Gravel Extraction
The campaign to prevent a large area in the west of the constituency (around Benson, Dorchester on Thames and Warborough) from being dug up for gravel extraction has won an important victory with the county council's decision to base future production on existing areas.
It is true that minerals can only be worked where they lie and that we all need gravel for the construction and development which is required. This is not a campaign against an important local industry which in its restoration work has often had sympathetic concern for the local neighourhood and the environment.
However, there are three issues here.
First, I believe Oxfordshire has been dealt a bad hand at the regional level in terms of the total amount of gravel which it has been asked to provide and that it is now being asked to take more than its fair share while other counties get off lightly. Gravel is practically ubiquitous in the south east and it is wrong environmentally and economically that it should be transported long distances from where it is worked to where it is used. I therefore encourage Oxfordshire County Council to reject the regional numbers being imposed on us.
Secondly, one of the good things about this campaign is that it has been evidence-based rather than built on instant NIMBY reactions. The area around Dorchester on Thames, Warborough and Benson remains an area of significant national archaeological importance, the significance of which has increased as the result of new research. 50% of all the Roman and prehistoric sites scheduled for protection in the whole of my constituency lie in this area.
At their own expense local residents have recently commissioned new geophysical surevy work which has revealed highly important new archaeological evidence including a new Roman suburb to Dorchester. This is extremely exciting news and a major contribution to archaeology both locally and nationally. Sand and gravel are practically ubiquitous throughout the Thames Valley but this sort of archaeology is not. This area is unique. It would be madness to lose to gravel extraction this opportunity to see how an area was occupied over millennia.
It was really impressive to see both distinguished international archaeologists support our view of the archaeological importance of the area and also local people backing that up in practical field work to help map the extent of the remains.
Thirdly, we need to be much more robust in calling for more emphasis to be placed on the use of recycled aggregates.
The Government has now given Oxfordshire County Council the ability to ditch the former Government's regional minerals figures if it can justify an alternative. I urge them to take this opportunity.
Case Studies
I have summarised below examples of real constituency cases with which I have been asked to help. Personal and identifying details have been removed to protect the privacy of those involved.
Student Finance
A mature student found her student loan tuition fees unpaid after administrative errors had been made. We got the matter resolved so that studies could continue. The constituent said: 'Thank you so much for this, you've managed to sort this in under a week when I've been trying for over 6 months.'
Visa Problems
A constituent requested us to intervene with the UK Borders Agency after the Agency had taken over a year to deal with his case. By working with the Agency and the constituent on the detail of the case we were able to resolve it successfully.
Child Support Agency
After years of trying to resolve his case with the Child Support Agency we were able to cut through the clerical errors and complexity of the case so that correct payments could be made. The case could only be resolved by patient determination over a number of months.
Planning enforcement
Although planning is outside our normal remit, we were able successfully to challenge on behalf of constituents a local district council as to whether it was following due process in relation to a persistent breach of planning which was causing a significant nuisance.
Sewage and water
On behalf of local parish councils we have been able to work with Thames Water to focus on problems of sewage and drainage across a wide area to ensure progress in resolving issues underlying raw sewage washing down a village street.
HMRC
HMRC was about to take action against a local small business, despite having got its tax affairs in order, which would have made it difficult for it to operate. Successful intervention persuaded HMRC that the action they wanted to take was inappropriate.
Air Traffic
In response to complaints about increased aircraft noise, we were able to clarify with the air authorities how aircraft movements are mananged and the reasons why Henley and surrounding villages experience variations in aircraft noise.
Pensioner overpayment
We helped a pensioner negotiate an apparent over-payment of Pension Credit and the details for repayment.
Utilities
We assisted a constituent gain proper compensation from a utilities company following an accident.
Housing
We took up the case of housing for a former member of the armed forces.
