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December 2003
Letter to the Faringdon Folly
Letter to the Editor
Sir,
We would
like to take this opportunity to report back on what the Vale of White
Horse District Council has been doing over the last few months, and how
we, as your district councillors, have been working for you locally. One
of the most obvious tasks that the district council is to deal with
planning applications, the most significant recent example of which is
the granting of permission for the Faringdon Tennis Club. This decision
has still to be confirmed by the Secretary of State, but, if given the
go ahead, it will be a great boost for sport in Faringdon.
Understandably some people are not happy with the siting of the new
club, and their views were taken into account along with everyone
else’s. The difficulty is that planning decisions must be based on the
benefit for the whole community, and in this case the applicants have
worked hard and will continue to work to minimise any harm to their new
neighbours.
Another
significant aspect of our work is the Community Grants committee, which
met early in September; it has a small pot of cash to award to local
groups. These grants often provide vital funding that really can benefit
local people. At the last meeting we were pleased to be able to award
significant amounts to the Bowling Club, Faringdon Town Football club,
and Faringdon Pre-School desperately needs a new building. We hope that
we can continue to support these groups and thank them for the work they
do for the community in Faringdon.
“Berlin
Wall”: we would like to report that the district council has resolved to
deal with this issue at the highest level and is now negotiating with
the Vale Housing Association. This is in response to the petition and
campaign organised by Faringdon residents, supported by Robert Jackson
and Ed Vaizey.
June 2003
Letter to the Faringdon Folly
Letter to the Editor
Sir,
We would
like to take the opportunity, through your publication to thank everyone
in Faringdon and the villages who supported us in the recent local
elections on May 1st. We are delighted to be representing the new
Faringdon and the Coxwells ward on the Vale of White Horse District
Council. The Liberal Democrats have retained overall control of the
district council, however, it is our aim to raise the profile of
Faringdon and fight for a fairer deal for local residents.
The main
areas that the district council is responsible for are: abandoned cars,
benefits, bus tokens, business rates, car parks, CCTV, community safety,
council tax collection, economic development, housing, the issuing of
many licences, leisure, planning, recycling, and refuse collection. If
you have any problems regarding any of these areas, or if you have other
concerns that you feel we may be able to help us with, please do not
hesitate to contact us or come to one of our regular surgeries which are
usually held in the Corn Exchange on the 1st Saturday of the month, or
as advertised in the 'What's On'.
Matthew
Barber
244005
mail@matthewbarber.co.uk
Roger
Cox
243360
Alison
Thomson
241204
(Full
contact details are available from Vale of White Horse District Council
at www.whitehorsedc.gov.uk)
We look
forward to making a difference to local residents and relish the
challenges that the next four years will no doubt bring.
Yours
sincerely,
Matthew
Barber
Roger Cox
Alison Thomson
District Councillors for Faringdon and the Coxwells.
May
2003
Vale of White Horse District Council Elections
Faringdon & The Coxwells Ward Result
BARBER, Matthew (Con)
891
THOMSON, Alison (Con)
852
COX, Roger (Con)
799
BRAITHWAITE, Jenny (Lib Dem)
719
WEBB, Gene (Lib Dem)
650
TAYLOR, Hilary (Lib Dem)
592
YAQUB, Mohamed (Lab)
390
LENIEC, Steve (Lab)
360
ILOTT, Mike (Lab)
350
April
2003
Election Address
Introducing Matthew Barber
Aged 22,
Matt is keen to see young people represented in local government. He
believes very strongly in community pride, and wants to see Faringdon
thrive in the future. For too long the town and surrounding villages
have been neglected by the rest of the Vale. Matt's family has been in
Faringdon for three generations, and has just recently bought his own
flat in the town.
Matt went
to school in the area and has recently graduated with BA (Hons) in
Politics & Philosophy from Brunel University, West London. He is
currently employed as a political assistant and has previously worked
for district councils, giving him plenty of experience of local
government.
Matt is
keen to see funding for the long awaited scheme for town centre
improvement. Matt will also listen to the concerns of the villages
around Faringdon – particularly Great Coxwell – and will address
concerns about the expansion of the town towards those villages and the
danger of them being swallowed up into the body of Faringdon. He thinks
that it is important that the expansion of the town is carefully
planned, and enough jobs and services are in place to support new
housing.
What we
WILL do...
We will
abolish the 65p charge for the collection of green waste and have this
waste composted instead of being dumped in landfill sites as is the case
now.
We will introduce innovative policies to provide affordable housing for
local people.
We will introduce the Conservative Planning Pledge, which guarantees:
- No development on green belt land
- New Local Plan
- Tighter control over rural developments
We will ensure a balance of housing and commercial developments to
prevent Faringdon becoming a dormitory town.
We will assist the development and expansion of the Folly Park
With the demise of village shops we will support the provision of local
community buses.
We will fight to attract funding for the redevelopment of Faringdon
Market Place.
We will ensure a fair distribution of grant money.
We will endeavour to keep Council Tax rises at, or below, inflation.
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