Category for COVID-19 Pandemic
UPDATE – Following the Policy, Management and Finance Committee meeting on 28 Sep 2020, Market Trader tolls have been waived further until the end of November.
ORIGINAL – The Town Council has extended the waiver on Market Trader tolls,which has been in place since April, until the end of September 2020 to support the traders during the COVID-19 crisis. The requirement for a further extension to the waiver will be reviewed at the next Policy, Management, and Finance Committee meeting.
In order to facilitate better social distanced areas within the Market Place and to encourage a safer environment for visiting businesses in the town, Wantage Town Council, following the Government’s Guidance for COVID-19: Safer Public Spaces – Urban Centres and Green Spaces, introduced the pedestrianisation of the Western End of the Market Place on Saturday 4th July as an emergency measure. This is now a temporary implementation for 18 months during COVID-19.
A consultation survey, which can be accessed here, is being undertaken about the closure of the Western End and also asking opinion about further temporary pedestrianisation. Your input on the survey will assist the Town Council on whether we seek to implement the full plan or just stay with the Western End for now. The survey will run until midnight 31 October 2020.
Wantage Town Council has created a plan to improve on social distanced areas within the Market Place as a whole, make the area safer for the public to visit and to engage with local businesses. The plan, which is much more complex than just closing the Western End, involves bus services, highways, disabled parking, parking and taxi availability. The plan was submitted to Oxfordshire County Council asking for comment and guidance. Having received comment from OCC we have made the plan public.
Market Place Centre (Bus version)
The Council and its staff would like residents to be assured that we are working hard behind the scenes to find ways, in line with Government policy, of creating a town centre environment that feels safe to all potential users.
The closure of the western end of the Market Place has been welcomed and enjoyed by many and we are liaising with those who have raised concerns.
Following discussion with various interested parties, detailed plans for a larger closure have been drawn up and submitted. Further discussions are ongoing and the Council will let you know as soon as they can what the next steps will be. Please keep checking the Council website for updates.
We take this opportunity to give a huge thank you to all our residents who are doing their best to keep each other safe in these challenging times
The September Fair due to attend the Market Place on Saturday 12 September is cancelled.
New Bicycle Stands have been installed around the Market Place and at the Bus Stop at the Charlton Road Roundabout to encourage cycling within the town.
The Town Council has taken on board the comments and concerns about the proposal to temporarily close the southern side of the Market Place from 12 July, with the loss of parking spaces. It is still keen to proceed with a scheme that provides more pedestrian space in the Market Place and assists social distancing.
Over the coming week the Town Clerk will be working with highway officers to consider how any loss of parking spaces can be reduced and determine how other concerns, including disabled parking, taxi parking, bus stops and loading/unloading can be addressed. This will also involve consulting with those that have expressed concerns. As a result the introduction of a scheme in the centre of the Market Place may be delayed. It is still planned to temporarily pedestrianise the area to the west of the Market Place, (in front of Marmalade, 30 Something and The King Alfred’s Head) from 4 July.
The Town Council is acutely aware both of the government’s desire that local authorities should take steps to ensure that opportunities for social distancing in our high streets are maximised and at the same time the need to support local retail and hospitality businesses who have been so badly hit during the lock down. There remain a significant number of people who are anxious about leaving their homes let alone visiting the shops. The more the Town Council can do to allay these fears by creating more and safer pedestrian space the better it will be for footfall in our Market Place and beyond.
The Town Council does wish to do the best for the town in these difficult times and would welcome thoughts or ideas on how best to provide additional temporary pedestrian space without losing too many parking spaces. As previously advised, please e mail: clerk@wantagetowncouncil.gov.uk with suggestions.
Following the easing of the pandemic lockdown, the Government has tasked all Local Authorities to implement temporary measures to reopen their Town Centres and High Streets as safely as possible, and to make them more attractive and welcoming for pedestrians and cyclists. These temporary measures could last up to eighteen months.
The first step to facilitate safe use of the town centre will be to temporarily pedestrianise the area to the west of the Market Place, (in front of Marmalade, 30 Something and The King Alfred’s Head) that has been used many times for town events such as Wantage Brass and the Continental Day, and has tremendous potential for events and other uses. The long term aim is to seek permanent pedestrianisation of this area. The temporary closure provides a test of the obstacles and issues that may need to be overcome to accommodate this. The temporary closure will proceed on 4 July.
In order to enable everyone to maintain social distancing we also plan to close the southern side of the Market Place, along the lines that many will remember from when the fair was held for the twenty years up to 2015, with two-way traffic on the north side of the Market Place. This will be a temporary change but the Town Council will be consulting on various options to fine tune these changes. It will also give everyone the chance to think about how they feel about longer term pedestrianisation in the town centre. Please note that during this closure all buses and coaches will have their routes diverted to use the bus stops in Seesen Way, or to alternative locations for picking up and putting down. Taxis will relocate to Newbury Street. This closure will proceed on 12 July. We will be engaging directly with Grundon and Biffa to ensure waste services can collect. If you are using a different waste collection service, could you please advise?
To make the town centre more cyclist friendly, new cycle racks will be installed in various locations in the Market Place over the next few weeks.
Andrea Yates, the Town Centre Manager, and other members of the Council team, will be engaging with businesses and the public in and around the Market Place over the next few days to deal with any questions or queries. The team will be actively working with those affected by the closure to sort out ways of accommodating deliveries and collections. If you would like someone to visit or call you, to discuss these arrangements, please email: clerk@wantagetowncouncil.gov.uk. The Town Council does intend to conduct a survey, seeking views on this and future arrangements. More information on this will be published shortly.
As we come to the end of Volunteering Week, we wanted to express our heartfelt thanks and gratitude, on behalf of South Oxfordshire and Vale of White Horse District Councils, to all of the incredible volunteers who have stepped up to the plate over the past couple of months to make an enormous difference to their communities.
It was just over two months ago that the government announced the lockdown to try and control the coronavirus and keep the public safe. The method required to keep us safe also meant a significant number of very vulnerable people were suddenly completely unable to carry out the kind of normal day-to-day task we used to take for granted. This also applied to a whole new group of people who never previously needed any support with their lives.
Within days of the lockdown being announced, a staggering number of people had, without being asked, leapt to their feet to make sure everybody in their local community had what they needed. They set up shopping and food delivery services, they collect prescriptions, they walk dogs, and they are even just there to have a friendly chat with people who feel isolated and lonely.
It’s incredibly heart-warming to see the selflessness and care with which these wonderful volunteers go about their work. In local government we talk a lot about community, which is a word that can mean different things to different people, but we believe in the past two months we’ve seen what that word really means.
Not only did these incredible volunteers step up to the plate at the start of the lockdown when their neighbours – and countless people they’d never met – needed them, but they continue to do so, day in, day out, tirelessly. We’re incredibly proud to be able to help link these volunteers together and to provide a service to ensure they are able reach the people who need them.
It’s quite difficult to put into words the depth of the gratitude we feel for all the volunteers in our district helping our communities make it through these difficult times, but on behalf of our councils and council staff, we’d like to say an enormous thank you. You are the best.
The importance of that selfless care and solidarity among communities has been thrown into sharp focus with other events in the world at the moment. Like many of you, we share in the sadness, horror and anger at the death of George Floyd in the US, and at the unfolding events that have followed.
On the surface it might not appear to be a local issue, but discrimination exists everywhere and this loss of an innocent life highlights just one of the ways it can manifest itself.
Time and again around the world, innocent people are persecuted, discriminated against and killed purely because of the colour of their skin or where they were born. It’s devastating that we’re well into the 21st Century and this remains an issue.
We share in the global outrage about this issue and it’s wrong to remain silent. At South Oxfordshire and the Vale we are fiercely committed to giving a voice to and representing all who suffer discrimination, persecution, hatred or injustice.
We practice equality, fairness and inclusion, and we believe in everybody – whoever you are, you are most welcome here. Through many of our services we work hard to ensure marginalised and isolated members of communities get all the support they need.
No one need accept injustice, no one is without a voice, but sometimes they need others to help their voice to be heard, and so we stand with all of our residents in saying we are absolutely committed to help create equal society for all.
Stay safe, continue to take care of each other, and please take care of yourselves.
Cllr Sue Cooper, Leader of South Oxfordshire District Council
Cllr Emily Smith, Leader of the Vale of White Horse District Council
Due to Government advice on social distancing relating to the COVID-19 pandemic, and changes to legislation permitting council meetings to be held using electronic means, meetings of the Town Council and its committees/sub-committees will be held remotely and online via Zoom. The page to join the Zoom meetings is here. Members of the Press and Public are welcome to observe Council Meetings. Details of how to join a meeting will be also included on agendas posted on this website.
For the latest rules on staying at home and information on takeaway services see: