Karen Smith writes to us about the Bistro in Ardington.

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Local Dentist James Brown is pleased to announce the opening of a third surgery at the Ladygrove Dental Practice, so increasing the provision of quality dental services to Didcot and the surrounding villages.

For further information see their web site a http://www.didcotdentist.co.uk.

Oxfordshire Highways will close some roads overnight in November as work to build a road through the centre of the Headington Roundabout draws to a close.

Continue Reading Headington Roundabout Roadworks

County council gives cautious formal response to Steventon reservoir proposal

Oxfordshire County Council has given a cautious formal response to Thames Water plans to construct a huge new reservoir near Steventon.

Thames Water has said it needs the new reservoir to meet demands for the South East in years to come.

The county council is supporting the Vale of White Horse District Council’s consultation with local people.

A meeting of the county council’s Cabinet today formally endorsed a report that set out the authority’s thoughts.

These include:

• The council’s concern that the Environment Agency should have enough time to assess Thames Water’s analysis of the need to meet the increase in demand for water.
• The county council may have a view on the merits of alternative supply options and sites, if there is proven demand for more water, and a reservoir is the appropriate solution.
• A request for informed public debate. This should include acceptable levels of service, water leakage, conservation requirements and water efficiency.
• That sufficient analysis of far reaching sustainability implications should be taken into account – beyond the debate on the impact to the site itself and the surrounding area.
• An expectation from the county council that Thames Water should encourage high water efficiency standards. The county council has invested in reducing its own water consumption over the last 15 years and would expect Thames Water to be setting high standards.
• If the proposed reservoir does proceed the county council would want to closely examine impacts on the county including potential transport implications, a new road to replace the Steventon to Hanney road, mitigation of adverse effects beyond the immediate area.

Cllr Keith Mitchell, the Leader of Oxfordshire County Council, said: “We’re at the early stages with this. We’ll be working hand-in-hand with our colleagues at the Vale of White Horse District Council. We will both be standing up for the people in the areas that are affected and the county as a whole. That will apply at every stage of this process.

Saturday 30th September, 10am to 12 noon, Chilton Village Hall.

Continue Reading Chilton Nearly New Sale

Thames Water have announced the Upper Thames Major Resource Development (UTMRD)Â project, a re-evaluation of the need for a major new water resource in the Upper Thames area. Their current provisional preference is that of a reservoir to the south west of Abingdon.

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New stage reached in project to manage Abingdon’s traffic.

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Note for all electric-blanket users in the village.

You are probably all aware that approximately twice a year the Vale offer a free electric-blanket safety check. The notices relating to this are always pinned on the noticeboard in the Village and/or (depending how many have been sent) in the PO as well.

Last week I took a neighbour into Abingdon where she had their two blankets checked out. Both of them failed the test and were not returned to the owner, thus suggesting they were a serious fire hazard. How many more potentially lethal electric-blankets are out there? The advice from this is that the test is free so why not take advantage of it.

Thames Water is building a new pipeline to boost water supplies to the Oxford and Swindon areas. The pipeline will pass to the north of the Upton Parish Boundary.

Currently, Thames Water take out 75-80 megalitres of water a day from the Gatehampton and Cleeve sources, but will increase this to over 120 Ml/d.

The first section of the new main will be 900mm diameter and will run 17.1km from Cleeve to South Moreton, and then to Hagbourne Hill. A tunnel will need to be constructed under the River Thames. The new main will be laid in the road underneath the Bristol to Paddington railway, at South Stoke. The second section of main will be a further 16.5km between Hagbourne Hill and Fyfield, which will need a tunnel under the A34.

The work will be completed by March 2008.

For many years, UKAEA’s Harwell site in south Oxfordshire has been a centre for civil nuclear energy research in the UK. Now UKAEA is engaged in restoring the site.

The aim is to complete its transformation into an international centre for science and technology to maintain businesses and jobs in the community.

The National Decommissioning Authority is responsible for decommissioning the Harwell licensed nuclear site and UKAEA have published its plans to complete this by 2025. The “End-State” refers to the quality of the land, buildings and structures left behind after 2025 and so does not specify the future use of the cleaned-up land.

Members of the local community are being consulted about their wishes for the End State of the licensed nuclear site at Harwell and various options are being considered. These range from (1) no clean-up. (2a) Allowing long-term storage of Intermediate Level Waste (ILW) at Harwell and partial clean-up, to (2b) Interim ILW storage at Harwell and partial clean-up to (3) Full clean up. Other options exist in this range and the public are being asked to state their preferences.

An Information Pack is available on request from: Nick Hance (Secretary Local Stakeholder Group), c/o UKAEA B521, Harwell, Didcot. OX11 0RA.