The council met in early March and discussed a number of issues.
Dogs
With the numbers of pet dogs increasing, various problems have emerged. One of the more unpleasant consequences has been an increase in complaints about dog fouling, and in particular dog poo bags just being abandoned rather than put in the bins provided or taken home.
One particular problem area has been around the north end of Dornford lane (where it meets the Wootton-Rousham road). West Oxfordshire District Council has now installed a dog waste bin at the site which should help to reduce the problem. Elsewhere however we still get reports of dog-poo bags dumped at the side of the road or even hanging in hedges. The parish council is very grateful to dog owners who pick up after their dogs – but please put the bags in the dog waste bins! There are four in the village. They are outside the entrance to the playing field, in the centre of the village near the village hall, near the entrance to Jubilee Meadow, and next to the Glyme bridge in West End. These bins cost the parish council about £1500 a year – so please use them! If you are too far away, please follow WODC official advice: take your poo bags home and put them in your ‘grey waste’ bin.
We have also received a report of a dog attacking and badly injuring a muntjac deer in Jubilee Meadows. Dog owners are asked to make sure their dogs are kept under control and if you see such an incident, please report it.
New bus shelter
One of the longer term projects the council has been working on is installing a bus shelter opposite Judds Garage. This plan has now received a boost, helped by our local county councillor, Andy Graham, with a county grant of £2000 towards the project. There will need to be a delay in putting in the shelter as the road junction layout needs to be improved for safety reasons and this might result in the bus stop being moved. However, we will press ahead with the project as soon as we can.
Fly-tipping
There were a number of complaints about the old vehicle tyres dumped on the Milford Lane verge just outside the 20 mph zone. Thanks to the intervention of district councillor Genny Early these have now been removed. If you spot new fly-tipping problems please report them on the WODC website, and let us know, so we can chase them up if needed. And if you see illegal tipping taking place please take a note of the registration number of the vehicle involved.
Signpost at top of West End Hill
The delapidated state of this signpost has been reported to the county council a number of times recently. Sadly, they don’t have the resources to restore the sign but have contacted the parish council and offered to replace it with a new modern style signpost. We believe that most villagers would prefer to see the old one refurbished rather than replaced. It is the last remaining traditional signpost left in the entire parish and we have offered to take on this project. If anyone has experience of this type of restoration we would really value your advice! Please contact the Clerk
Finally….
The next meeting of the council will be on Tuesday 14 May. The Annual Parish Meeting – when everyone in the village is entitled to attend, speak and vote – will be in the evening of 27 May. This is your meeting – not a parish council meeting – and if you want to put an item on the agenda please contact the Parish Clerk (clerkwpc0@gmail.com).
John Harwood