Robert Courts was elected to take over as MP for Witney and West Oxfordshire when David Cameron retired from being MP for the constituency. Robert emails a news roundup more less weekly and this one has much in regarding Coronavirus, also referred to as COVID-19.

Robert has given me permission to copy his letter and put it on this website and wishes me to make all aware of his email address robert@robertcourts.co.uk

West Oxfordshire District Council's deputy, Mark Booty does not believe the housing targets are achievable. Mark feels it would be more sensible for houses to be built in the south of the county where the jobs are situated. By 2031 it is said 13,200 more homes will be needed in West Oxfordshire although there is nothing to indicate that the same number of jobs will be created.

Carterton under pressure to have a 1000 home estate on its western edge as well as 700 on the eastern side. 250 already approved for the north. 2014
250 homes have got the go-ahead to be built on the northern edge of Carterton. All run-off from Carterton comes through Bampton so all building there affects us, particularly when we have heavy rain storms.

• Liz Leffman, Lib Dems
• Laetisia Carter, Labour
• Robert Courts, Conservative
• Claire Lasko, Green Party
• Alexander Craig, UKIP

This article appeared in the Memory Lane section of the Witney Gazette March 4th 2015. It recalls a time when local residents lost patience waiting for Oxfordshire County Council to organise cleaning of the road-sides.

Witney Gazette May 28th 2014.The Campaign to Protect Rural England says the assessed need to build 100,000 new homes in the next 15 years was "cobbled together" and is exaggerated.

Toby Morris, councillor for Resources wants locals to fill in the on-line consultation. Government funding is to be cut by £0.75m and there will be a rise in the cost of waste and recycling by £0.8m.

This report on the Survey & Plan of Bampton was done under the guidance of M W Robinson FRICS MTPI in October 1966. It makes very interesting reading and the conclusions are as relevant today as they were then. The topics covered are 1. Population 2. Situation 3. Character 4. The people 5. Shopping 6. Principal road connections 7. Schools 8. Open spaces 9. Social facilities, Public Services etc 10. Surface water drainage 11. Sewage disposal 12. Water supply and much more. It makes a very interesting read particularly in the light of all the dwellings that have been built here since October 1966, all those being built now (Jan 2017) and those being proposed when considering the access into Bampton has not been improved yet in 1966 one of the conclusions states was that Bampton could not take further development, a by-pass was not possible and no further space for parking other than possibly in Church Street could be made. Houses have since been built on the land in Church Street

A fear was expressed that fly-tipping would increase when the fees were raised to take waste to Dix pit and other waste recycling plants in Oxfordshire. That was in September 2017; now, in April 2020 the fears have proved to be well founded.