Harwell Village News and Gossip

So whats the purpose of this blog? Well we are all fed up with what the Parish Council has done and is doing for our community. There seems to be a lot of money spent, and apart from the ground staff who seem to do a stunning job, we've no idea where it goes.

There has been a recent change though - since this web site was formed the Parish Council do seem to have some policies - they might be the policies laid down on this site, but at least that's a start.

One can only wonder how embarrassing it must be to follow the policies of a web site that they are attempting to close down. Humiliation comes in many forms.

Stuart Willy has been a Parish Councillor since he was 'elected' for us by June Blissett. His political career has up to now been quiet, with no sign of any positive contribution to the community. Stuart Willy is also the first of the Parish Councillors to openly back the policies on this site. This is a terrible start for Stuart Willy's political career, and a great sign for us as it just shows how much of the Parish policy is now run from this web site.

It's clear that June Blisset and the B-list Parish Councillors are lost. One can only speculate on the level of credibility that June and the B-list has within the community, but it must be time for them to seriously think about resigning.

June and the B-listers - Do you really believe that you represent the Harwell community and the people of Harwell? Do you honestly believe that?

We on this site, and many of the villagers think that it's time for the humiliated June Blissett and the B-listers to leave the Parish Council and allow new people, unburdened by previous battles and empires to serve the community for the community.

Our local MP is Robert Jackson. In his last few months in office before retirement he has decided to end his otherwise very low impact political career by defecting from the Conservative party to Labour.

This act is largely seen as a move to give history at least something to remember him for.

Let's hope that our next MP is a little more politically astute and can deliver higher benefits for our community.

The Parish Council have to rely upon sites like this to ensure that they are doing anything for the community. We cannot see a single policy or action undertaken by the Parish Council that they have thought of themselves. They need this site to tell them what to do. They need this site to tell them what is wrong. And, as some have said, they need this site to improve their morality.

The public face of the Parish Council is a prison building - and yes, it was this unelected Parish Council that boarded up its own offices. The Parish Council office is now a steel clad magnet for vandals. What a waste of our money and what a great image this Parish Council portrays to our community - boarded up, closed, and cheap.

The Play facilities for Children are poor quality, and there is nothing for older kids.

The play facilities used to be a key attraction for the village, now no-one comes here to use them as they are bordering on dangerous. Why are they not updated? The facilities for older Children look like they were created by randomly on a whim without understanding the real requirements of the village. The BMX track typifies this – no one knew it was there and it serviced one or two children in our village. Do these people represent you?

Out of Touch and Backward Thinking.

Harwell Parish Council do not have email or publish their minutes electronically; we have the worlds worst bus shelters that do nothing to improve the village and the value of the houses; and everything Parish Council provided service is cheap, nasty and of little real value. Do these people represent you?

The people of the Parish are not allowed to voice opinions to the Parish Council.

Councillors are accountable for their actions – so why can't the people of the Parish speak in meetings? They openly block your right to speak or ask questions in meetings, and refuse to answer any questions from members of the Parish. Do these people represent you?

Contracts awarded to friends and family of the Councillors.

We should ban any contract with friends and family of the Councillors. This will help stop corruption and keep the Councillors focused to best value for the people of the Parish; and remove any thought of Empire Building. Do these people represent you?

Sound proofing from the A34 is not important.

The Parish Council have very poor relations with the new Didcot development, and have forgotten to protect the village from sound and other pollution. With the new development a huge fence on the Didcot side will bounce sound back into Harwell. Do these people represent you?

Have you noticed that there are no buses any more? This might be due to the very very poor quality bus shelters, but it more likely that correctly lobbying would keep these services going. Do these people represent you?

Harwell is the only village to receive no re-development of facilities from the Didcot Development.

The Parish Council are so poor at doing their job, that they have not secured a single concession on the Didcot Development. Harwell is the only village in the development area that does not have any re-development of run-down facilities as part of the Didcot Development project. Why are they not looking to nock-down the iron clad and heavily vandalised village pavilion, for something more in-keeping with the village and the area? Do these people represent you?

What is being done to develop Harwell's business community?

There is no parking anywhere on the High Street, where do people park to shop? The passing trade should be a boom for Harwell's Shops, but is not. Overflow Parking from the Architect's successful business spills onto road junctions. What incentives are there to create business in our community? Do these people represent you?

It's time to get rid of the dead wood and bring in fresh blood, people who can represent the future, people who are willing to represent the villages and not themselves.

There are two different tiers of Parish Councillors at the moment, here is the A list:

Pat Staples. Pat is a great Councillor, represents the views of the villages above her individual goals and is fair . Without doubt Pat should be the Chairman.

Dee Boughton-Waite. Dee contributes well to the Parish and is willing to think outside of the box.

Tony Jenkins - Is a hard working Councillor, turning over more useful and appropriate work than any other councillor.

and here are the rest...

June Blissett, Don Hayter, Margret Turner, Ann Fisher, Jim Mulford, Stewart Lilly, and Mike Sedwards.

Who will stand at the next election is a good question, as things do need to change. The lease on the British Legion building (land which is owned by the people of the Parish - who are represented by the Parish Council) is due for renewal in the next few years. One can only wonder as to how many of the B list are members.

I can think of no better way of using the free time of the senior generation to do good for the community, introduce a sense of consistency, and to create an environment that we can all be proud of.

I have known many people that have served their communities with home help, the odd shopping run, or even just a coffee once a week. This helps to create a sense of community, and is something to be proud of. It is a shame that this behaviour seems to have lost its way with the baby boom 55-70 year old generation.

For them it does seem to be a lot about personal gain, and not personal pride.

I don't mean everyone of course, but there are always the selfish few that are out there to build empires, and gain a sort of uneasy sense of moral high ground over the rest of the community. These people tend to look at half-empty glasses; are bullies; seek 'power'; and flock together (as individually they are very weak).

It is very sad to see that these people existing within our community in Harwell. Some have latched onto positions that allow them to 'represent' the rest of us; some just bemoan everything we have; but all are stuck in the past, stubbornly refusing to move forward in life.

We just hope that they look at their current lives and think - what will people think of me after I'm gone? what do people think about me now? how will I be judged?