West Oxfordshire Green Party
Press Releases

This page contains our most recent press releases:

• Greens Call for Action on Air Quality in Witney and Chipping Norton 

• Call for community ownership and stewardship ofour local river catchment areas and water resources - 13th April
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• RAW SEWAGE IN ALL OUR RIVERS!!!!!  - 7th April
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• Call for Radical Improvements to Public Transport System and for County Council to protect A40 rail route. - 25th March

16 YEARS OF BREATHING POLLUTED AIR!

Greens Call for Action on Air Quality in Witney and Chipping Norton  

Fast on the heels of the river pollution scandal is the air pollution scandal. We can decide if we want to swim in a river that we know could be polluted, but we have no choice with air - we all have to breathe!

Air pollution is an invisible killer. Each year it is estimated that 39,000 people die prematurely in the UK because of poor air quality. It has long been recognised as a contributing factor in the deaths of people with heart or lung disease and is associated with reduced lung capacity in children, plus worsening of asthma in both children and adults.

Air pollution also impacts neurodevelopment and cognitive ability and can trigger childhood cancer. Children who have been exposed to high levels of air pollution may be at greater.......MORE

Press Release 13th April 2021

IT’S OUR WATER! 

Call for community ownership and stewardship ofour local river catchment areas and water resources

Raw sewage was allowed to flow into English rivers for more than 3 million hours last year. In West Oxfordshire, according to evidence presented to

 DEFRA[i], we have some of the worst performing sewage works of all the 467 sites that Thames Water manage. Almost half the West Oxfordshire sites have sewage outflows into local rivers for more than 10% of the time they are operating, while Clanfield and South Leigh each reported over 3,000 hours of spillages in 2020.  See attached graph[ii].

After a decade of pollution overseen by this Government, why isn’t a plan already being implemented to prevent and remedy this situation now?  Thames Water should be upgrading sewage treatment facilities to keep pace with a growing population and using the revenue generated by new users and homes in the region.

They are moving very slowly and only promising upgrades at certain sites such as Witney over the next few years. The Environment Agency should have been given the resources and freedom by the Government to prosecute and prevent river pollution. Instead, it’s...... MORE

[i] https://environment.data.gov.uk/dataset/21e15f12-0df8-4bfc-b763-45226c16a8ac

[ii] https://www.westoxon-greens.uk/-_-_river_pollution.html

7^th April 2021

RAW SEWAGE IN ALL OUR RIVERS!!!!! 
Over 400,000 times in 2020 !!!

Raw sewage was allowed to overflow into English rivers for more than 3 MILLION hours last year.
And what’s the Government’s reaction? Its “making a plan by September 2022”! This is more a cynical PR exercise, by the Conservative Party in the run up to the local elections, than a solution.

Here in West Oxfordshire, according to evidence presented to DEFRA, we have some of the worst performing sewage works in all the 467 sites that Thames Water manage. West Oxon in fact has sewage works that have the accolade of coming in second and third worst out of all of 467 sites).

Almost half of the West Oxon sites have sewage outflows into local rivers for more than 10% of the time they are operating, while Clanfield and South Leigh each reported over 3,000 hours of spillages in 2020.  See graph ........Read Full Press release here

25th March 2021

Greens Call for Radical Improvements to Public Transport System and for County Council to protect A40 rail route.

The West Oxfordshire Green Party has repeatedly called for an integrated transport system in the district, giving inhabitants of our towns and villages a convenient, affordable and healthy alternative to their cars.

A rail link between Carterton, Witney and Oxford would be a vital part o f that system. Andrew Prosser Witney Town Councillor said: “As we start to build back from a most challenging year, it is important to maintain the pressure to reduce our carbon emissions and to improve the air quality in our towns.

“A radically improved public transport system has to be one of the cornerstones of any actions to tackle these problems.

“We believe that every town and village deserves a good public transport service, but real increases in investment in public transport are needed to achieve that and make it safe convenient and attractive for all to use.

“We have to work hard to make it easier for everyone to reduce the use of their cars. There is no doubt that a safe, quick and convenient rail link from Carterton and Witney to Oxford would be a major step forward.”

Since the foundation of the Witney Oxford Transport group (WOT) in 2013 the Green Party has supported the group’s calls for a railway between Oxford, Witney and Carterton and are really pleased that WOT has .....  Read Full Press Release Here