If you haven’t seen the news, there has been a major fire this morning at the Vale and South Oxfordshire District Council offices in Crowmarsh. Latest news here: http://www.oxfordmail.co.uk/news/top_news/11726143.Blog__Fire_at_South_Oxfordshire_and_Vale_of_White_Horse_district_council_buildings_in_Crowmarsh_Gifford/?ref=mac

Here is the latest emergency update from the Vale of White Horse  and South Oxfordshire District Councils:

https://southandvalecouncils.wordpress.com

For the time being, this temporary website is where you can for the latest updates.

We will at some point have an idea of what services will be affected and for how long.  As soon as this is confirmed, we will publish the information on the temporary website.

Vale councillors – the normal switchboard number (01235 520202) is working, however is for genuine emergencies only.

South councillors – the switchboard number has been redirected to Vale’s customer service team, and again is only for genuine emergencies.

Happy New Year, everyone.

Twelfth Night has passed, and we are solidly alive in 2015. I’ve been taking a look at my priorities for the year, and thought I’d share them with you. (Is it true, do you think, that if you make a  commitment public, you are more likely to keep it?)

I’ve been plagued by a persistent lung infection, which is finally relaxing its hold on me. I can tell I’m getting better, because I had enough energy to post things on my blog today. 🙂

There are some of the things I plan to devote time and energy to this year.

• The main thing is my campaign. I’m up for re-election on the 7th of May, and since it is also a general election, local Lib Dems need our supporters to turn out to vote. I need YOU to vote for me.
• Did you know that people who are registered to vote by post are something like 8 times more likely to vote that people who have to show up at the polling station on the day? So if we contact you to ask you to register for a postal vote, that’s what’s behind our thinking.
• If I’m re-elected, most of the things I’ll do from May 2015 relate to my job as your district councillor, and my role as Deputy Leader of the Liberal Democrats at the Vale of White Horse District Council.
• Doric have appealed their planning refusal. The planning inspectorate says they received the appeal docs, but haven’t yet validated them. Once they have, the Vale will be notified, and they will let us know the process and deadlines. Best guess of people in the know at the Vale is that there won’t be a hearing until after the election. So between now and then, I will be actively working for better collaboration between the Vale administration and local people, to get a better plan for Botley.
• The Local Plan 2031, which proposes to build hundreds of homes in the Oxford Green Belt, is under consideration now by the Secretary of State. I objected, along with my Lib Dem colleagues, to building on the Geen Belt without a proper review of the full Green Belt by the different authorities affected. The Lib Dem Group also objected to the section in the plan that relates to Botley. It used Doric’s plan to define the Botley Central Area, and it continued to define Botley as a ‘district centre in the context of Oxford City’ (when there is really no such thing). A decision is not expected until after the election.
• If the Lib Dems gain control of the Vale (winning 20 of the 38 seats in the re-warded district), I’ll have a different responsibility to what I have now in opposition. So in reality, everything depends on the election outcome. My job as your district councillor continues if I win here in the new ward called Botley and Sunningwell. And my job on the council changes if the Lib Dems gain control.
• So for the 17 weeks remaining, I’ll help residents with planning matters and continue to help in other areas where I can.
• And other than that, my main focus is the campaign. I’ll work for my own re-election and to see my Lib Dem colleague Emily Smith elected as the other District Councillor for Botley & Sunningwell.  (Who knows who our opponents will be!)

Would you like to get emails from the Vale of White Horse on planning or licensing applications in your loacl area? (It works by post codes.)

Go to the Vale home page: whitehorsedc.gov.uk

Scroll down to the bottom and click on Twitter and Email Alerts (Left hand side). Follow the instructions there and select which sort of info you want to received.

Latest version is here: http://valenews.whitehorsedc.gov.uk/

Learn about the Capital Community Grant Scheme, where your organisation can apply for up to £5000. Applications are open until 28 Feb 2014.

Also, info about the Vale staff move to Crowmarsh.

And recycling info.

Plus other things of interest? How to give cold-callers the cold shoulder.

I’ve just created a page on Facebook for my political persona. See it here: https://www.facebook.com/DebbyHallettLD

Did you know that 50% of the UK population is on Facebook?

And that over 50% of Facebook users are over 35 years old?

It’s the wave of the future, that, and Twitter.

I’m on Facebook nearly every day, and I only come to this blog on purpose when I want to write a blog post. That means it’s much easier on Facebook for me to to make more, shorter posts about what’s going on and what I think about it. It will be easier for you to contact me that way as well.

I quite like the way I have current planning applications listed on this blog. I wonder if any residents ever check here to see what’s going on?

But for blogging, I’m having a good think about the best approach. I’ll do double posting during this period while I’m cogitating.  But I get a sense I will move off this Lib Dem blog site and onto Facebook, where dialogue is easier, posting is faster, and more people hang out.

If you have an opinion about that, I’d like to hear from you.