SOUTH Oxfordshire and Vale of White Horse District Councils have released a video showing the extensive damage caused by fire at their offices in Crowmarsh Gifford. 

The offices were destroyed in an arson attack three weeks ago today.

 

 

Video courtesy of South and Vale Councils 

The two councils have around two thirds of their staff working out of temporary offices in Abingdon with the remainder working from home, at Cornerstone in Didcot and The Beacon in Wantage. 

They have warned it's likely to take longer to deal with people's enquiries and planning applications. 

While the long term future of the Crowmarsh site is decided, the councils say they are expecting to be in the temporary home for as long as two or three years.  

Cllr John Cotton, leader of South Oxfordshire District Council, said: "The fact that we were up and running so soon is a result of good business continuity planning mixed with some ingenuity and improvisation. As much as anything else though, it's down to some serious hard work from our staff who have pulled together and risen to the challenge brilliantly.  There's a long way to go yet, but I’m very happy that the majority of our residents will barely have noticed a blip in the services we’re providing." 

Cllr Matthew Barber, leader of the Vale of White Horse District Council, said: "We’re really grateful to everybody for their offers of support and practical help, as well as to people for being patient with for the week or so that some of our services were delayed. Thankfully we’ve managed to keep any disruption to a minimum.  The most important thing is that nobody with an urgent problem has been made to wait a minute longer than they should."

Andrew Main, 47, of Rokemarsh Farm, appeared in Oxford Crown Court on January 30 charged with three arson attacks including those that destroyed the council offices and a funeral parlour. 

The four charges relate to fires on January 15 at the South Oxfordshire and Vale of White Horse district council offices and  a funeral parlour, both in Crowmarsh Gifford, and a thatched cottage in Rokemarsh.

A hearing at Oxford Crown Court was adjourned until April 10.