March
2009
Town
Green Application, Thrupp and Bullfield Lakes : Discussions
are taking place with the Power Station staff in the
hope that it will be possible to stop the Judicial Review.
Community
Notice Board: A notice board has been offered
to the Parish Council and this is being followed up.
Tree
along Whites Lane : Thanks to some keen photographers,
I have been able to identify the car which knocked down
two trees and get details of the owner. Hopefully in
the autumn we will be able to replant these trees. Many
thanks to those who responded.
Footpath
8: I must thank Radley College and Bill Homewood
for allowing the path to be widened – without their
agreement this would not have been a possibility.
Police
News: PC Jimmy May who has been looking after
Radley for the last few months is moving on shortly
- hopefully a successor will be in post by the time
he leaves. PCSO Adrian Wright will continue to be our
community support officer.
Speeding
– Kennington Road and Foxborough Road: There
is a lot of concern about the speed of vehicles, cars
and motorcyclists using these two are roads, and the
police are continually asked to do checks in this area.
Hedges:
I MUST MAKE AN ANNUAL PLEA. There are a number
of hedges in the Parish which need cutting back to clear
footways and roads. The Parish Council
has regular complaints about the poor width of footways
in the Parish, particularly down Foxborough Road. Oxfordshire
Highways has been approached but width improvements
are not planned, so any help that can be given by trimming
back hedges and shrubs to allow the full width of the
existing pavements would be extremely helpful. Property
owners do, of course, have legal obligation to ensure
their own boundary tree or hedge growth does not obstruct
public footways and road.
Potholes:
There is great concern about the potholes and
condition of roads and pavements throughout the Parish,
and the Parish Council is continually in touch with
the Oxfordshire Highways about the problems. Make your
views known to Oxfordshire Highways – contact them direct
via telephone, letter or website
(there is a special facility to report potholes on their
website). Please make your views known to Oxfordshire
Highway in support of Parish Council pressure.
Litter:
This is of great concern to people. There is
a village cleaner for the village area, and the District
Council has agreed to clean up roads such as Whites
Lane, Kennington Road, Sandford Lane and Thrupp Lane.
Local residents are looking after Sugworth Lane, which
has a real problem with fly tipping, and their help
is very much appreciated. Radley College has agreed
that its pupils can help with litter clearing on a monthly
basis along the Lower Radley road and this is also much
appreciated. I am sure there are other people who help
with this problem – the Parish Council is not totally
convinced that more litter bins are the answer as very
often litter lies by the side of existing bins, but
it is continually reviewing this. The District Council
has looked at sites for dog litter bins, and feel that
the best places for these are Whites Road/Foxborough
Road, at the entrance to Footpath 8, and in the village
car park by the entrance to the field. The Parish Council
is considering this. However, the District Council has
informed the Parish Council that any litter bin can
be used for dog litter.
Parish
Plan: A Steering Committee has been formed
after two public meetings, and a meeting will be set
up shortly to see whether the production of a Parish
Plan can be progressed.
Street
Lighting: Oxfordshire County Council has launched
its Carbon Action Plan to reduce carbon emissions by
2011/2012. Street lighting produced 19% of the Council's
carbon emissions during 2005/2006, and several initiatives
are in progress to reduce these:
- Reducing the number of illuminated signs, where
legislation permits this and where it is safe to do
so;
- Installing photo-electric cells in bollards in order
to switch them off during daylight hours;
- Replacing older street lighting lanterns with more
energy-efficient models;
- Switching off selected lengths of lighting on rural
traffic routes from around midnight to 5.30 am, where
it is safe to do so;
- Replacing tungsten lamps in Zebra beacons with light-emitting
diodes (LEDS);
- Using LEDs for signal lights instead of tungsten
lamps when refurbishing traffic signal installations;
- Using more energy-efficient lighting on future new
developments, and in some instances specifying the
use of part-night lighting where appropriate.
In a radical
step to further reduce carbon emissions, the OCC is
considering changing its policy of keeping street lighting
on all night in very rural areas and, instead, switching
off the lights from approximately 12.30 am to around
5.30 am. This reduces carbon emissions by approximately
35% for each light that is switched off between these
hours.
The Parish Council has been asked
for its views on this proposal with the purpose of seeing
if there is any scope for this change to happen in Radley.
Even if the Parish Council feels there is any area where
the lights can be changed to part-night operation, the
views of the police will be sought before any changes
are put in place. The Parish Council needs your
views to allow it to consider this matter carefully.
Some feedback has been received via the NAG Survey,
but please let Councillors or your Clerk have your views.
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