I WAS reading Friday’s paper last week with a well-earned cup of coffee and read an article in which Oxford City Council were providing cash to Barton to smarten up Burchester Avenue with plastic mesh and bollards. I’d just driven back along Harcourt Road in Charlton, near Wantage, and seen the damage done to verges by parked cars and wet weather. Councillors have recently funded two extra parking bays along this road, but the estate was built in an era when cars were a luxury that few could afford and parking spaces are scarce.

Of course, I could say how much things have changed, but I’d be lying. New estates have much the same problem. Building regulations require a minimum of one or at most two spaces per house and of course, that is what developers provide. Householders generally have a minimum of two cars and in rural areas like Wantage and Grove often more. Cars are more common than dandelions around here and it isn’t going to change.

When will planners wake up to the real world?

Cycling with small children or heavy shopping is not practical and most people live at least a mile from the shops and are unlikely have the time to walk there and back. Jobs are miles away. Buses are becoming a rarity and trains don’t stop. Cars are the only practical choice and parking spaces should be a right. Perhaps I’m still dreaming over my coffee.

JULIE MABBERLEY
campaign manager, Wantage and Grove Campaign Group
Barnards Way
Charlton