We use some essential cookies to make this website work.
We'd also like to set optional cookies to enable features like embedded videos and maps, collect anonymous statistics, and improve the overall experience.
“Come and support The South Oxfordshire Christmas Fair on Tuesday 19th November, at the Oxfordshire Golf Club, in raising funds for Sobell House Hospice and Watlington and District Nursing Home.
Nearly 60 independent small businesses, many local, will be inspiring you to do your Christmas shopping, meet up with friends for coffee and buy a raffle ticket or two.”
See the attachment below for more information.
The parish Autumn Litter Pick is booked for the weekend of 2nd and 3rd of November.
We will meet at 10am in Cherry Tree car park to pick up in Kingston Blount, and at 10am on Sunday 3rd November in the layby opposite the Lambert Arms to pick up in Aston Rowant.
All – over 16 – are welcome for what will be at most a couple of hours.
We would appreciate help; if you can assist, please contact either the clerk at or Steven Sowerby at .
Halloween is almost upon us and not everyone feels comfortable with ‘trick or treaters’ at the front door.
Thames Valley Police has produced a printable document to politely inform ‘visitors’ that they’re a little less than welcome.
See here.
As part of the application process for reception entry to infant and primary school, OCC is advertising the need for parents and carers of children born between 1 September 2020 and 31 August 2021 to apply for a school place.
Those parents or carers with questions should visit the primary application web page which has all the information needed plus a link to the online application form: www.oxfordshire.gov.uk/primaryadmissions
The School Admissions Team can be contacted direct on 0345 241 2487 or at
Applications for reception can be submitted from 4 November; and the deadline for receipt of completed school applications for Reception is 15 January 2025.
As part of a big drive to rethink waste, residents are encouraged to check out the range of repair cafés, libraries of things, community larders, clothes swaps and other great reuse initiatives happening in their local area.
With reduce and reuse top of the agenda, last weekend, representatives from South Oxfordshire and Vale of White Horse District Councils popped along to check out the great work happening at two local initiatives.
In South, Cllr David Rouane, Council Leader and Cabinet Member for Climate Action, visited Sustainable Didcot’s Repair Café, which runs on the third Saturday of every month, 2pm to 5pm in The Green Hub in the SOHA building.
The friendly repair café, run entirely by dedicated volunteers, will try their best to fix broken household items for free, ranging from repairs of household electrical items (including computers), broken toys, clocks and watches, sharpening blunt knives – even sprucing up old bicycles. They are particularly interested in repairing electrical items and they will PAT test them to make sure they are safe.
Cllr Rouane took along a faulty iron and was incredibly impressed by the warm welcome he received, as well as the handy fix on his iron. He said: “The Sustainable Didcot Repair Café is a wonderful place. I’m delighted to have my iron fixed. I’d urge everyone to rethink what they throw out – is there life in it yet? Can it be fixed with a little TLC? Not only will this help save the planet you’ll save yourself a few pounds by not having to buy new. Visit the Didcot Repair Café or find one near you.”
View a video of David’s visit with Sustainable Didcot here.
People can find their nearest repair café and a range of other reuse initiatives by searching on the CAG Oxfordshire website: www.cagoxfordshire.org.uk or visit the Repair Café Oxfordshire websitehttps://repaircafeoxfordshire.org
Rethinking waste
Both of the councils have approved a new joint Waste Resources and Street Cleansing strategy. People can view the strategy and find out more about rethinking waste and our plans to keep our streets clean and tidy at: www.southandvale.gov.uk/rethinkingwaste
Residents in the districts have consistently been among the very best recyclers in England for well over a decade. The two councils are now striving to take things to the next level and are encouraging everyone to rethink their approach to waste.
A key part of the new strategy is to encourage and enable people to reduce, reuse, repair, refill and rehome items, instead of throwing them away.
Representatives from the councils will be at the Eco Fair at Cornerstone on 2 November 2024, with the opportunity to chat about rethinking waste.
Have your say: Councils propose updates to boost street trading and cut plastic waste
South Oxfordshire and Vale of White Horse District Councils are reviewing their joint Street Trading Policy for the first time in over a decade and they want your input!
Street trading has thrived in recent years and, with the current policy dating back to 2011, the councils are proposing updates to ensure it encourages the vibrant and expanding street trading scene.
The changes aim to tackle the environmental impact of single-use plastics and also provide clearer guidance and greater flexibility for multi-site trading, short-term trading, markets and charity events.
Now is your chance to share your thoughts and help shape the future of street trading in the two districts.
The consultation runs until 11.59pm on Tuesday 26 November 2024.
To read the full proposed changes and have your say, visit southandvale.gov.uk/StreetTrading
After the consultation closes, all feedback will be carefully reviewed, and a summary report will be published on the councils’ websites. The councils’ General Licensing Committees will consider the results when making the final decision on the updated policy.
Residents who are subscribed to the district council brown bin garden waste service in South Oxfordshire or the Vale of White Horse can have extra garden waste collected for free, on their normal collection day only, between 28 October and 8 November.
You can put out a maximum of up to four additional sacks of garden waste, per brown bin subscription, next to your brown bin.
To be eligible for collection – the extra waste must contain only natural garden waste, such as cut grass, plants or branches and be placed in standard sized (60L) black refuse-style sacks or in boxes / containers totalling no more than a standard bin full.
Please DO NOT use tonne builders’ waste bags – our crews will not collect any garden waste from these.
See here for more information.
South Oxfordshire and Vale of White Horse district councils have launched a public survey on proposals to reduce the minimum timeframe to charge a council tax premium on long-term empty properties.
Currently, the councils allow a maximum duration of up to two years for a domestic property to remain unoccupied and substantially unfurnished before an additional, long-term empty council tax ‘premium’ charge is incurred, on top of the normal full 100 per cent charge.
Recent changes in council tax legislation now allow councils to reduce this minimum timeframe from two years to just one year. If this change is adopted, a new policy on long-term empty properties would come into effect from 1 April 2026 – to allow sufficient time for empty property owners to plan or adjust their plans accordingly.
The long-term aim of the proposal is to see as many homes brought back into use as soon as possible.
You can have your say via a link to the survey online here:
This survey is open for six weeks and will close at 11.59pm on Tuesday 26 November 2024.
Children and their families can enjoy free and low-cost entertainment and Halloween themed activities during the upcoming half-term holiday, from 27 October to 1 November.
Get out and about with the Halloween Xplorer navigation challenge in Benson and Wantage or get active indoors with pickleball in Abingdon and Born to Move fitness classes and Family Yoga in Didcot.
At Cornerstone Arts Centre in Didcot there’s the chance for young children to make their own Halloween mask or enjoy Let’s All Dance’s vibrant performance of the heart-warming ballet ‘The Ugly Duckling. Those aged a little older can witness a gripping one-man performance of ‘The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll And Mr Hyde’, providing a brilliant introduction to a literature classic.
At The Beacon in Wantage, you can ‘Make your own Monster Friend’ with local artist Eden Silver-Myer or enjoy ‘Clare and Cory Share a (Glorious) Story’, a wonderful interactive performance of the Joe Bromley favourite about sharing, daring and exploring.
These events are expected to be very popular, so book now to avoid disappointment! To find out more and to book a place, visit southandvale.gov.uk/holidayactivities.
A note from Oxfordshire County Council:
“Residents are being warned to be wary of cold callers or leaflets offering to do work on roofs after the recent heavy rain that has led to flooding in Oxfordshire and elsewhere.
Oxfordshire County Council’s trading standards team is warning people that rogue traders will see it as the perfect opportunity to take advantage of residents who have flood damage.
Many reputable traders will be booked up, so the advice is to be wary of traders who can arrive to start the work the following day and push for a quick agreement to use them.
People should first check whether their insurance policy includes emergency assistance support. Most insurance companies will appoint their own tradespeople to carry out the work.
Where work is not covered by insurance, it might be tempting to hire the first person who offers to fix flood damage, especially if they claim to have worked for a neighbour. However, it’s strongly recommended to avoid door to door services and get quotes from reputable traders.
Rogue traders may quote low prices but will soon demand more money and very often the work they claim needs doing is completely unnecessary.
The Buy with Confidence website helps Oxfordshire residents to find local traders who have beenvetted and approved by trading standards to ensure that they operate in a legal, honest and fair way.
A contract should be signed before any work start and should include the total price for all work. Be weary and ask questions about any work that increases in price mid contract. Trading standards will mediate if a dispute arises.
Any Oxfordshire resident who has concerns about cold calling or potential scams or wants some pre contract advice can contact the Citizens Advice National Consumer Service on 0808 223 1133 or by visiting its website citizensadvice.org.uk.
For information about flooding, including details about flood recovery, please read the county council’s flood toolkit at oxfordshirefloodtoolkit.com.”