How could Wantage's town centre be improved?
Packing up his van after selling out of burritos, trader Carl Condon says Wantage is a "brilliant" place to work. "We started off slow [as a business], but we're established now, so we can only see things getting busier."But he says he has noticed people struggling to park when the market takes over the square's car park on Wednesdays and Saturdays. "There are a few changes that could be made to improve footfall: mainly parking," he says. "A lot of people will circle the market trying to find somewhere to go".
On the West End of Market Place, which has been pedestrianised since the Covid pandemic, baristas Maisey Collins and Abbie Davis are taking a break from their shift."More restaurants and more bars [would be a good idea]," says Miss Collins. "If we go out for dinner or anything like that, we go out of town". Miss Davis says parking in the town is "a bit of a nightmare... I park at one of our regular at the cafe's flats."Otherwise it's about £7 to park for the day at work which is obscene on my salary... [you could] potentially make the Sainsbury's car park payable". Oxfordshire County Council says it wants to improve public transport access to the town, which Miss Davis says is needed."The buses take a very long time to get anywhere other than Wantage, so you're a bit stuck here unless you drive".
Oxfordshire County Council also says it's committed to exploring ways to make Market Place more accessible and "safer for those with mobility issues".Back on Market Place, mobility scooter user Gene Hicks says navigating the town centre was simple "once you know the places to go.""Sometimes, the cars park over the dropped kerbs and you can't get down. Apart from that, it's easy."
Councillor Judy Roberts, Oxfordshire County Council's Cabinet Member for Place, Environment and Climate Action, said the project was at an "early stage." "Our vision for Wantage Market Place is to create a vibrant, welcoming, and accessible space for everyone. "We aim to enhance the historical charm of the market town while addressing the challenges of climate change. "The project is at an early stage and a design is yet to be developed."The online survey closes on 22 July, and the council will hold two drop-in events on 5 and 9 July in the town. An initial design for Market Place is not expected to be revealed until Spring 2026.
You can follow BBC Oxfordshire on Facebook, X (Twitter), or Instagram.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Independent
26 minutes ago
- The Independent
Watchdog appoints interim managers for troubled charity linked to Carrie Johnson
A watchdog has appointed interim managers to take over the running of an animal charity linked to Boris Johnson's wife. The Aspinall Foundation is facing an investigation by the Charity Commission after it raised 'serious concerns' about the charity's 'governance and financial management'. Founded in 1984, it runs breeding sanctuaries for endangered animals as well as operating the Howletts and Port Lympne animal parks in Kent, which were set up by gambling club host and animal enthusiast John Aspinall. Carrie Johnson was appointed head of communications for the foundation in 2021. The same year, it emerged that the charity paid more than £150,000 to the wife of the chairman of the trustees for 'interior design services'. The Charity Commission's interim managers – appointed in May this year – will also review whether any trustees or their family members have received any benefit from the charity. A spokesperson for the regulator said: 'Our inquiry into The Aspinall Foundation is ongoing. 'Towards the end of last year, fresh issues of concern were identified requiring us to embark on a further phase of investigation and our investigators are working hard to pursue these at pace. 'The Commission has now appointed interim managers to The Aspinall Foundation who will work alongside the existing trustees on specific areas in line with the charity's governing document.'
The Sun
an hour ago
- The Sun
Dragon's Den star stripped of MBE after judge slams high-flyer as ‘selfish & untrustworthy' over £200k in unpaid bills
A FORMER Dragon's Den star has been stripped of her MBE after refusing to pay £200,000 in legal fees. Julie Meyer was slammed by a judge for being "selfish" after she failed to pay her lawyers or attend court hearings. 4 4 4 In 2022, the 58-year-old venture capitalist became embroiled in a legal row with law firm Farrers & Co. She claimed she had received a poor service and refused to pay £197,000 after they represented her during a case in Malta. An arrest warrant was issued for the entrepreneur after she failed to turn up to court and provide documents for the case. Meyer claimed she was unable to travel from Switzerland as she was suffering with conjunctivitis and didn't have a Covid vaccine. But it was decided her reasoning was insufficient to avoid attending hearings in person. Meyer was later slapped with a six-month sentence after she was ruled to be in contempt of court. And last night, the Cabinet Office revealed that the businesswoman had been stripped of her MBE. Her name appeared on a recently updated list of shamed individuals who have forfeited their honours since 2023. Disgraced former Post Office CEO Paula Vennells also features on the list, after she was formally stripped of her CBE by the King. She had already committed to relinquish the gong following fury at her role in the Horizon postmaster scandal. The document said that Meyer's gong had been taken away after she brought "the honours system into disrepute". She was awarded the MBE in 2012 for services to entrepreneurship. Sara Davies breaks silence on shock Dragon's Den exit as star says she struggled to 'juggle' her busy career Meyer was chosen to star on the online version of Dragon's Den in 2009. After her appearance on the BBC Two show, she was appointed as David Cameron 's Government a year later. She has previously supported huge tech brands such as and Skype. Handing her the six-month suspended sentence three years ago, Mr Justice Kerr slammed Meyer as "selfish and untrustworthy". He added: "I am satisfied there is every prospect that the defendant will continue to flout orders of the court unless coerced into obeying them." Later the same year, Meyer lost an appeal to overturn her suspended prison sentence. Three disgraced former submarine captains were also stripped of their OBEs by the King. Top brass urged ministers to withdraw the prestigious gongs from the trio over sex and bullying scandals. One had made an X-rated film on HMS Victorious and a second, nominated for an OBE during his misconduct probe, licked a female officer's ear, blew on her neck and punched her on HMS Vigilant. The third was found guilty of bullying on nuclear-powered attack sub HMS Trenchant. All three were commanders — James Bond 's rank — and led crews of more than 130. The Navy asked the Cabinet Office Forfeiture Committee to strip the men of their awards and King Charles gave final approval. Last year, Grime artist Wiley was stripped of his MBE after he posted anti-Semitic comments on social media. The Met confirmed they were investigating the tweets after he was dropped by his manager and banned from the website. 4
Daily Mail
an hour ago
- Daily Mail
Embarrassment for Keir Starmer's top aide who told PM he had to smash smuggling gangs - as it is revealed his father's firm was handed £6m to house asylum seekers
Nobody understands the electoral cost of failing to tackle the migrant crisis more than Sir Keir Starmer 's powerful right-hand man Morgan McSweeney. Hailed as a genius strategist, he was bending his boss's ear about it more than a year ago. We need to be tough from the start, the Irishman told the future Prime Minister in a memo. Regain control of borders, he said, smash the gangs, tackle small boats – noble exhortations Sir Keir would later parrot. Failure to address these issues, McSweeney warned, risked handing future victory to Nigel Farage 's Reform UK. Softly spoken and little known outside Westminster, McSweeney, 48, masterminded Labour's election victory, though with Labour lurching from crisis to crisis his stock has shrunk of late. His immigration warnings seem hollow now. Legal and illegal migration is spiralling out of control. Failure to stop the small boats is one thing but much public anger is reserved for the scandalous gravy train of outsourcing companies and middlemen making a small fortune from a broken system. Among them a former caravan park owner from Essex who became a billionaire after housing asylum seekers for the government. For Sir Keir and McSweeney, the headlines were embarrassing. And The Mail on Sunday can reveal there is something closer to home that might cause McSweeney, if not outright embarrassment, then surely a twinge of unease. His father Tim McSweeney, a County Cork-based accountant, has his part to play in the asylum gravy train causing resentment in his homeland. Sharply rising immigration coupled with a housing crisis has fuelled protest across the Irish Sea. As in the UK, there is much criticism of those who have got rich quickly on the back of the influx of new arrivals. Mr McSweeney, 73, helped set up a company that received £6million from the Irish state to house asylum seekers. He incorporated Togail Veilbhit Glas Teoranta in February 2023. He and wife Carmel are the only listed directors and it is registered at the same address in Macroom as his accountancy firm. Macroom is where his son was raised before moving to England as a 17-year-old, initially working on building sites and later joining Labour after university. He now earns between £155,000 and £160,000 as Sir Keir's Chief of Staff. Public records show Togail received £6million for provision of 'international protection accommodation and/or related costs'. Typically, accountants advise on company structure and handle registration and incorporation obligations. But Mr McSweeney senior dismissed a suggestion he was benefiting directly from the contracts. He said: 'Do I look like a wealthy man? I don't think so. It is just a job I have. It is not unusual for accountants to fulfil roles like this.' It is not easy to fathom who gets the money. The company's owners are hidden behind a labyrinthine corporate structure. It leads – via two other Irish shell companies, both linked to Mr McSweeney – to a web of Cyprus-registered companies. Asked how he became involved, Mr McSweeney said it was 'nobody's business'. In addition to its ties to No 10, the McSweeney family is linked to the upper echelons of the Irish government. Morgan's cousin Clare Mungovan is a special advisor to the Deputy Prime Minister Simon Harris. In June, thousands took part in an anti-immigration protest in Dublin, some wearing hats with the slogan 'Make Ireland Great Again'. Others held banners declaring: 'Ireland is full'. Ireland's spend on accommod- ating migrants hit £900million last year – up 54 per cent on the £569.14million cost in 2023. The country's Justice Minister Jim O'Callaghan wants to see more of the 25,000 hotel beds occupied by Ukrainian refugees returned to the tourism sector, calling it 'hugely important' to the Irish economy. Back in the UK, Mr McSweeney's son looked on helplessly last week as Sir Keir's pledge to 'smash the gangs' blew up in his face after a new record was set for Channel crossings. More than 25,000 migrants have now arrived in the UK in small boats this year, the earliest that this milestone has been reached. It has been said of McSweeney that 'nobody without elected office wields as much power in British politics' – but he prefers life in the shadows. The highest form of praise at Labour HQ has been said to be: 'Morgan loves it.' But he is a bogeyman on the Left after leading the think-tank Labour Together to purge the party of Jeremy Corbyn's influence. He divides his time between Scotland and Westminster. His wife Imogen Walker is Labour MP for Hamilton and Clyde Valley and the couple have a son. Having been director of the centrist Labour Together, McSweeney ran Sir Keir's successful leadership campaign in 2020 before becoming director of campaigns as he plotted the party's rise to power last year. He was initially appointed head of political strategy in Downing Street in July but soon clashed with then Chief of Staff Sue Gray. There were briefings that he was at the head of a 'boys' club' inside No 10, along with Cabinet Office Minister Pat McFadden, with Ms Gray on the other side. Amid jostling for position between the sides, it was even reported that she had moved McSweeney's desk further away from the PM's office. One Cabinet minister was prompted to say: 'One or both of them will have to go. It's not going to be Morgan.'
