Main article: Didcot Power Station

The Didcot Power Stations (which are next to each other, and actually in Sutton Courtenay) supply electricity to the National Grid. Country Life magazine voted these the third worst eyesore in Britain, but some locals refer to them as "the Cathedral of the Vale" [of White Horse], a title which really belongs to the parish church at Uffington. The power station cooling towers are visible from up to 30 miles away due to their location, but won an award for reducing visual impact (six towers in two well-separated groups half a mile apart rather than a monolithic 3x2 block), much in the style of what is sometimes known as Didcot's 'sister' station - Fiddler's Ferry - at Widnes on Merseyside, constructed slightly earlier. Visually this station is just about identical although it has eight cooling towers in 2 groups of 4.

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Reputation

Didcot featured in the 4th episode of the D series of QI. During the discussion it was revealed that Didcot Power Station was the third worst eyesore in the UK according to a poll by "Country Life". Number one was Wind farms. Didcot is also apparently home to the second oldest yew tree in the country. It's 1,600 years old. A point of humour as once again, Didcot could only boast about being second best.

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Local Government

Didcot is governed by Didcot Town Council, which consists of 21 councillors representing four wards:

• All Saints (5 councillors)
• Park (5 councillors)
• Ladygrove (6 councillors)
• Northbourne (5 councillors)

Elected town councillors are unpaid and offer their time on a voluntary basis.^[2] Didcot is a principal town of South Oxfordshire District Council. It is the largest town in the parliamentary constituency of Wantage, which is represented at Westminster by Ed Vaizey.

Didcot is twinned with the French town Meylan.

One of the many youth projects in the town is the Didcot Youth Council. A group of young people who live in the town meet on a regular basis with the town clerk to organise events for the young people in Didcot as well as to highlight issues that they believe the Didcot Town Council should discuss.

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Current developments

Didcot was formerly within the ceremonial county of Berkshire. A change in county boundaries in 1974 moved Didcot into Oxfordshire; it became the largest town in the new South Oxfordshire district, although it is situated right at its edge. Didcot is now home to around 24,500 people, with a new town centre, The Orchard Centre^[3] which opened in August 2005.

Didcot has been designated as one of the three major growth areas in Oxfordshire with the Ladygrove development set to double the number of dwellings in the town since construction began in the late 1980s to the North and East of the railway line on the former marshland. Originally, the Ladygrove development was planned to be complete by 2001, however, the final section to the East of Abingdon Road only had plans announced in 2006. In anticipation of the completion of the Ladygrove development, a prolonged and contentious planning enquiry decided that a 3,200 dwelling development will now be built to the west of the town, partly overlapping the boundary with the Vale of White Horse.^[4]

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Health

“In 2001 the average UK healthy lifespan was thought to be 68.8 for women and 67 for men. People in Didcot, Oxfordshire, could expect 86 healthy years, while in parts of Middlesbrough the figure was 54.9. By contrast, the 1990s-built Ladygrove estate in Didcot, which officially tops the national table, may have received a boost from the local recreation grounds and sports centre. Tony Harbour, the deputy Mayor of Didcot, told the Sunday Telegraph that he was not surprised that his town had done so well in the study. He said: "I suppose we are a healthy lot - people tend to walk everywhere. A real mix of people move here, for various reasons. There's a lot of young families.“ ” -BBC news

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Education

Didcot is served by 6 primary schools: All Saints C of E, Ladygrove Park, Manor, Northbourne C of E, Stephen Freeman and Willowcroft. Along with these 6 schools based in Didcot, a further 7 local village schools form the Didcot Primary Partnership: Blewbury Endowed C of E, Cholsey, Hagbourne, Harwell Community, Long Wittenham C of E and South Moreton County.

The two state secondary schools in Didcot are St Birinus School and Didcot Girls' School. These two single-sex schools join together at sixth form. Didcot Girls' School has specialist Language College status, and St Birinus has Technology and Language College status.

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Sport and leisure

Didcot Town Football Club play at RWE nPower Loop Meadow Stadium, situated on the Ladygrove Estate and won the FA Vase in 2005. The current home ground of Didcot Cricket Club is at Didcot Power Station in Sutton Courtenay [1].

Cornerstone, the new purpose built arts centre, is currently under construction and is scheduled for completion in the Spring of 2008.^[5]

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References

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Further reading

• Lingham, Brian (1979). The Long Years of Obscurity. A History of Didcot, Volume One - to 1841. Didcot: BF Lingham. ISBN 9780950654508. 

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External links

• Didcot Town Council Website
• Didcot Railway Centre Website
• Didcot.com community website
• Didcot First website

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