Local teacher, Daniel is more than aware of the many issues which bother the residents of Wheatley including the challenge to retain its own character and stop it simply becoming a suburb of Oxford.

Full statement

Daniel’s chief concern is the Lib Dems’ traffic policies, including the 25-trip policy (traffic filters) which they plan to introduce if they are re-elected. This mean that hard working local residents will only be allowed to drive into Oxford 25 times a year, and could face fines in excess of £16,000 a year if they are daily commuters. This will isolate our villages, encourage more congestion in our neighbourhoods, and lead to our areas being used as park and rides. Daniel will oppose all traffic filters and LTNs.

He is also concerned about the lack of road and drainage maintenance in our area. The Lib Dem/ Green administration, as a proportion of the total budget, have reduced road funding by 20% as they’ve have prioritised their pet projects such as the £10m spent on traffic measures. Similarly, on flooding they have not acted during their four years in office on plans which have existed for over a decade to resolve flooding issues.

Finally, representation is also key. The current County Councillor, Tim Bearder, since this time last year, has only made 55% of county meetings, 33% of district meetings, and rarely makes Parish Council meetings. In Horspath he hasn’t been seen for 2 years. Similarly, on flooding he has failed to communicate. The 6month report is now a year away, and when asked what OCC’s cameras found down the drains he replied he did not know and refused to investigate. Daniel promises to turn up, listen, communicate, and act for the local residents.