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To ensure crews can collect the additional waste and recycling produced over Christmas, brown bin collections will be paused between 25 December and 8 January. The service will resume on Friday 9 January.
For all you need to know about changes to bin collections and everything else to do with Christmas waste and recycling, visit South Oxfordshire garden waste page.
If you vote by post, you now need to reapply every three years.
This means if you applied for your current postal vote before 30 January 2024 you’ll need to re-apply by 31 January 2026, otherwise your postal vote will expire.
If you’re not sure when you applied for your postal vote, don’t worry, SODC will write to you when your application is up for renewal.
More information on postal voting can be found on the Electoral Commission website.
Below is a guide to council services over the Christmas and New Year period when the council offices are closed to the public.
Abbey House – Reception will close at Abbey House from 5pm on Wednesday 24 December 2025 and will reopen on Monday 5 January 2026.
Waste collections – all you need to know about waste collections over the Christmas and New Year period – including the changes to the collection dates and what to do if collections are disrupted – is on our Christmas waste page.
Housing – If you know anyone who is at immediate risk of being made homeless while our offices are closed, contact our out-of-hours service, which is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. The number to call 01235 422410. If you see someone sleeping rough you can go to Streetlink’s website.
Cost of living help – The Community Hub will be closed from 5pm on Wednesday 24 December 2025 and will reopen on Monday 5 January 2026 at 8.30am. If you need support or advice over the festive period please go to our cost of living webpage for more information or please contact our emergency out of hours phone number – 01235 422410.
Planning – Any planning applications or post submitted/received after 4.30pm Wednesday 24 December 2025, including electronic submissions, will be treated as having been received on our next working day, Monday 5 January 2026.
Council tax and benefits services – If anyone needs urgent help with council tax or benefits during the holidays, Capita’s phone lines will be open as usual between 29 and 31 December and on 2 Jan.
Emergency Situations – There are details of what to do and who to contact during an emergency on our websites – Emergency situations
Leisure Centres and Warm Spaces – over the Christmas period there will be changes to the opening times of our Better Leisure Centres, please check via the Better UK website or with staff at your local centre for details.
Our Leisure Centres are also open as Warm Spaces this winter from 9am to 2pm Monday to Friday. Pop in and charge your phone, have a hot drink and chat with others.
Winter in South Oxfordshire
You may also find the winter guide to services useful.
As per usual, refuse collection dates will alter over the Christmas period.
See the attachment for details of the changes.
South Oxfordshire and Vale of White Horse District Councils continue to offer the Disabled Facilities Grant to help disabled and vulnerable residents make their homes safer, more comfortable, and better suited to their needs.
The Disabled Facilities Grant is a means-tested grant providing financial help for home adaptations such as installing ramps and stairlifts for easier access, fitting level-access showers, or improving heating and insulation.
The grant is up to a maximum of £50,000 to help those who need it most.
The grant aims to:
To apply for a Disabled Facilities Grant, the first step is to contact an Occupational Therapist to see if you’re eligible. For more information on applying for grants and loans please see our dedicated website page (South / Vale).
Sunday 4 January sees the next parish walk.
It starts at 10.00 from Stokenchurch, meeting at the bus stop by the defunct Kings Arms in the centre of the village at 9.50. There is a small car park and plenty of parking to the side of the small roads by the green.
The route is 4.5 miles long; there are no stiles and we walk on well defined footpaths through beech woods and open farmland. This route has been chosen as it is well known as the least muddy in the area.
We stop half way round for a banana break (other snacks allowed! ) and walk at the speed of the slowest with a back marker. There are a few downs and ups as you would expect on an Chiltern Walk.
Unfortunately there is now no cafe in Stokenchurch.
The walk is a joint venture between the Aston Rowant Parish Council and Thame and Wheatley Ramblers. You don’t have to be a parishioner nor a Rambler’s member to join the walk. Booking is advised.
Peter Hetherington – Accredited Ramblers leader – 07767 647714
The parish council has had notification of the closure of the B4009 between the A40 and Kingston Hill on 4 December.
See the attachments below.
South Oxfordshire and Vale of White Horse District Councils are reminding residents that crews can only empty household wheelie bins if the lids are fully closed lids.
Crew members check to make sure that the waste is fully contained within each bin. They need to do this because there is a real risk that an overfilled bin won’t attach properly to the lifting equipment at the rear of the collection vehicle. In such cases, it’s common for bins to become unattached and end up being thrown from the lift, causing a serious danger to collection staff, the public and motorists who might be in the vicinity.
Waste can also drop from overfilled bins while they are being wheeled to the collection vehicle, creating a street cleansing issue. Closed lids minimize spillage and help to prevent vermin (such as foxes and gulls) from taking items from bins, which leads to dirtier streets.
As part of their safe working requirements, to minimise the chance of injury, collection crews are instructed to adopt correct manual handling techniques when lifting, carrying and wheeling waste receptacles to the collection vehicle. Unfortunately, it is human nature to try and catch waste falling from a bin while it is in motion, which can lead to injury. A closed bin lid will stop waste from falling out and prevent this from happening.
The councils’ waste and recycling policy states that bin lids must be fully closed in order for the bin to be emptied on the scheduled collection day. This requirement applies to all wheelie bins – including general rubbish, recycling and garden waste.
If a household has more waste than will fit in their bin with the lid shut, residents should:
The parish council has not been notified as yet, but can see that there’s a planned road closure on the B4009 between Aston Rowant/Woodway Farm and Kingston Blount/Kingston Hill on Thursday 4 December between 0930 and 1530hrs.
More detail will be published when more is made known. In the meantime, see the map below for the detail that the council presently has.
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 2021 and 31 August 2022 to apply for a school place.
Parents and carers can apply from 4 November 2025 to 15 January 2026 for a Reception place at primary or infant school for entry to school in the 2026/27 academic year.
Parents or carers with any questions should visit oxfordshire.gov.uk/primaryadmissions. Alternatively, the School Admissions Team can be contacted direct on 01865 519800 Option 2
or via
The deadline for receipt of completed school applications for Reception is 15 January 2026.
See attachment below for more information.