keen traveller and there were not many places he and Patti hadn't got to together.
St Andrew's church was packed for the funeral on 15th January and as at their wedding 'O perfect love' was sung. Also, at his request, 'Onward Christian soldiers', and the music of Celine Dion 'Because you loved me' was played. The sixties flavour was enhanced by music of Elvis, the Beatles (of course), Buddy Holly, Roy Orbison. All who knew Geoff will miss him and we extend our sympathies to Patti and Lee and Tina and their families, including those lovely little grandchildren who placed a rose on the coffin in the church.

On January 24th the South East England Regional Assembly (SEERA) published its South East Plan, a planning document for the whole of the South East of England that includes Oxfordshire. It covers the years from 2006 to 2026 and anybody - members of the public, parish and other councils, organizations like OGBN, developers and landowners - is being invited to send in comments before the closing date of 15th April (addresses etc at the end of this Newsletter). After the consultation period, SEERA will finalise the version of the Plan that will be submitted to the government some time after 13th July. There is also going to be another consultation later in the year on what are called district level housing allocations.

What Oxford Green Belt Network believes:
OGBN believes that the policy of the County Structure Plan, so recently supported by independent inspectors, should not be over-ridden by the South East Plan. SEERA is an unelected Assembly and whatever it recommends to the government, following the present consultation, may not be accepted if the government decides it wants more growth. This is undemocratic.

We understand the need for affordable housing, a problem common to the whole of southern Britain and not one caused by the Green Belt. We think the County's approach is the right one with its emphasis on major investment at Bicester and Didcot, avoiding over-concentration of activity in Oxford and not adding to the intolerable traffic and other pressures on the historic centre of the city. We recognize that some housing will be built in Oxford but this should be achieved on brownfield and windfall sites and by increasing density where appropriate.

There is a choice over where to build houses but Green Belt land, once built on, is lost for ever. Some say that land lost can be made up by designating Green Belt elsewhere. But this defeats the purpose of the Green Belt which is to stop urban expansion and to preserve accessible countryside close to where people live. Green Belt land is not a commodity that can be exploited for the benefit of a few; it is vitally important to the health and well-being of all of us.

What Can We Do?
Every household in the South East is being sent a leaflet, "Your Shout", which includes a short questionnaire. We are invited to return the latter to a firm of data analysts. The questions, which are very general, relate to the South East of England as a whole, not to Central Oxfordshire. So how do we comment on the options relating to Central Oxfordshire which will affect us in particular? The advice we have received is that this can only be done by writing to SEERA direct and we advise everyone who has a concern for the future of Oxford and its Green Belt to do this. The address is: The South East Plan Team, SEERA, Berkeley House, Cross Lanes, Guildford GU1 1UN. The closing date for submissions is 15th April. Copies of the South East Plan are available in libraries, at council offices and on the SEERA website. SEERA also publish an "Executive Summary", which is free on request.

We are not crying wolf. All we gained over the Structure Plan could easily be lost. We are faced with the prospect of 40,000 more dwellings in Central Oxfordshire over the next 20 years, necessitating huge incursions into the Green Belt. There will be enormous pressures from other interests to do this. The areas most favoured by them for building urban extensions to Oxford are to the south-east, extending in a swathe towards Sandford, the Baldons, Garsington and Horspath; and to the north, creating a greater Kidlington, by filling in all the space between Kidlington, Begbrook and Yarnton. But other areas could be chosen, and the threats to Sunningwell, to Kennington-Radley, to Shipton-on-Cherwell and elsewhere are real.

If you wish to preserve the Green Belt
please write to SEERA.
The more letters the better,
whether from parishes, organizations or individuals.
They should express support for the County's wish to direct growth
away from Oxford to Bicester and Didcot, oppose any urban extensions
to Oxford, and support the preservation of
Green Belt boundaries in their present form.

We hope that you will write to SEERA making these three points. In addition you may well be completing the questionnaire, Your Shout!, either as an organization or as an individual. (This has to be sent to the Ruislip address of the analysts which is given on the form.) Reaction to the questions is likely to vary but we thought you might be interested to know how the Committee of OGBN reacted to them. Below are our thoughts on Questions 2 to 6:

Q2     At first glance one's feeling is that all these things are very important. But is this true of housing? Doesn't it depend on where the housing is to be built? And if we say providing more housing is very important in the South East, the more likely it is that more housing will be built in the Oxford Green Belt since Central Oxfordshire has been singled out as a growth sub-region within the South East. So we think one should be wary of just saying that more housing is very important.
Much the same applies to the sub-question about affordable housing. We would all like more affordable housing, but as a proportion of the total amount of housing being built. We would also like to see affordable housing remaining affordable for the next generation of buyers. But this kind of highly general questionnaire does not allow for qualifications of this kind. So again we are wary of just replying very important.

Q3     We think the emphasis on encouraging economic growth should be on those parts of the U.K. where there are economic problems and large numbers of houses are being needlessly knocked down. It follows that we think there should be less emphasis on economic growth in the South East. Growth will take place here without any additional encouragement which would just result in more housing, traffic and other difficulties.

Q4     The reference to building fewer homes each year is very misleading. 25,500 has been the average over the last 5 years and to go on building at this rate does not mean building fewer each year (only a little less than last year). So to opt for a figure higher than 25,500 means building more than the average of recent years. To single out a particular year when there have been more completions than average is to bias the question. It won't surprise you that we go for the present average of 25,500.

Q5     We go for increasing density in existing cities and minimising use of green field land. British cities are built at low density compared with most other parts of Europe and, as we have pointed out above, there are opportunities to build on brownfield and windfall sites (for example former industrial or military sites) and by redevelopment of some housing areas at higher densities.

Q6     This is another difficult question because it is so general. It follows from our response to Question 5 that we strongly agree with building in existing built up areas. But we recognize that there will have to be some building in new suburbs, for example in Bicester and Didcot if the County's favoured option for Central Oxfordshire is taken up. We also acknowledge that small amounts of well-sited housing may help to maintain the life of villages and help to retain young people there. What we don't want are urban extensions like those that have been proposed south of Grenoble Road and west of Kidlington.
So we agree strongly over existing built up areas, have some sympathy for new suburbs where this does not conflict with our opposition to urban extensions to Oxford (and we are not allowed in the questionnaire to make this distinction, so we urge caution), likewise some sympathy for modest development in existing villages (though again caution when we are thinking of Green Belt villages), but little sympathy for new towns and villages.

We hope the above observations are helpful. We find the questionnaire too general, rather loaded in the way questions are posed, and lacking in any opportunity to make the kind of qualified responses one would like to make. But sadly it is all we have been given. As always, the Oxford Green Belt Network, is glad to hear from parishes and other organizations that share its concern for the future of Oxford's Green Belt.

Who we are, both as individuals and as a nation - is constantly changing. Religious practice has become a minority option in much of Europe, unlike many parts of the world, so some people are christian but not (practicing) christians. They respect and try to live by a liberal Christian ethic, with a sense of a reality greater than ourselves who is on our side and can be prayed to.

Rituals do many things for us, including shaping our values and motivating our behaviour. Worshipping the Creator carries with it strong suggestions and impulses for life practices. In a few days, Christians world-wide will observe their central festival in ritual ways - pointing to and entering a historical Friday event that still is a present living reality for people 2000 years later, the Creator's sharing in the pain and travails of the world so loved and cared for.
They invite others to join in - without prior belief beyond a faint hope and yearning for this world to be better, and for losses and failures to be put right by the compassionate God.

at the Church Council meeting on December 12th St Andrew's designated itself a fairtrade parish in line with the Bishop's efforts to make Oxford a fairtrade diocese committing ourselves to raising awareness of the unfair practices damaging Third World economies, and shopping accordingly. Subsequent meetings will take this further and material is being down-loaded from the internet by Leslie Rhodes. Further details from Leslie or Liz Shatford. Will the city and the village follow this lead?
[The Fair Trade web site]


Church Accounting (2004)

Barry and Barbara welcome you to the Catherine Wheel FREEHOUSE 38 Henley Road Sandford-on-Thames, Oxford OX4 4YP Tel: 01865-778340 Hot and Cold Bar Food Traditional Sunday Roast Lunches     Real Ales Large Garden     Ample Car Park Parties and Outside Functions catered for

The Vicar and P.C.C. wish to thank the village - and all those who have made donations to St Andrew's during 2004 and/or have supported the work in other ways. The accounts for 2004 were approved by the P.C.C at its meeting on February 21st 2005 and will be available by arrangement and at the annual meeting on 3rd April (11.15).

On that day church wardens are elected and the entire population of whatever religion or none has a vote. This office had great historic importance in managing social security, but that is now done differently. About half the St Andrew's budget goes into central funds to pay and house and pension clergy (numbers of paid clergy have decreased and unpaid ones increased as central funds have decreased) and most of the rest of the Sandford budget goes on local running expenses, especially maintaining the building. (A few donations are ear-marked for this).

10% of voluntary income is given to outside the parish notably to the parish project in Tanzania, but also to local charities etc. i.e. our local school social fund, the voluntary reading project in schools, mental health and bereavement charities, children's society, Porch and Steppin' Stones drop-in centre in East Oxford, St John's Ambulance cadets etc.

All of these have members of the congregation working as volunteers who keep the parish informed of what is happening. So the donations received have contributed to a wide range of activities. We are glad to be associated with these and want them to carry on their work.

as usual there were several nominations for the Christmas Day baby to remind us of the birth of Christ at St Andrew's, with so many newborn babies in the parish last year. The lot fell on Rowan, a name much mentioned and prayed for in Sandford church. He is a bit older than most, but, as Nigel and Sue pointed out, we really don't know how long the Holy Family was kept waiting by the Wise Ones from the East with their gold etc. - probably he was older than you think by the time they arrived.

Anyway, Rowan made the point of the privileges and joys of parenthood and also the cost and demands on our energy, time, and love. And so illustrated the Christmas message and gift - that God so loved the world, and that the gift of himself wants to draw from us a loving response that flows over to our neighbours, even to our enemies, and works for peace and justice and reconciliation all the world over. Nominations for next year's representative baby best delivered during Advent.


and Carol Services:
lessons were read, loud and clear, at the Parish Carol Service (19th Dec 6.30) by representatives of the Schools Volunteer Reading Project, Oxford Cruse Bereavement Care, the NHS, the educational world, the Civil Service, Oxfordshire Mind, and the local clergy.
The church is small, making 150 a squeeze, but having two carol services, one in the morning where the children dress up as angels, shepherds, wise men and women, M and J etc. meant that all could be accommodated - there was room at the inn, after all, just about. Special thanks to the choir led by Christian and the organist emeritus Martin for some harmonious and rumbustious renditions.

Extracts from minutes of the meeting held on Monday January 10 2005

Matters arising:
A letter had been sent to Park Homes residents from Howard Squires (Park Homes Liaison Manager) stating that residents or visitor's cars not parked in authorized areas would be clamped and a release fee of £95 would be payable. Clerk to write to Mr Squires and to SODC to enquire whether this procedure was legal and if it was whether the parking arrangements were properly made.

District Councillor's report:
With regard to the Mobile Homes problems, Mr Stimson had discussed the current situation with the Councillor responsible, Pat Dawe, and explored the possibility of her attending a future meeting of the Parish Council. He is assured that progress at all Park Homes sites is in hand but no priority has been

given, as was at first suggested, to the three sites most in need of action, which included Sandford. The deadline for action has also been extended. He believes Mr Dix of the County Highways dept. is to attend the meeting. Although Highways is not a District responsibility he is naturally concerned about all problems in the villages especially where there is a District interface as with flooding.

County Councillor's report:
J. Howell reported that as published just before Christmas, the news regarding the proposal to allow mass building on the green belt at Grenoble Rd had been squashed by the panel at the examination in public. The inspector did not think that green belt land should be considered at least during the life of the County Plan which is current until 2016 so that the Grenoble Rd proposals should stay out of the Structure Plan and in his view it was not necessary to build on the south side of Grenoble Rd to attain current housing targets.
There was also good news regarding the proposed huge gravel extraction at Warborough, the inspector had disallowed this and said that all proposals for change to the minerals policy should be publicized in advance. The parish council congratulated and thanked John for all his effective work on our behalf.
J Howell introduced R Dix, Assistant Head of Transport at the County Council.

Matters for consideration:
Highways matters:
Richard Dix apologized for the misunderstandings which had been caused over the past few years. With regard to the extra traffic movements and parking problems caused by the stadium development, in order for Kassam to pay for ameliorating measures in Sandford, OCC had to prove that there is a case. They felt that there isn't a strong enough one to take to court. Parking on match days is now much improved since he had provided more spaces.
The parish council restated the strong wish in the village for traffic calming especially on Henley Rd. At most times of day but in the morning and evening rush hours especially there was a much increased traffic flow with the speed limit being exceeded and some cars driving very fast. It was considered a priority to alter the Church Rd, Henley Rd junction layout as had been depicted in drawings received from the county council.
Since the double yellow lines had been painted all round the corner cars were encouraged to sweep round from Henley Rd to the danger of residents trying to enter their drives in Church Rd. There is a similar problem at the junction of Brick Kiln Lane and Henley Rd. It was agreed that Mr. Dix would take away a copy of the recently published village plan and write to the parish council before the next meeting with his proposals for what might be possible to accomplish. The main bar was of course funding because all work

had to be prioritized according to need. The parish council also reminded Mr Dix of the dangerous state of various pavements and road surfaces.

Playgrounds:
M Robson had studied and summarized the last summer's playground inspection report and gave copies to all councillors. She was congratulated and asked to provide a costed report showing priorities for action by the next meeting if possible. Also to begin a suggestion list for new equipment. The clerk would try to find out the legal status of the Janaway playground. It had got into a poor state of repair but was still the responsibility of the estate builders.

'No Smoking' in village hall:
In accordance with the practice in the majority of village halls and to improve the insurance rating, it was agreed by 6 votes to one abstention to ask the hall committee to ratify a smoking ban in the hall and for signs to be erected to that end.

Matters raised:
N. Northcott congratulated the compilers of the village plan on the excellent appearance of the document and hoped that it would prove useful in conveying the opinions of the village to County Highways and the police. He proposed the hall committee offer the hall free of charge to new start up groups wishing to use the hall. Clerk would write to Bruce Hedges asking that the new railings be put up as soon as possible and certainly before the finer weather starts.

District Councillor's report:
Mr Stimson had read the appraisal document sent to him and thought it was interesting. He asked whether there was an expressed need in the village for a small group of affordable housing and suggested that if there was, then there was an officer at SODC who could be approached to undertake a survey and if there was sufficient need and a suitable site etc. then a bid could be put in for support from SODC.
He said there was funding of £40,000 being made available for the provision of some underground glass recycling bottle banks, sites were being sought, they had to be away from housing and accessible by road for the collection lorries. N Northcott asked about the possibility of kerbside collections as happened in the Vale. This was not likely to happen in South Oxfordshire.
The parish council congratulated SODC on their existing recycling arrangements and wished that more parishioners would use green boxes. With regard to the parking problems at the Park Homes Site, it was suggested that Cllr Pat Dawe be invited to the next parish council meeting before a meeting with site residents.

County Councillor's report:
Mr Howell was not impressed with Mr Dix's sending out of date and unprocessed traffic data in response to Sandford's complaints about increasing traffic and speeding. He had asked for first sight of correspondence from the County. Clerk would write to Mr Dix and Mr Howell would keep up the pressure.
With regard to the South East Plan, it means that we as residents of the south east will have no control over what happens to planning in our region. He found the document frustrating and a waste of money and time but we must take it seriously and he encouraged all residents to respond with comments when they received their individual letters. The important issues were likely to be inadequate infrastructure provision, inadequate water supply, flooding, environmental degradation, much increased traffic and pollution of all kinds.

Matters for consideration:
Playgrounds - M Robson had produced an excellent action plan based on the RoSPA inspection report. Most items could be covered by non specialist labour so it was agreed that clerk would ask G. Surman to attend to the items in priority order. There was a 'wish list' of new playground equipment tabled following discussions with the toddler and youth groups. M. Robson would try to get some of this priced by next meeting. She was congratulated on the thoroughness of her report.

Grasscutting tenders for 2005: Three tenders had been sought. It was resolved to accept the lower bid which was submitted by Berinsfield Community Business in the sum of £3,169.79 inclusive of VAT.

Matters raised:
The draft 'Rights of Way' document from the County Council was handed to Mr Norton to study and report on.
There had been a spate of late night drunken vandalism in the village. Residents were urged to notify police so we were not regarded as a totally crime free zone.
H. Hutton said that the Park Homes residents were going to hire a skip from their funds now that the community skip had been withdrawn. She had been notified that work would start on repairing the banks of the Northfield Brook near Orchard House soon.
M Hills said that the village appraisal expenditure had been finalised and there was a small sum to be returned to the Countryside Agency.
Clerk would contact SODC and arrange for the abandoned van to be towed away from the village hall car park.

District Councillor's report:
Cllr Pat Dawes had visited the Park Homes site and agreed that the site was poorly run. She took away copies of some correspondence and the working party would report back to Council in April.
Mr Stimson said that the budget had been agreed and was as reported in the local press. The new licensing committee would meet next week on March 17th.

County Councillor's report:
Mr Howell had sent a written report because he was away on business. The main points were the South East Plan - he was proposing to hold a discussion evening in Berinsfield on March 17th. M. Hills said he would go.
Thames Travel were proposing to drastically curtail the 105 and 106 service. He asked the parish council to send a representative to form a small action group to represent the villages on the routes. There was no progress yet on the traffic calming measures.

Matters for consideration:
Playgrounds: M. Robson reported that she had only just been sent information about the play surfaces, she would get 3 quotations for the remedial work. After discussion it was agreed to form a plan to concentrate on Broadhurst Gardens playground for new equipment next.

Dates for April 05 - March 06.
May 09 (Annual meeting), Jn 06, Jly 04, Aug 01, Sep 05, Oct 03, Nov 07, Dec05, Jan 09, Feb 06, Mar 06.

Footpaths - M Norton had read the County document and would draft a response to be discussed at the next meeting.

Matters raised:
SODC were pursuing the enquiry regarding the hand over of the Janaway play area from Westbury Homes.
H. Hutton said that the stream next to Orchard House which was blocked by fallen trees etc. would have professional clearance work starting on Wednesday. The banks would be re-built and all re-instated.
A neighbourhood watch meeting had been held and the parish council agreed to fund the cost of 10 signs to be put up on lamp posts.