Issue 10 - July 2011 (PDF - Chipping Norton Times

CHIPPING NORTON TIMES
From the Editor
It’s a few weeks now since we went to the polls to elect our district
& local councillors - enough time for the dust to settle and work to
begin ‘in earnest’. The next four years offer an exciting and
interesting time to be working with the community on one hand and
with local government on the other, consulting, negotiating and
working together to achieve far-reaching community goals.
The Localism Bill, for all the press comment and behind the scenes
debate, got through its Second Reading last month and, as it opens up
new doorways and challenges for local communities, we need to be
aware of what is involved. For a start - how local is ‘local’? Is WODC
our ‘local’ council? Should it be? Will district councillors be listening to
and working with the town and parish councils, with the residents
and business people who know these areas best? If that is the
‘preferred model’ then knowing what we want to achieve in our
communities in say, five or ten years time – for housing, schools,
transport, parking, hospitals, police, recreation…etc. - will be a useful
starting point for discussion and negotiation.
For a long time many local councils have been in the doldrums. Being
on the parish council has been ‘not for me’ and local councils relied
on a few volunteers to get basic things done, with poorly attended
meetings, unread minutes and little debate. Our District Council is
neither a magnanimous and paternal overlord and provider nor a
cynical and unresponsive authority, although any DC can be seen as
all of those things. Their role is to use their funding (received in tax
income and grants) and their authority to make the district work at all
service and amenity levels, with care and attention to the plans and
ambitions of their communities. However, this is our parish, and our
town, so who should be driving the decisions?
With any community project some of the responsibility for making
sure that ‘the right things happen in the right way’ will rest on a good
team driving things forward - and good representation. So, our local
meetings, which are all about where the town/ village is headed and
how it gets there, should probably be well attended.
Meanwhile, let’s hope for some real summer weather to encourage
us into our gardens and the amazing countryside on our doorsteps. I
hope that you will have a very happy July.
Best wishes
Jenni Turner, Editor
Our Front Cover is ‘Poppies at Broadwell’ by Liz Frazer
© Liz Frazer www.grassrootscards.com
Copydate for the August edition is 16th July 2011.
(The 16th is our copy date for every month next year)
Telephone Chipping Norton Times on
07789 175 002
(The phone will take your messages too – leave your
name & contact number; we will return your call.)
email CHIPPING NORTON TIMES on
editor@chippingnortontimes.co.uk
www.stowtimes.co.uk
P O Box 6, Sheep Street,
Stow on the Wold, GL54 1WD
Inside this edition
FEATURES
6 You only have minutes to save a life – the Community Public
Access Defibrillator
7 Working together to make the difference – St Lawrence’s
Church, Wyck Rissington from Andrew Ransom
10 STOW’S GOT TALENT - Everyone is welcome!
11 The Wrong Case – A Short Story by local author, Nicholas John
12 Fostering – Have you got time to spare?
REGULARS
10 Book Reviews from Cotswold Bookstore
13 Robb Eden – on VAT and the importance of our small local businesses.
18 The Community ‘Right to Build’ + Conservation and Localism
19 Local Authorities, meetings & information
20 Church Services
21 EVENTS DIARY for July
22, 23 Village Halls; Rural Cinemas and Regular Events Diary.
24- 31 LOCAL EVENTS for July
32 Local Walks in July
37- 40 Reports from some of our local Schools
43, 45, 47 News & Reports from some of the Local Sports Clubs, etc..
48 Club News & Reports
49 Clubs, Societies & Associations, etc (this list is updated bi-monthly)
51 Local Business Directory
Thank you to all our contributors, the writers and photographers who
have helped produce this edition. This month the team doing research,
sub-editing and proof reading was tiny - Jan Marley (who also manages
our deliveries) and Yours Truly. The volunteers helping to deliver the
magazines have changed a little too, and we thank everyone for their
help, past & present. A lot of our deliverers tell us how much they enjoy
doing it and, as a deliverer myself, I think it’s because it is a really great
way to get to know your area…and your neighbours (it does help when
the weather is nice!)
Our design team this month was Eagle Design Ltd.
0845 230 8955 / www.eagledesign.net
Extra copies of Chipping Norton Times may be available at The Leisure
Centre and at The Information Point.