“South Oxfordshire and the Vale of White Horse have announced a partnership to promote our area’s scientific prowess. Part of the partnership includes bids for new infrastructure, which could see a new Science Bridge to help traffic around Didcot, a Didcot to Culham link road and improved cycle networks around the town. We should find out if the funds are allocated in the next few months. A pilot study on green spaces around Didcot as part of the “garden town” plans has also been started. The results of the study will define green buffer zones for the garden town development plans and help protect open spaces and pedestrian routes around the whole garden town area. More information, and an excellent video, can be found at www.sciencevale.com.
This month I was pleased to host the Cycling Minister, Jesse Norman MP, in Milton Park to view new cycling infrastructure improvements, including the new Backhill Tunnel. The Government has committed £100,000 of funding to cycling safety projects, including reducing the cost of e-bike batteries through recycling used laptop batteries. I also visited JISC in Harwell, which provides broadband for all our universities and colleges, and saw the excellent new Renaissance Retirement Homes in Wantage.
The Oxfordshire Clinical Commissioning group have opened a consultation of local health services (yet another one!). You can register to take part on the ‘Get Involved’ section of the NHS Oxfordshire website. Our local health services have been under serious pressure, particularly with the closure of Wantage Community Hospital. I encourage everyone to share their views.
In February I received 456 items of correspondence (emails and letters) from constituents. Subjects raised with me included the NHS, Brexit and free trade.
Please feel free to contact me if you have any pressing issues that you would like help with. You can contact me on any matter at the House of Commons, SW1A 0AA, dicksonce@parliament.uk or 01235 768 888. Email is the quickest and most reliable way to get in touch, as I keep a very close eye on my emails and can reply very quickly. Details of my activities in Parliament can be read on my website, https://www.vaizey.com. I also send out occasional general interest emails about developments in the Wantage and Didcot Constituency. You can sign up here: http://bit.ly/EdVaizeyMP.”