Archive for category: News

Thousands of council taxpayers in South Oxfordshire and the Vale of White Horse will soon receive a £150 council tax ‘rebate’ to help with rising energy bills.

The government has announced that most households in council tax bands A-D will be eligible for the rebate however, contrary to some reports, the ‘rebate’ will not be taken off people’s council tax bills when they are issued.

South Oxfordshire and Vale of White Horse District Councils are putting arrangements in place to make a separate payment to households as soon as possible.  Here’s how the payments will be made:

• If a household pays their council tax by direct debit – they should be able to receive the £150 directly into their bank account.  South and Vale are hoping to start making these payments by the end of April.
• If a household is not on direct debit– it will take longer to make these payments as the councils will need to write to them to confirm their bank details.

To ensure the councils can carry out this work as quickly as possible, they are asking people not to contact them to chase the ‘rebate’ payment.

To receive the £150 payment as quickly as possible, residents can still sign up to pay their bill by direct debit – for more information on how to do this, visit southoxon.gov.uk/counciltax or whitehorsedc.gov.uk/counciltax.

Limited funding will also be made available for households in need who would not otherwise be eligible for this energy rebate. This will be a local discretionary scheme and details will be made available on the council’s website in due course.

If you are struggling to pay your council tax bill, please visit southoxon.gov.uk/counciltax or whitehorsedc.gov.uk/counciltax to find out about the support available or call 0345 302 2313 (South) or 0345 302 2315 (Vale).

For advice if you are struggling to pay other bills please visit Citizens Advice website – citizensadvice.org.uk or Vale Community Impact – vci.org.uk

For more information, visit southoxon.gov.uk/counciltax or whitehorsedc.gov.uk/counciltax

A note from Thames Valley Police:

In March, the Older Driver’s Forum will be carrying out online webinars about the recent changes to the Highway Code.

Do you know what the changes are? Do you have questions about the changes?

Alongside speakers from various agencies, PC Liz Johnson, of the Road Safety Team, will be on the panel to answer questions.

These webinars are scheduled for:

• Thursday 10 March at 2pm
• Monday 14 March at 7pm

To register for a place, please visit the Older Drivers Forum website at https://olderdriversforum.com/webinars/ 

It is with regret that the Snowdrop Sunday Cream Teas and Duck Racing are, as a result of Storm Eunice, cancelled.

 

Temporary Traffic Regulation Notice – S14 Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984

Temporary Road Closure at Kingston Blount, 

 A request has been received by OCC from Sunbelt Rentals UK Ltd for a temporary road closure to apply to a section of Crowell Road whilst Openreach access their underground network to repair a faulty cable.

A temporary Notice is being made to implement the temporary closures and will operate from the 4 April 2022 up to and including the 6 April 2022. The closure will operate between 09:30 and 15:30 each day.

Access will be maintained for emergency service vehicles and for those frontages within the closure area, subject to the progress of the works and liaison with the works supervisor.