WHAT OXFORD NEEDS IS LOW TAXES, REAL INFLUENCE and VALUE FOR MONEY

Elections to Oxfordshire County Council are held every four years.  The last elections were held in May 2005.  The next county elections will be held on Thursday June 4th, the same day as the European Pariamentary Elections.  In the City of Oxford there are 8 county divisions consisting of 3 city wards.  Each county division elects two county councillors.  The county council divisions in Oxford are:

Barton & Churchill Division   (Barton & Sandhills Ward, Quarry & Risinghurst Ward and Churchill Ward)

Cowley & Littlemore Division  (Littlemore Ward, Rose Hill & Iffley Ward and Cowley Ward)

East Oxford (Cowley Marsh Ward, St Mary's Ward and St Clement's Ward)

Headington & Marston Division  (Headington Hill & Northway Ward, Headington Ward and Marston Ward)

Isis Division (Holywell Ward, Hinksey Park Ward and Iffley Fields Ward)

Leys & Lye Division (Northfield Brook Ward, Lye Valley ward and Blackbird Leys Ward)

Summertown & Wolvercote Division  (Summertown Ward, Wolvercote Ward and St Margaret's Ward)

West Central Oxford Division (Carfax Ward, North Ward and Jericho & Osney Ward)

CITY CONSERVATIVES UNITE AGAINST NEW PROBATION CENTRE

Oxford City Conservatives have backed the campaign against the probation service setting up a new county-wide centre at Trajan House in Mill Street.  County candidates in West Cental Oxford, Paul Sargent & Bill Wilson have been joined by Nicola Blackwood (parliamentary spokesman for Oxford West & Abingdon) and Ed Argar (parliamentary spokesman for Oxford East) in their condemnation of the Thames Valley Probation Service plans.  Nicola and Ed attended the recent community meeting at the Railway Club, Botley Road, Oxford.

Nicola Blackwood said, "The idea of a super-probation centre in Mill Street is ill-conceived.  As a residential road, the area lacks the infrastructure to support such a centre - access is poor, it is quite difficult to find and is nowhere near the local police station or courts.  In addition to obvious objections to location, this means cutting services in other parts of the county.  Offender management is far more effective when provided within a community and I do believe that the centralising of probation services is a backward step in restorative justice in Oxfordshire.  Finally, I would like to join local residents in calling on Thames Valley Probation Service and the Ministry of Justice to engage in proper consultation, such plans should be developed with the local community, not behind their backs."

Ed Argar said, "At the recent community meeting to discuss the proposed Mill Street mega-Probation Centre the strength of local feeling was clear to everyone.  Not only has local consultation been non-existent, but the plan simply won't work.

For probation and rehabilitation to be effective we have to make it easy for people to attend their sessions - taking services away from local communities and centralising them in a mega-centre, in the middle of a residential area, half way across the county for many people, simply makes no sense, for residents or for the probationers".