A welcome funding initiative from Glos County Council has given a Churn Valley project an injection of cash.

Ollie Wakefield (left) with Tom Chisholm and his Mum Jo at this week's Boot Camp

The funding for youth projects has allocated £1100 to each CDC councillor for use in their ward.

Cllr Paul Hodgkinson has already chosen projects which the funding will go to, “Ollie Wakefield is running a fitness class at the North Cerney Memorial Hall every Monday night from 6-7pm. Lots of adults are going, but Ollie is keen to get those under 16 along too.”

“The good news is that we’ve been able to give Ollie a small amount of cash so that every under 16 year old will go free to the Boot Camp when accompanied by an adult. Now, Ollie’s hoping that young people will take advantage of the deal and get fit at the same time!”

A very Happy Christmas to all in the Cotswolds and the Churn Valley!

Snow along the Churn Valley in 2010 isn't set to be repeated this year - a mild Christmas is predicted this time round

Two weeks ago, North Cerney School held its fundraising Christmas Fair at the North Cerney Memorial Hall and raised some great funds for the school.

Lots of people attended and you can see Paul being interviewed at the Fair by clicking on the link below, kindly provided by Cotswold TV who are based in Woodmancote:

“http://www.furryfeet.tv/videofeeds/paullibdem/ctv_paul_538_440.php”

Paul says, “2012 isn’t going to be easy for sure but I hope all Churn Valley and Cotswolds residents get what they wish for in the New Year.”

The safer cyclists and walkers route in the Churn Valley has been receiving press coverage this week.

The route – following the bridleway from Stratton to North Cerney has now featured in both the Wilts and Glos Standard and the Gloucestershire Echo.

Take a look at the coverage here:

http://www.thisisgloucestershire.co.uk/Website-shows-progress-new-cycle-link/story-14067951-detail/story.html

http://www.wiltsglosstandard.co.uk/news/9422866.Walking_and_cycle_route_website_launched/

The Churn Valley safer cycle and walkers route, which runs between Stratton and North Cerney, has been a talking point for residents this year.

Paul (right) with members of the Churn Valley cycle group at the start of the route in Bowling Green Lane

The route uses the existing bridlepath starting at Bowling Green Lane, Cirencester and running via Baunton and Perrotts Brook to North Cerney and is suitable for horses too.

Cllr Paul Hodgkinson chairs the group which has been bringing the path up to the correct standard. The group has now produced a website to show residents a map of the route along with updates on progress. The group was set up in 2008 and has made great progress in updating the bridlepath.

The website is at: http://churnvalley.blogspot.com/

Paul says, “A lot of people are interested in this – I’m always being asked where the route is and what progress is being made. The public meeting we held in North Cerney to tell people what we were doing in March attracted 60 people.”

“Our next aim is to extend the route from North Cerney to Rendcomb and we are at the moment talking to the Wills estate at Rendcomb and the County Council’s rights of way officer to see how existing footpaths can be used.”

Cotswold District Council has announced its arrangements for waste collections over the Christmas and New Year period.

NO AREAS OF THE CHURN VALLEY WILL SEE A CHANGE IN COLLECTION DAYS OVER THE CHRISTMAS PERIOD.

As in previous years the Council will be operating a side waste amnesty for all household’s first full collection after Christmas Day. This will allow residents to present additional amounts of non-recyclable waste in bin liners next to their grey wheeled bin/beige refuse bags – everything will be collected.

Local road safety campaign group S.A.F.E.R. (Salterley Action Force to Enhance our Roads) today worked with Gloucestershire County Council Highways Department to set up a real example of the ‘Big Community’ by bringing together a volunteer work force to cut back the excess foliage on the sharp bends in the 3/377 Leckhampton Hill road (formerly B4070) between Hartley Lane and Salterley Grange, in order to improve road-users’ visibility.

Paul (2nd right) with Ullenwood residents and Star College employees - all of whom gave their time to make the road safer for drivers.

In recent years, these bends saw numerous serious accidents, but thanks to a concerted effort by S.A.F.E.R., a number of key measures implemented by GCC Highways and a raised media profile in the Gloucestershire Echo, the last 12 months have seen a dramatic improvement.

Now, with the support of GCC Highways, the campaigners set to work to cut back the overhanging shrubbery, branches and dense undergrowth to give improved visibility across the bend and along the road from the Hartley lane junction in order that drivers can be more aware of on-coming traffic and take extra care.

“We are really pleased that the number of incidents has reduced so significantly over the last 12 months, – but we must strive to keep it that way” said Duncan McGaw, Coberley Parish Councillor and S.A.F.E.R. member. “And as we move into the winter months, we must remind drivers of the need for raised awareness and extra caution. We believe better lines-of-sight are key factors to a safer driving environment”. “S.A.F.E.R. volunteers can provide the labour to get the job done with Highways providing health and safety guidance as well as the necessary traffic management signage. A great co-operative effort!”

And Paul Hodgkinson, Cotswold District Councillor and part of S.A.F.E.R. added, “From the outset, this community has been determined to see improvements in safety on this road and the fact that it has been prepared to get physically involved to achieve it, speaks volumes. I hope that drivers using this road get the message they are sending out, respect it and keep their speeds down”.

Cllr Paul Hodgkinson has welcomed a scheme promoted by the coalition government that will pump nearly £450,000 of extra funding into schools in the Cotswold district.

North Cerney School is one of those benefiting from the extra cash

The extra cash – amounting to nearly £500 per child under the Pupil Premium initiative – will be used to help children from less privileged backgrounds reach their full educational potential. All children receiving free school meals qualify and the money will be given to their school heads who can decide how to spend it on their behalf.

Primary and secondary schools in Cirencester will see the most benefit with Chesterton Primary receiving a total of more than £18,000, Watermoor Primary £19,000 and Deer Park school £32,000. In the Churn Valley, North Cerney Primary School will benefit by £7320 this year.

The Pupil Premium was a major manifesto commitment by the Liberal Democrats at the 2010 general election, playing a key role in the negotiations that led to the coalition agreement.

Original plans for an extra £430 per pupil have now been boosted by £100m, pushing the amount paid per qualifying child to just under £500.

News of the extra money for the Cotswolds comes after, Liberal Democrat Children’s Minister, Sarah Teather recently announced that the total Pupil Premium funding for next year will rise to £1.25bn, double the amount in 2011-12. Thanks to Liberal Democrats, it will rise again each year until 2014-15 when it will be worth £2.5bn.

Paul commented; “It is shocking that, nationally, pupils from disadvantaged backgrounds are three times less likely to achieve five good GCSEs than their more well-off classmates. This extra money finally reverses this worrying trend which was allowed to continue under the previous government.”

“We now look forward to working with our schools in the area to help overcome the barriers to achievement that some of the pupils in our community currently face.”

A proposal to build a care village on part of Cirencester Golf Club was rejected yesterday.

The Planning Committee of Cotswold District Council voted unanimously to refuse a planning application which would have seen the building of a care home and village in Bagendon parish, adding 50% to the parish’s population.

Cllr Paul Hodgkinson attended the meeting as ward member for the area and afterwards commented, “The Committee was particularly concerned about the building of so many homes in the Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. The visual impact of the development would have been marked and the Committee followed the planning officer’s recommendation to refuse the application.”

“There was clear support from the Committee to see the clubhouse redeveloped but the proposed adjoining care village was seen to contravene the Council’s planning policies and Government guidelines and was therefore a non-starter.”

Cllr Paul Hodgkinson has been giving a Cotswolds view on national TV from the Liberal Democrat Conference this week in Birmingham.

Appearing live on Sky News and BBC TV yesterday in two separate interviews, Paul spoke of the spectacular success in this year’s local council elections.
He featured on a panel on Andrew Neil’s Daily Politics show on BBC 2 where he gave his reaction to Nick Clegg’s conference speech.

Cllr Hodgkinson told BBC political journalist Jo Coburn that he was impressed by Nick Clegg’s conference address.
“What I liked about it was that Nick was unapologetic about making the tough decisions but was really trumpeting our Liberal values – things like not being beholden to vested interests.”
Jo Coburn: “Yes they liked that in the hall, didn’t they?”
Paul: “They really liked that and I think also the stuff about the green investment bank, taking people out of tax altogether at the bottom of the scale. These are really good Liberal Democrat policies and he needs to say more about this.”

Cllr Hodgkinson was also able to put the record straight when Jo Coburn mentioned the Lib Dem “drubbing” in the council elections.
He reminded her: “Our experience was completely different in the Cotswolds. In those areas that have been Conservative in the past they are very comfortable with the coalition and we bring a sense of abrade to some of these extreme views.”

Asked what he would like to see the Liberal Democrats achieve in government from now on, Cllr Hodgkinson said: “I think the whole thing about tax. We started this process of taking people out of tax at the bottom of the scale. We need to go right full ahead with that. By 2015 I want to see that everyone on the minimum wage pays no tax at all.”

You can see Paul’s Sky News interview here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=883h4Y8HGnY