Archive for category: News

SODC has sent a note to town and parish councils about the £150 Council Tax rebate being made to help with utility bills for households in tax bands A-D

The note said that SODC is making rebate payments to households that pay their council tax by direct debit and will be sending a letter to all these homes to advise them to keep an eye out for the £150 ‘rebate’ going directly into their bank account.

SODC can only pay the money to someone’s bank account if they are the person responsible for paying council tax at the property and checks confirm that their application is valid.

Following checks, SODC expects to pay up to 68 per cent of households this way and should have completed these payments by the end of April.

From the start of May, SODC will send a separate letter to all remaining households (those not on not on direct debit, or whose bank account can’t be matched to council tax bill payer) asking them to complete an online form to confirm their bank account details.

Anyone who is not able to complete the form online will be able to confirm their details by calling a special customer service team who will be in place just to deal with rebate requests.

To ensure Capita can carry out this work as quickly as possible, SODC asks residents not to contact chase the ‘rebate’ payment.

Further information about the council tax ‘rebate’ can be found on the South website and on the government’s updated fact sheet.

Update on the discretionary support scheme 

SODC knows that those in council tax band properties E-H who are not eligible for the rebate will be keen to hear what funding will be made available to them via the discretionary support scheme.  The council will confirm more details about this scheme in the coming weeks.

Following on from last week’s confirmation that Aston Rowant Cricket Club will reopen fully on Friday  22^nd April from 6pm, the club can confirm:

That junior training will commence; the bar will be open; and two competitions – the Biggest 6 competition and the nearest the pin golf chipping contest.

On Saturday there will be friendly cricket on both grounds from 12.00. And on Sunday ARCC will be hosting the first round of the National Village Knock out, where it will welcome Shipton under Wychwood. From 1pm.

On both days bar will be open from 1pm. All are welcome.

A note from the cricket club:

It is almost the start of the cricket season and to start things off with a bang, we are opening the bar on Friday 22^nd April which will be the first night of junior training.

Can we remind everyone that membership both playing and social are now due, please go to the website: astonrowantcricketclub.com and follow the instructions on the ‘join now’ tab.

We have two non playing memberships, social (family) membership for £25, and 1881 club membership with the 20 percent bar discount with production of your card. By signing up to membership you will automatically receive the club email updates, normally weekly, which will update you on results, fixtures and any upcoming events.

All current 1881 club cards will have to be renewed before the 20 percent bar discount can be used.

Finally can we thank all the people who responded to the recent questionnaire we included in the Parish Notes. We have had over 60 responses and you can still respond either by filling in the form and returning to the addresses on the form, or electronically via the QR code on the form which is also on the noticeboards in both villages.

Residents are being warned by the police to be cautious of cold callers offering to do driveway, landscaping or roofing work. They also often target consumers by leaflet dropping and creating fake profiles online.

Many 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. Always make sure you receive a final total cost in writing before agreeing to any work starting.

Oxfordshire residents can check the Local Authority’s Buy with Confidence scheme for local traders who have been vetted and approved by Trading Standards.

If anyone believes that they have been the victim of such a rogue trader and wants advice, you can contact the Citizens Advice National Consumer Service on 0800 144 8848 or via its website at Citizens Advice.