And now for the Big Discussion!
This is where everyone who lives and/or works in Filkins & Broughton Poggs can join in the discussion. Please choose the most relevant category, and post any idea or thought you have, and of course read (and comment freely on) everyone else's posts. Above all come back often.
Each category is looked after by a member of the CLP steering group, so watch for their posts and comments which will help us edge towards a successful Community Led Plan.
And, if you've signed up as 'unknown member', please change your profile so your name shows... It is so much more friendly to know who one is talking to!
Built Environment
Roads, houses, signage, conservation, heritage
16Village facilities
Shared space, village hall, pub, swimming pool, churches, shops
13Getting together
Organisations, community, volunteering, sport, social interaction
14Employment
Going to work, home-working, business
1Great Outdoors
Fields and farming, trees, gardens, paths, exercise, pets
7Transport links
Getting here, getting away, traffic, buses, parking
10Future development
More houses, bigger village, adapting to change
2Opportunity knocks!
The sky's the limit... Dreaming the ideal!
2
- Built EnvironmentEdited from letter sent to Ian Grey (CLP Group member) Hi Ian We read the piece you put in the [St Filica] newsletter. We are totally against any new builds, anywhere in the village, it would lose its appeal and become like many other villages now overcrowded and ruined. Old buildings that have architectural interest if empty and derelict, would be better to be converted and can be done to accommodate the requirements needed for todays living. People move to villages for the country living and the countryside to be protected and also for wildlife that is worryingly suffering and in decline. So much (HS2 and all the new builds have contributed to this) more needs to be done to protect wildlife and also grow crops for the ever increasing population. We are somewhat deflated about fighting though. WODC just don’t listen... [Planning applicants] know they will get away with it. The council don’t seem to care on preserving areas, they just want to tick boxes. WODC have no care of the character of villages, they just don’t listen to objections from villagers and just go ahead regardless. They say more houses need to be built but this area has had an explosion of them. Roads are now congested and does this area have enough work for all this influx?!! Schools and hospitals etc just haven’t the capacity for more and more homes. There are now so many air b&b and 2nd homes in this area that need to be restricted for this use and become permanent homes which would help with this housing problem! Best Regards
- Transport linksGreetings residents of Filkins and Broughton Poggs. I am writing to let you know that I have just spoken to Pulhams Coaches and can confirm that a new Carterton to Swindon service is due to commence in November. As of now there are little details to share, but I can confirm there will be a new service running. As it stands, information available is: "I am writing to let you know that on 27th November a new bus service 64 will be starting between Witney and Swindon via Carterton, Lechlade and Highworth. There will be four buses per day on Mondays to Saturdays (except Public Holidays) from Carterton to Swindon, including journeys arriving before 0900 and departing after 1700. Further details will be made available once the timetable has been confirmed. In addition, the Council recognises that bus journey times from Carterton to Oxford are longer than would be desirable and has secured funding for a trial of two fast journeys in each direction on Mondays to Fridays – two in the morning towards Oxford, and two in the evening from Oxford. We hope to start this in February 2024 but to inform the tender process we would be grateful if you could provide us with a view on what times you believe these services should arrive into / depart from Oxford – some examples might be to arrive in Oxford at 0745 and 0845, and leave at 1715 and 1815, or similar." "I can confirm that from 27 November that Pulhams Coaches will be operating the 64 service having been preferred to Stagecoach in the tendering process. This will consist of 4 return journeys a day from Carterton, 3 of which will start/ finish in Witney. The service will also include a school movement from Burford. With the Go Ahead takeover of Pulhams Coaches and Oxfordshire County Council restoring various rural bus services this created the momentum to restore the 64. I was invited to talk to Luke Marion from Go Ahead to give an overview of the Pulhams services in the area and no secret was made of the desire to expand in West Oxfordshire. The 64 has long been classed as a strategic link and it became a question of when and not if the service was restored. The initial preference from the County Council was for the 64 to dovetail with the S2 Oxford to Cheltenham service which would have restored the 2 hourly frequency. Gloucestershire County Council have their own plans for the S2 however so the 64 would again have to be a standalone service. The hope is that as this service grows that future improvements can be made. It will be a more direct route than the old service. Filkins will be served but not Broadwell or Langford. I hope that the bus will stop at Kencot Crossroads, Broughton Poggs and Little Faringdon Turn however. Some consideration is being given as to how to provide some sort of service to the other villages so it is not all bad news for them. The actual timetable has still to be published. The contract with Pulhams has been signed however so I would hope that soon details become known. " Lee S. Bennett
- Built EnvironmentThe flood in July 2007 affected the village significantly, with many houses damaged and plenty of "near misses." Water courses were dredged and field drains were improved, but I'm not aware of any work to maintain these improvements since then. Should there be a review and maintain programme every 5 years or so? (For those who weren't here in 2007, Brize Norton recorded 137mm of rain in about 14 hours on 20 July).