The water companies have announced that they are going to abolish the charitable status of churches and charge them the full business rate for water usage. They are going to charge according to the size of the roof and the land adjoining the building. It will mean HUGE increases which the churches and their congregations cannot afford. That will also entail a reduction in what they send to charitable causes. This is a link to an online petition set up to persuade the government to step in: http://petitions.pm.gov.uk/ChurchWaterBills At present the petition has less than eleven thousand signatures. Fifteen thousand are needed to be considered by the PM and it is unlikely to succeed unless it has a lot more than that. FIFTY thousand might really make a difference. So please pass this link on to everybody you know of a sympathetic point of view. By charging for rain falling on roof spaces, the water companies are laying claim to every drop of rain that falls in the British Isles. That is immoral. The water companies do not own the water - they only charge for supplying it via various man-made systems. Recently, our local water company announced that, after spending tens of millions on installing water meters - and charging the users for this - they are abandoning the whole principle of charging by metered usage, and returning to a policy of charging according to the rateable value of your house. This removes all incentive to moderate your use, and of course it tends to maximize their profits. Large increases in price can now be concealed and passed off as a "transition" to a different system. Another recent scam has been that the water companies have in the past two years abrogated responsibility for maintaining supply pipes inside the boundaries of private property, and pressurised people to take out insurance in case these pipes burst or leak. Guess who profits from the insurance policy? The water company of course. Until 2005 or so, these pipes were always the responsibility of the water company, and had to be repaired at their cost. After all, that's what we are paying for. NOT the water itself, but the service of supplying it.
Hi all, It's gone a bit quiet here so I thought I'd ask what you all thought of the Mela that took place in Cowley Marsh Park on Sunday. We rather enjoyed it and thought it was well laid out with lots of good things. Well done to Nisha Prakash in the City Council for organising it again! Tony PS - Shameless plug: If you want a brain-stretch on a Sunday evening then come along at 8.30pm to the Marsh Harrier where my partner and I are running the pub quiz this week.
Congratulations to Gus Bianchini for his splended work on Sunday regarding the Horspath Street Fiesta. The windy weather did not stop us enjoying the Fiesta. There was good community spirit. Looking forward to next year. Olive. By the way I will be speaking at County Hall on 17 July at 10 AM for 20 is plenty -Cabinet Member Ian Hudspeth's meeting
Hi all, Planning permission was granted (10 in favour vs. 1 against) by the Strategic Development Control Committee of the City Council earlier today for the proposed Skate Park in Cowley Marsh Park. See http://www.owp.org.uk/marshhome/proposal/proposals.html for more information on the proposals. Personally I think this is great news as it will give local young people a real opportunity to do something fun and constructive in their spare time rather than just hanging around getting bored. I know that not everyone is in favour, however, so I hope we can all work together to be constructive about the Skate Park and deal quickly and sensibly with issues that might arise around its construction and use.
Hi Gus Can you please let me know how much it would cost to have a stall? My partner makes wire sculptures so may be interested - he is also in a band, the Brickwork Lizards, but unfortunately the other members aren't available that weekend. Kind regards Wendy
Politics is about getting things done, deciding how things should be, influencing the future. Politics might be as mundane as deciding when your bin is emptied or as important as building new homes for the homeless in Blackbird Leys. You dont have to belong to a political party to be involved in politics, being a member of the Oxford Civic Society is being involved in the local politics of planning and development. Being a member of Oxfam is participating in the politics of economic development of developing countries e.g. in this case getting involved with the internatl politics of Burma. Campaigning for the council to invest in local sports facilities at say Temple Cowley is a form of politics. Your politics could be making Cowley into an area you are proud to be a part of.
Hi All, Horspath Road estate is holding a street Fiesta on the 22nd June 12:00 to 16:00. The party is an output from the Community Engagement project (Cowley Spotlight)that is running in the Cowley area. The aim is to get residents and visitors together having a good time and re establishing a community spirit back into our neighbourhood. We will be having several attractions and food. Please pass the word around about the event and we are always open for more activities for the Fiesta. If you have an artistic talent or want to get your groups activities across then please make contact. Hopefully this Fiesta can be the first of many and we could have a series of them around Cowley/Oxford over the summer months. Activities like this would bring back some fun back into our streets and communities interacting and sharing their cultures.
Shey, Thanks for upholding the principle that we originally set to keep issues that relate to Cowley and that will lead to improving all our environments. We should not go down the road of the CSW forum which appears to be mainly politics and no one actually getting up and doing something useful!.
Oxfordshire Trading Standards Service is carrying out Operation Trader week beginning Monday 19th May until Friday 23rd May.Due to the sudden increase in rogue trader incidents, please can you contact Oxfordshire Trading Standards immediately if anyone knocks on your door and offers to sell goods or services e.g. garden work, driveways or dusters. More... http://www.oxfordprospect.co.uk/Headington.htm#Rogue_Trader_Week_Starts
There is a fundraising event for victims of cyclone Nargis at Wolvercote Primary School, organised by the Oxford Burmese community and friends, 3pm this Sunday. Do come - Burmese food, an auction and other activities, children welcome.
Art Week Exhibition 3 Brewer ST. Christ Church Cathedral School. St Aldates starts 16,17,18 May from 12-6 PM. Olive
May be of cultural & educational interest . My photo on exhibition for Art Week 3 Brewer St St Aldates. Olive
Hi I'm Wendy
I was born and bred in Oxford, and I have lived in Fletcher Road for the past
five years with my partner Garry.
I am a member of the Temple Cowley User Group - we got together a group of
people who use Temple Cowley Swimming Pool facilites a regularly couple of
years ago when the pool was down to one boiler and in danger of closing. We
try to keep our finger on the pulse regarding ensuring that things are
repaired, or bought to councils attention - though we are having a
challenging time at the moment - especially this weekend, when the showers were
moltern hot, then no showers at all yesterday (we have been told that this is
being rectified today), and the facilities were totally closed this morning,
due to staff shortages. Despite recent recruitment adverts, the staff
shortage issue seems to also be affecting other council run leisure facilites,
I saw an article on the thisisoxfordshire website the other day about Hinksey
Pool sometimes being unable to open, and when I went to Barton Pool this
morning, I heard the same story. Whilst I am totally
sympathetic, it is such a shame as these closures, I am sure, will have an
inpact on users - and the Slice Card is such a good deal - around £20ish a
month for swimming as much as you like, plus use of the sauna and steam room,
and £37ish for use of those facilites, plus the gym and any exercise classes
you might want to attend.
That aside, and going off at a tangent, a question I would like to ask is
whether anyone knows of who I could contact regarding the allotments on
Southfield Golf Course. It seems mad that hardly anyone is using them (in
fact do they know about them), when you hear about waiting lists for other
allotments. One of the problems I know is there isn't a water supply - which
I admit is a pretty major thing, unless you back onto the allotments - it would
be good to see what could be done.
Any information gratefully received.
Thanks
Wendy
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Yes, this topic is relevant because how the City Council is led and organised is relevant to how well the City Coucil serves the needs and requirements of all who work, live and play in Cowley. Clearly as evidenced from recent elections has shown, towns that have elected Mayors have higher participation rates in local elections, the showing in this month's election was very disappointing in many wards in Cowley. The current situation where no party has overal control means that Oxford and its Cowley residents does not get the effective leadership this city needs. It is not surprising Oxford has not done well in the national evaluation of local govenment services provision, this means Cowley residents are not getting the services they deserve, delivered at a cost effective price. Nicholas Newman Editor Oxford Prospect Magazine <email obscured> Web:oxfordprospect.co.uk
Hi All While I think this is an interesting topic I do not feel that it fits into the remit of this forum. The Cowley discussion forum is designed for the discussion of issues that are particularly related to the Cowley area. At present as there is no elected Mayor so this topic does not have a direct impact on the area. I think this topic is part of a city wide discussion rather than Cowley discussion. If you feel that the topic is relevant then please contact me at <email obscured> and we can discuss it further outside of the forum.
Tony Joyce, Chair of the Oxford Civic Society would make a fine choice for such a post. He has the experience, knowledge and determination to sort out Oxford's problems and fight for this fine city in the corridors of power. for more see http://www.oxfordprospect.co.uk/Headington.htm#Its_Time_we_had_an_elected_Mayor_to_sort_out_Oxford
I suggest tony Joyce of the Oxford Civic Society would make an ideal first elected Mayor for Oxford. Tony knows the problems that face this city, and is prepared to fight hard for Oxford's interests whether in a fight with County Hall or at Westminster. To read more http://www.oxfordprospect.co.uk/Headington.htm#Its_Time_we_had_an_elected_Mayor_to_sort_out_Oxford
Hello from me. I've lived in Temple Cowley for the last 9 years and love living in a street which is a mixture of owner occupiers,social housing and students/young professionals in rented accommodation. I think that forums like this have a lot of potential for engaging people in their local communities: although I'm concerned that they risk becoming the preserve of a small number of enthusiasts and, by their very nature, exclude people who are on the wrong side of the digital divide. The first thing is publicity: I'm going to stick notes through my neighbour's doors, contact the local resident's association and email friends in the area.
Tony Brett forgot to mention that he's an active member of the Liberal Democrats and stood as their candidate in the City Council elections on 1st May 2008. Olive McIntosh Steadman forgot to mention that she's a County Councillor.
Hi Gus, We have met several times, last time when I collected all the bags and rubbish from the OxClean event. Are you aware that on Sunday 22nd June, there is the Oxford Mela event taking place at the Cowley Marsh recreation ground, 10.00 - 6.00. This will attract a huge number of youngsters from the area as it is aimed at there age group. For further details, I suggest you go onto the Oxford Mela website. Don't know about you, but I wish the road humps at the junctions along Holloway could be removed. These play havoc with peoples back especially when taking a lefthand turn.