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Woodstock Town Council |
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Home and Noticeboard Town Events Diary
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Take tour of town's historic buildings A FORMER home for the infected and a house Oliver Cromwell allegedly stayed in during the Civil War will be celebrated in the coming months. Woodstock Town Council is to install plaques at eight homes around the town to celebrate Woodstock’s history and encourage tourists to visit the town, as well as Blenheim Palace. Leaflets will be produced for a walking route to see the homes, which run from Park Street to Oxford Street. Councillor Linda Glees, who organised the project, and is pictured here with Town Mayor Cllr Jill Dunsmore, said: “We wanted to stimulate people to visit Woodstock, rather than going straight to Blenheim Palace and not realising there’s a town here many years older than the palace.”
click here to see County Councillor Ian Hudspeth town and parish report
Town Mayor Cllr Jill Dunsmore's Report for February 2012 We were pleased to welcome Chief Inspector Colin Paine to our meeting on 10 January who told us about his plans for policing West Oxfordshire and also answered questions. We thank him for his time and his very interesting views. The plans for the Community Centre refurbishment have been reviewed and are taking shape. We are looking at a start date in February and a completion in the spring. I wish to thank all the users for the splendid co-operation finding alternative venues for their activities and look forward to welcoming them back to the Community Centre in the future. It is with great regret that I accepted the resignations of Cllr Victoria Edwards and Cllr Anthony Glees. I would like to thank them both for their hard work and contribution during their time on the Council and with them well for the future. When you read this the newsletter will have been delivered to your home explaining the Legacy Fund process and we are looking forward to putting a project together for the lasting benefit of Woodstock residents. So far the winter of 2011/12 has been kind to us. However, we are well prepared for the worst. The grit bins are full and strategically placed and a team of wonderful volunteers are equipped with shovels and ready to assist with the distribution of the grit should it be required. A huge thank you to all who so kindly offered to help, it is greatly appreciated. I would like to thank all who contributed to the funding of the Christmas Lights for their generosity and express my gratitude for their support which enabled a lovely display throughout the town. We have great pleasure welcoming Rachel Faulkner as our new Administrative Assistant and Sebastian Cardoso as our new Assistant Caretaker and hope they will enjoy working for the Council. It is always a pleasure to communicate with you and I am available should you wish to contact me. Very best wishes Jill Jill Dunsmore WODC and OCC Councillor Ian Hudspeth's February 2012 Town and Parish Report The meetings in January were dominated by finalising the budget with more funding announcements coming forward. The most important announcement is the Final Local Government Finance Settlement; unfortunately the announcement will not be until 8th February so the County Council meeting scheduled for 7th February has been moved to 10th February. It’s obvious that without that information a budget could not be set. Even if the announcement is made on 8th, it will mean that the papers will have to be sent out without the full detail. Hopefully there won’t be a further delay however the budget meeting for the District council is 22nd February so I would hope it’ll be all sorted by then. This is the 2nd year that both councils are proposing a zero increase in council tax. This has been achieved with the help of additional government funding covering a 2.5% increase, this year the additional funding is only for 1 year and will impact on next year’s budget so its vital that we continue to examine all areas of expenditure and income. The move to put Middle Barton School into special measures could be seen as a backward step, however there has been concern in the community over the last year and although the County council were giving some assistance, until OFSTED made the decision it was not able to provide the full support needed. To me it highlights the need for the Local Education Authority to be able to intervene at an earlier stage, which may have prevented the school going into special measures in the first place. There is tremendous good will amongst the community to help the school. The governors and teaching staff are working hard to improve the situation and I’m confident that the school will be turned round soon. I attended the Oxford Airport consultative meeting when they highlighted the increase in traffic that they are expecting in the summer with the Olympics especially at the finish when everybody will be leaving as quickly as possible, perhaps we should be encouraging them to stay and spend some time in West Oxfordshire? We have been lucky with the weather so far this year but a cold snap is expected so be prepared. The gritters go out when the temperature drops or is expected to cause freezing conditions. Full details of the routes and when they are going out are available on the county council website.
Ian Hudspeth É 01993 811 272 È 07956 270 318
Woodstock Town Council Town Mayor Councillor Jill Dunsmore was elected as Town Mayor for the year 2011/2012 on 10th May 2011. Cllr Dunsmore has long been deeply immersed in local politics. When living in Staffordshire with husband Bill, she represented both Lichfield Town Council and Lichfield District Council. On moving to Woodstock in 2003, she almost immediately stepped forward to stand for election here and served a full term from June 2004 until 2008. During that busy period, Jill was elected to West Oxfordshire District Council as a Conservative councillor. Her abilities were quickly recognised as she soon found herself appointed to a Cabinet position there, with special responsibilities for Affordable Housing and Community Safety and was also Liaison with the Volunteer Sector, Champion for Older People and Chairman of the County Council Community Safety Committee and of the West Oxfordshire Crime and Disorder Partnership. As a result of her commitments at WODC she reluctantly stood down as a town councillor in 2008 through sheer pressure of work but continued her many other activities in and around Woodstock. She is, of course, famously associated with the highly successful Independent Woodstock Literary Festival working tirelessly with her daughter Sally to bring the best and brightest of writers, authors and literary personalities to the town for a week long festival of writing in the Autumn of each year. As well as the literary festival, Jill is a governor at The Marlborough School, Chairman of the Local Area Policing Board, and an active member of the Board of Cottsway Housing Association, Sustainable Woodstock and the Woodstock Town Partnership. Within the Town Council, she was applauded last year for her ability to encourage a record level of sponsorship for the Christmas Lights by the town's businesses. Jill is involved with much, much more and her experience and commitment to Woodstock will serve her well through her Mayoralty. She will be supported through her year of office by Cllr Brian Yoxall who, as an able and experienced Councillor will be an ideal Deputy Town Mayor.
Woodstock Town Council's new rules on Public Participation Standing Order 82. ‘Permission for the Electorate to Speak at Council’
Thames Valley Police
Woodstock Neighbourhood Team Survey
Total number surveyed:
150 92% of those questioned reported that they felt safe at night and 100% felt safe during the day. Of the concerns expressed by those surveyed, the most important seemed to be parking, with 21.3% remarking, speeding, with 16% and youth facilities, with 14.6% of people concerned. That being said, 26% of people had no concerns at all. 71.3% of those noticed improvement in the local area, 31.3% reported being aware of TVP websites, and 58.3% knew the name of their local PC/PCSO. When asked whether they agreed or disagreed that police and local public services are dealing with issues in the area, the results were as follows:
Strongly agree 16.5%
You can see from the
results that the public response is very positive
overall. Congratulations and thanks to the Woodstock police team for all
of their hard work and dedication in serving and protecting the people
of our local communities. |
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Woodstock
Town Council, Town Clerk, Lorraine Watling, Town Hall, Market Square, Woodstock,
Oxfordshire, OX20 1SL |
