Power cable down
Woodway Farm has reported that a power cable is down on the bridleway from the B4009 leading up to the Ridgeway.
The cable has been reported to SSEN. Meanwhile, walkers are advised to steer well clear of the cable.
Men’s Health Matters Virtual Patient Education Evening
/in News/by Adam BernsteinNuffield Health Oxford, The Manor Hospital, is holding a Men’s Health Matters Virtual Patient Education Evening on November 25th. The event is free to attend and open to members of the public.
Bringing together a panel of experienced specialists, the evening will cover a range of important Men’s health topics, including practical advice and insights on common health concerns, prostate health, heart disease, weight and metabolic health, hormonal wellbeing, and men’s sexual health. Attendees will also have the opportunity to participate in live Q&A sessions with our experts.
Event registration link:
https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/mens-health-matters-taking-control-of-your-health-at-every-age-tickets-1997968889733
Thames Valley Police ‘Have Your Say’
/in News/by Adam BernsteinThames Valley Police are holding a ‘Have Your Say’ meeting for local residents to meet the local team.
It’s at The Community Pavilion 1pm – 3pm on Sunday 1st November.
Extra garden waste collections
/in News/by Adam BernsteinGarden waste permit holders will be able to have extra garden waste collected for free, on their normal collection day between 2 November and 13 November 2026. To check eligibility for a collection and for details on how to leave the extra waste out, follow the guidance on SODC’s garden waste page.
Rambler’s walks schedule
/in News/by Adam BernsteinBelow is the October to December walks list from the Thame and Wheatley branch of the Ramblers.
Aston Rowant Parish Walk – Sunday 4th October
/in News/by Adam BernsteinPlease come and join us on the next Parish Walk on Sunday 4th October.
It will be leaving the layby by Aston Rowant Church Rectory at 10.00.
We are walking the Aston Rowant Discovery Trail – the shorter circular route – about 5.5 to 6 miles. We use well-made paths, there are no stiles, and only one hill.
Please park by the hedge to the left of Aston Green Road after passing the church and driving round the bends.
We reach our halfway point at the top of Beacon Hill, have a breather, a snack and some water, and return though the Aston Rowant National Nature Reserve and National Trust Woods on Permissive Paths and Rights of Way.
We will return at approximately 13.00.
There is no need to book but please do bring your ‘In Case of Emergency’ details with you. If you don’t have an ‘In Case of Emergency ‘card we can supply one.
You don’t have to live in Aston Rowant Parish.
Peter Hetherington. 07767 647714
Organised by the Footpath and Amenities Group, Aston Rowant Parish Council
Parish litter pick – 10th and 11th October
/in News/by Adam BernsteinThe parish autumn litter pick, organised by the Footpath and Amenities Group, will take place over the weekend of the 10th and 11th October.
On the Saturday, meet in the Cherry Tree car park at 10am. On the Sunday, meet in the A40 lay-by opposite the Lambert Arms.
Equipment is provided but please bring your own gloves.
Also…
…the next meeting of the group will take place on October 12th in the Kingston Blount Village Hall at 7.30. All are welcome to attend. See what the group does to enhance the area we live in.
Woodway Farm – update on planning application
/in News/by Adam BernsteinA planning application that involved the demolition of two failing barns and replacement with six homes on Woodway Farm in Aston Rowant was, despite objections from numerous parishioners and the parish council, passed at a planning meeting in July.
At that meeting, the applicant made a change that hitherto had not been part of the application – it was new to the parish council, the SODC planning officer concerned, OCC highways, district councillors on the planning committee or residents – that the main entrance currently used by the farm will be dedicated to the new development and combine harvesters, while the bridleway that is almost directly opposite the entrance to Aston Rowant Road will be given over to all other farm and equestrian traffic.
Ordinarily, that wouldn’t be an issue.
However, that bridleway will, when in operation, form a crossroads very close to a chicane installed a few years ago precisely to make the junction of the B4009 and Aston Rowant Road safer.
The council considers that the junction will, once the development is built, become unsafe.
The problem is that many drivers traverse the B4009 beyond the speed limits and that some, impatiently, do not give way at the chicane and so run it – at speed.
Drivers may not see traffic turning out of Aston Rowant onto the B4009, may not see through the various poles (one for signage, one for the required light and a telegraph pole) and the yellow ‘keep right signs’ on the chicane, will have their vision obscured by foliage, and may miss traffic behind the chicane turning onto and out of the bridleway.
On behalf of the council, I have tried – with assistance from our district and county councillors – to engage with SODC planning and OCC highways. We three have been, disappointingly, consistently ignored.
That leaves me writing this comment and asking residents, who agree with the new ‘crossroads’ being a safety issue, to email their concerns to the relevant council teams via and , citing P25/S1671/O.
Concerns need to be made known and mitigations demanded.
‘Check it before you chuck it’
/in News/by Adam BernsteinResidents across South Oxfordshire and the Vale of White Horse are being encouraged to recycle with confidence this Recycle Week by following one simple message: Don’t Guess. Check it before you chuck it.
The campaign is part of the councils’ Waste Less. Clean Spaces. Better Places. campaign, which is helping residents reduce waste, make the most of the resources they use and keep local communities cleaner and greener.
Most households across the districts recycle regularly, but many of the wrong items still end up in recycling bins, sometimes up to 22 per cent, because people are unsure whether something can be recycled. Although well intentioned, placing the wrong items in the recycling bin can make it harder for good-quality materials to be recycled into new products. And, if items are messy (such as food residue or nappies), it can prevent whole truckloads of recyclable items from being recycled.
By taking a few seconds to check the Oxfordshire Waste Wizard(Oxfordshire.gov.uk/wastewizard) before recycling, residents can help improve the quality of recycling collected across the districts and make sure more recyclable items are recycled.
To find out more, visit southoxon.gov.uk/Reduce&Reuse, or pop along to one of the upcoming town markets where members of the councils’ Waste Team will be on hand to answer your questions:
- 16 September – Wantage – 8am-3pm
- 25 September – Wallingford – 9am-2pm
- 6 October – Faringdon – 8:30am-1pm
- 13 October – Thame – 8am-2.30pm
- 29 October – Henley – 9am-2pm – rescheduled date
Objection to planning application in Church Lane
/in News/by Adam BernsteinPlease help your parish council fight this development.
The deadline to comment is 21 September 2026.
Land at The Paddock, Church Lane, Aston Rowant
P26/S3792/PIP
Construction of a minimum of one dwelling and a maximum of one dwelling
This planning application should be refused for the same reasons it was refused previously and by the Inspector in the previous appeal. The fact that SODC does not currently have a five-year housing supply does have a bearing, but the significant harm that would be caused is not outweighed by the benefit of one new house.
Aston Rowant Parish Council believes the reasons to refuse this application are as:
The development is outside of the village boundary and therefore would extend the boundary into open countryside. The north side of Aston Rowant is particularly vulnerable to expansion as it still retains a very strong sense of a rural setting with few new houses. The existing village boundary next to the proposed site has old farm buildings or is bounded by ancient hedgerows.
The application has not demonstrated that it is physically well-related to the settlement for the purposes of Policy S5(1)(j) of the August 2026 NPPF. It would project built development into the countryside rather than fill a gap within the village.
There is another house opposite the site which has already extended the boundary, but planning permission was only achieved through a technical issue at appeal. That property is more in keeping as it extends the already built-up row of existing houses which is not the case with this proposal.
Aston Rowant has recently had six new houses approved, all of which are outside the village boundary. We feel that this shows that Aston Rowant has taken housing and has extended to meet demand already.
It’s worth noting that the August 2026 NPPF now specifically requires consideration of landscape character, countryside qualities, ecological networks, established trees and hedgerows.
The site is bounded by two chalk streams which must be protected. The stream on the east side flows all year and the stream on west side is seasonal. Both of these flow into the Holbrook where brown trout migrate all the way up to the village. Further development will harm the stream and run off from the site will harm the fish. There are major conservation concerns about protecting chalk streams and we must do all we can to protect them.
Aston Rowant is not a sustainable village for new housing. There are no shops, the bus service is poor (it’s often been suggested that the routes may be cut – a proposition not unreasonable given that the two bus routes are subsidised to the tune of around £200,000pa). The buses from the identified stop less than half a mile away cannot be used for commuting, and there are no footpaths or safe ways to walk to the bus stops a mile and a mile and a half away that serve coaches that go to London and Oxford. Cars would be necessary for all aspects of living here. Nothing in this respect has changed since the last planning application.
Further, the application has not demonstrated that safe and suitable access can be delivered without unacceptable conflict with users of Church Lane and the bridleway, or without harmful loss or alteration of the rural hedgerow boundary.
ARPC has spoken to many residents, and the primary concern was the development of a new house here is outside the village boundary and sits on an ancient track that leads to the Fiveways junction with the Ridgeway and important national walking trails. Development on this site will spoil an ancient rural area adjacent to village.
We call on SODC to avoid allowing the district-wide housing shortfall to extinguish all scrutiny of where housing is placed. Otherwise virtually any field adjoining any small village could qualify for building.
In summary, the applicant may have established a district-wide housing-supply gateway but has not demonstrated that this particular greenfield site is physically well-related, sustainably accessible and satisfactorily served by infrastructure. The previous Inspector’s findings about countryside character and severe car dependence remain the strongest evidence of this available.
Please register an objection by either sending responding via SODC’s planning portal here or by sending an email to citing P26/S3792/PIP.
The deadline to comment is 21 September 2026.