Local Issues

Campaign to Re-open Wantage/Grove Railway Station.

In June 2009, the Association of Train Operating Companies release a report called ‘Connecting Communities’. The report outlined a sensible policy strategy of small but effective expansions to the rail network.

The analysis identified 7 sites where new stations could be built on existing railway lines at minimal cost and with enormous benefits. One such station was Wantage/Grove.

On 2^nd November Ed Vaizey, MP for Wantage and Didcot, met with members of ATOC to discuss the costs of such a station, how much it would be used and what kind of service it could provide

At the meeting it was agreed that it would not be expensive as other options because of the existing station. Any service would run hourly during peak times between Swindon and Didcot Parkway, allowing easy connections to London Paddington and Oxford.

It was estimated that the total capital expenditure would be under £4 million. And that such an investment would pay for itself very quickly. The service could not be up and running until 2016 at the earliest as it would have to be put into the 2014-2019 network rail investment plan. Ed is now lobbying Network rail and the Department of Transport to try and ensure the project is researched further.

See the coverage from the Wantage Herald.

Incinerator at Sutton Courtenay

A proposal to site an incinerator next to Didcot Power Station, near Sutton Courtenay, has caused a great deal of controversy and sparked opposition from local residents. It is one of two possible sites being considered in the County. The other is at Ardley, in the north.

The County Council is being forced to consider the move because of legislation which requires it to reduce the amount of waste going to landfill. Ed believes that there are better, more modern technologies available which are better than incineration. He has publicly called on the County to consider alternatives.

The County Council has recently decided that it favours the bid for an incinerator at Ardley.  Ed has written to WRG, the company bidding to host an incinerator at Sutton Courtenay, asking them to withdraw their planning application in the light of this decision.

Thames Water is planning to build a huge new reservoir between Drayton, Steventon and The Hanneys, in the constituency.

Ed has worked closely for many years with local communities to ensure that their voice is heard during the debate on the reservoir. There is serious concern about the size and scale of the reservoir and the impact it would have on the local community. In addition, it would take 10 years to build, causing severe local disruption.

Ed held an adjournment debate on this issue on 13th November 2008. You can read the transcript and watch the video here. In that debate, Ed called for a public enquiry into the proposed reservoir, which the Government agreed to in August 2009. The likely date for the enquiry is February 2010.

In addition, Thames Water has also scaled-down the size of the proposed reservoir by a third, and put off any likely start date to beyond 2014.

Proposal to Reduce the A420 to Single Lane

Ed is completely against a proposal by Hanson Aggregate to reduce a dual lane stretch of the A420 to single lane to allow a sand extraction operation.

Hanson's plans are to reduce the width of the road for drivers coming from the west up until the Pine Woods Lane junction. The proposal also includes a lowering of the speed limit around the junction.

Ed said: “This is one of those mad schemes that has been in the pipeline for so long that the county council planning officers have stopped asking why it’s necessary or what the consequences will be because they are so determined to get it through. The idea that we would close a lane on one of the county’s main roads to allow a company to let its lorries pull out is ridiculous. The council needs to stop this barmy proposal immediately.

For more information please read the article in The Bicester Advertise.

Science

With huge science projects based at Harwell and Chilton and nearby Culham, including the new Diamond Synchrotron, this part of Oxfordshire has a concentration of scientific expertise.  

Ed believes that Harwell should be a centre for UK science, and is therefore working with UKAEA, Diamond and the Rutherford Appleton Laboratory to ensure that we capitalise on this expertise by continuing to attract prominent scientific projects and companies to the area, creating a “Science City” that will continue to drive the UK economy.

Ed opposed job cuts at the Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, imposed by the Science and Technology Facilities Council, and held a debate on the issue in Parliament - click HERE to see the debate.

The unelected South East England Regional Assembly is imposing huge housing targets across the South East which will affect the Wantage & Didcot constituency.

In Didcot, some 3,500 extra houses are being planned, and these may be followed by a further 5,000. In Grove, some 2,100 houses are being planned. In Wallingford, some 850 houses are planned. The expansion of Swindon to the east may also affect villages in the constituency such as Bourton, Shrivenham and Watchfield.

Ed is opposed to the housing targets being imposed on Oxfordshire. He believes that too many houses are planned, and that not enough thought has gone into upgrading infrastructure such as roads, hospitals and schools. Ed would prefer local communities to have the freedom to set their own housing targets, to take account of local factors.

Many villages were hit hard by the floods of July 2007.

Ed is campaigning hard to ensure that the Environment Agency is given the power to stop development in the flood plain. In addition, he is working hard with local flood groups to ensure that they are able to take their own flood prevention measures. Ed has also called for a proper map of all the drains and ditches in the UK, and who is responsible for them, and is delighted that this has been recommended in the Pitt Report.

Ed has campaigned to ensure that Fitzwaryn School in Wantage remains open.

Because of confusion over the Government’s new “statementing” rules, Fitzwaryn has seen its rolls fall, and Ed is determined that this centre of expertise does not suffer.

In addition, Ed worked closely with CHOICE on their successful campaign to get provision in Oxfordshire schools for children aged 16 and over with special needs.

He is also supporting a campaign to provide more residential homes for adults with learning disabilities.

Health

Oxfordshire’s health economy is constantly facing threats and challenges. As well as supporting our local hospitals in Didcot, Wallingford and Wantage, Ed is opposing locally plans for polyclinics, and the new threats to GP dispensaries.

Post Offices

Five Post offices have recently closed in the constituency.

Ed is opposed to the round of severe cuts to the Post Office which happened in 2008, which saw five Post Offices closed in his constituency. He believes that Post offices are a vital part of the community, and should be able to offer more services in order to make them more viable.