THE

HOOK NORTON

NEWSLETTER

February 2002 Series 27 No 1

Page 3


   

ON THIS PAGE

PARISH COUNCIL
ELECTORAL REGISTER
TRANSPORT
Having Transport Difficulties?
VILLAGE POSTERS
HOOK NORTON REMEMBERED
COUNTRY WATCH
WILDLIFE ON OUR DOORSTEP – 16 MARCH
COMMUNITY COMPOSTING
THE TRULY USEFUL NATURE CONSERVATION DIRECTORY





Parish Council Meetings December and January 2001/2002






RECYCLING
The dates for kerbside paper collection are fortnightly on Thursdays on 7 and 21 February, etc. Cherwell have asked that lids be left OFF (to save workers' time and to avoid loss or damage). Not to worry about the paper getting wet, but anchor it if windy with heavy magazines or a stone. Collections starts later than those for the wheelie bins, so you probably don't need to put the box out overnight. If it's convenient for you, please continue to use the paper skip at the Fire Station, as the Parish Council gets an income from this by weight, which reduces your Council Tax ever so slightly. When using the bottle and can banks at the school, please do not leave empty (or full) boxes or bags. It just makes a mess. Why should someone else clear up after you? Someone left a stack of 15 boxes there in November, but there is no cardboard collection. The site is by the school, and is not a general dumping ground. If you find any banks to be full, please phone 01295 221935.





PARISH CLERK
The Council has appointed Mrs Linda A. Tranter, The New House, The Green, Hook Norton, OX15 5LE as its new Clerk. She can be contacted on the existing phone number, 737399, which will be transferred. Her E-mail address is linda2.tranter@virgin.net .





CEMETERY


The Parish Council has agreed to expenditure of over £400 to re-erect the vandalised headstones in the lower cemetery. One of these is at the grave of an ancestor of the Clarke family. The Brewery has offered a reward of £250 for information leading to the identification of those responsible. Contact them or PC Dilsaver (details in Village Shop window).







PRECEPT

The Council has set a precept of
£33,000. The increase is largely due to the
increased expenditure on salaries and grass cutting.
It works out at an increase of less than
£10 a year per household.










VILLAGE PLAN

The Council has considered the possibility of drawing up a Village Plan, which would identify problems and needs in the village. Advice was given by Jackie Simpson of the Oxfordshire Rural Communities Council. Further information is awaited, and the degree of support in the village for the amount of work that would be required has to be assessed.
If you would be interested in taking part, please contact Linda Tranter.



 
PLAY AREA

The possibility of buying new equipment for young children and relocating it in a smaller enclosed area at the top of the Play Area is being considered. Thoughts are at an early stage, and the possibility of grant funding needs to be explored.



TUBS ON THE TRIANGLE

The use of a polling slip insert in the Newsletter to get a response on this question was a resounding success, and may be used again in future on other issues. 160 responses were received. 120 were happy to leave the tubs as they are, and 40 wanted them taken away. They will therefore be left. The Council wishes to thank all those who took part, and the Village Shop, the Post Office and the Newsletter for their help in running the poll






DOG BINS

The Council has been concerned that some dog bins have been found to be full. During the winter, they should be emptied by Cherwell DC once a week on a Tuesday. If you find a bin full on a Wednesday or Thursday, phone 01295 221615






JUBILEE CELEBRATIONS
  If you want to see what arrangements are already underway
    refer to the Hooky Newsletter website rolling diary at
       www.news-hooknorton.freeserve.co.uk/calendarRolling.htm






CHERWELL LOCAL PLAN HOUSING SITES

At the public meeting in February 1999, about 150 residents said a resounding NO to the inclusion in the Local Plan of possible sites in the village for new housing. In the version of the Plan published in 2000, no such sites were included. Recently, Cherwell DC has reviewed the need for additional housing, and has noted that the sites at Bourne Lane and at Stanton Engineering, Station Road, might need to be reconsidered. The Parish Council has confirmed its opposition to the creation of new housing sites in the village and will watch the situation closely. Cherwell has confirmed that any new proposals will give the opportunity for objection, and that a public meeting would probably take place in 2003.
If you wish to see the letter from Cherwell District Council to the Parish Council regarding this matter a copy is located in the Library.




ELECTORAL REGISTER
The new electoral register shows 1641 voters in the parish, though about 70 of them live outside the village (Great Rollright, Swerford, Tadmarton Heath, etc) About 17 people reach the age of 18 during the year, which seems a low percentage of the population. The register can now be updated during the year, so if you have just moved, or find you are not shown on it for some other reason (check in the library), contact the Electoral Registration Officer at Cherwell DC on 01295 221535
Peter Fry



TRANSPORT
Stagecoach tickets. No sooner had I mentioned the Stagecoach Transit Pass in the last issue than it was withdrawn! A revision of tickets and fares in early December saw the Explorer reintroduced. This costs £5.50, with a senior/concession fare of £3.50, which happens to be the same as the new ordinary return fare to Chipping Norton. The Explorer will, however, take you to Stratford or Woodstock, or into and around Oxford and beyond on Stagecoach services.
A new range of Countryrider tickets gives you 7 days' unlimited travel in this area (Banbury, Deddington, Chipping Norton, Kingham and Woodstock) for only £7. 14-day and 28-day tickets are also available. Save a fortune on regular travel to Banbury.
Peter Fry



Having Transport Difficulties?
Then Katherine May, the new Rural Community Transport Worker at Oxfordshire Rural Community Council may be able to help. She can offer help and advice on different transport options and work with communities to develop new transport ideas. To get in touch, please call Katherine on 01865 883488.



VILLAGE POSTERS
I would like to apologise for any inconvenience caused through putting up posters in the village. I am one of the people who put up posters to advertise our fund raising events for Friends of the Surgery and I must admit I do use drawing pins left by others when I have run out of mine. I did not realise that it caused other people such trouble. Please accept my apologies and I will make sure I have enough drawing pins for my posters and also remember to take posters down when out of date.
Kim Woodward



HOOK NORTON REMEMBERED
Continuing my memories of the early days of the new school. The water tower was built about 20 yards from the school buildings where the water diviner had located water. The brick structure was topped with a 5000 gallon tank and the whole system could have been designed by Heath Robinson himself. A float in the tank operated an indicator in the room below showing the level of water. As the stratum carrying the water was about 70 feet below ground a push/pull electric pump had to be installed halfway down the shaft. The pump had to be switched on manually each day to top up the water level. An automatic chlorinating system was incorporated, in which chlorine from a container was added to the water as it was pumped up; the quantity adjusted by turning a dial. As the caretaker did not wish to accept the responsibility, I was asked to check the system weekly and fit a new chlorine container when required.
But, "The best laid plans." It happened during a holiday when I was not there. The chlorine ran out and the caretaker had a new container delivered and asked the delivery man to change it, which he did and all seemed well. However on the Monday morning, when school was back, Mrs Mant complained that the water had a funny taste and she couldn't use it for cooking. I investigated and found that the obliging delivery man had changed the dial setting on the chlorinator from 3 parts per million to 30 parts per million and we had 5000 gallons of it in the tank. Bert the caretaker was a volunteer fireman and he borrowed a hose from the fire station that we connected to the fire hydrant, ran all the water down into Watery Lane and started again.
The 1944 Education Act decreed that children should be educated according to their "Age, Aptitude and Ability" and so we made the craft side as wide-ranging as space and equipment would allow. We embarked on several large projects, the first being a pond. After selecting a site we checked with the County Council to make sure that it would not clash with any future development. After a lot of hard work, the project was a huge success and became a very popular spot for budding artists and even for moments of contemplation. But alas! The architects had been wrong and three years on we were told that a library was to be built on the site of the pond. We started again and built a new pond at another location. When we transferred the pond-life to the new pond we found 169 fish and 6 newts.
Our next project was a large greenhouse. Again we checked with the County Offices before starting work. Without detracting from the many skills and much hard work of all the boys involved, I remember two boys in particular whose aptitudes shone forth in this project. Fred Inns, whose woodworking skills led him to a scholarship at Rycotewood College and Neville Pearce who showed skills in bricklaying which would have equalled many a professional tradesman. But again alas! It was decided that a shower block must be built on the very spot where the greenhouse stood. This time it was decided that the builders would move the greenhouse to a new site beside the water tower. The only consolation to the boys, who by this time had left us, was that the builders said they didn't know that the boys had built it but thought that it had been part of the original plan.
Geoff Walton - ggwyork@messages.co.uk



COUNTRY WATCH
Although people living in rural areas are statistically less likely to become victims of crime, the fear of crime can lead some of those living in more isolated areas feeling very vulnerable. To combat this, the police in are expanding their Country Watch scheme which is to rural areas what Neighbourhood Watch is to towns and villages, i.e. a network of people with whom the police can make contact and occasionally be asked to assist, perhaps with spotting a particular vehicle, or reporting sightings of vulnerable missing people. Members also receive a regular newsletter and information on crime prevention methods and products.
If you are interested in becoming a member (no charge) then please call either
West Oxfordshire District Council area: 01993 893811
Cherwell District Council area: 01295 754611



WILDLIFE ON OUR DOORSTEP – 16 MARCH
People wanting to join or find out more about local wildlife groups are invited to come to a free event between 10.30am and 3.30pm on Saturday 16 March at Oxford Town Hall where there will be stalls, displays, a quiz and talks, including special events for children and teenagers. The event marks the centenary of a similar meeting in 1902 organised by the then Lord Mayor George Claridge and is being organised by a group of societies including the Ashmolean Natural History Society.



COMMUNITY COMPOSTING
The County and District Councils are trying to encourage as many people as possible to recycle kitchen and garden waste by home composting. However, for those with small gardens or little time this is not always practical, nor is getting to one of the eight waste recycling centres in Oxfordshire.
The answer might lie in community composting, an initiative currently being promoted by the County Council. All it needs is an area of land where a compost site can be located, some willing volunteers that want to do their bit for the environment and residents that want lots of lovely rich compost! If you are interested in finding out more then please contact Fay Dashper on 01865 815499.



THE TRULY USEFUL NATURE CONSERVATION DIRECTORY
Are you looking for practical ways in which to get involved in your local environment? Then log onto www.oncf.org.uk where you will find the Truly Useful Nature Conservation Directory, or telephone 01865 407034 for a copy (£1 for p+p). The Directory gives you a direct link to all the environmental groups that work across Oxfordshire – what their interests are, what type of events they organise and what services they offer. If you would like to understand and enjoy the countryside more, play a role in protecting green spaces or get involved in campaigning then this Directory will provide you with the impetus.