Archive for category: News

South Oxfordshire District Council is now accepting applications (from noon Wednesday 3 June 2020) from small businesses for a share of around £1.9 million of government support following the coronavirus outbreak.

The council is urging all eligible businesses that were ineligible for the Small Business Grant scheme and Retail, Hospitality and Leisure Grant Schemes to apply but stressing that the government fund available will only provide enough meaningful support for a very small percentage of eligible businesses.

The government has provided the mandatory national criteria for the funds, but to assess the applications fairly and transparently, the council has created a detailed discretionary grants scheme to try and identify the businesses most in need.

To apply businesses must have been trading on 11 March 2020 and must meet certain criteria. The full details of the scheme and eligibility criteria are on the  business support website at svbs.co.uk.

Business owners have until midday on Wednesday 17 June to apply for the Discretionary Business Fund at svbs.co.uk/top-up-scheme

To be able to assess the applications fairly, the council will need to wait until the application process has closed before applications can be ranked, and so no decisions will be made on applications until after the deadline. It is likely to take a week or two after the deadline to carry out the ranking process and the necessary final checks.

Once that process has been carried out, the council will notify all applicants whether they’re successful or not. Successful businesses will be provided with an acceptance letter that they’ll need to sign and return before the payments can be made.

While waiting for the decisions, the council is urging applicants to look at and consider the alternative support for funding in case they’re not successful – this information is all available at svbs.co.uk/ineligible-for-grants

The funds will be subject to tax for businesses that make an overall profit once the grant income is included.

Business owners that have any further questions on the grant scheme can email the Business Support team – .

Just ahead of lockdown, Aston Rowant Parish Council was consulting on the first draft of its Neighbourhood Plan. This process was halted temporarily when all such consultations were suspended by the government.

As of 15 June, things will start to get back to normal and we can now fix a closing date for the Pre-Submission Consultation. That date will be 30 June 2020.

Any consultation responses received before 5pm on that date will still be considered. These can be by email to or by post to Parish Clerk, The Cottage, High Street, Kingston Blount OX39 4SJ.

The draft plan and associated documents can still be seen on this website under Parish Council > Neighbourhood Planning.

Thank you for your patience.

Mark Thackeray

Chairman – Neighbourhood Plan Steering Group

Parking charges will be re-introduced in district council car parks across South Oxfordshire and the Vale of White Horse from Monday 8 June.

South Oxfordshire and Vale of White Horse District Councils have allowed free parking since 26 March, to support key workers and those who need to shop for essential food or medical supplies during the Coronavirus pandemic after travel restrictions were put in place.

However with many restrictions now lifted, and following the government’s announcement that outdoor markets and car showrooms can re-open on 1 June and non-essential retail on 15 June, the councils will now re-introduce parking fees.

Car parks will operate as normal, meaning that motorists must display a ticket or have a valid online or text payment confirmation, including during any free hours offered in the charging period.  Normal rates will apply.  New permits will be issued or re-issued to anyone whose permit would’ve normally expired since lockdown began.

NHS staff and care workers who display a national COVID-19 pass can continue to park for free.  To claim a pass, staff should email , including proof of their employment.

For more information about district council car parks please visit southoxon.gov.uk/parking or whitehorsedc.gov.uk/parking.

The latest issue of the parish notes – June / July – should have been delivered to your door by now.

They are also now online.

Navigate to the notes under the Your Community menu option to find them,

Regretably the parish council cannot intervene in disputes involving neighbours, especially when it’s on private land.

Those with a problem on their hands maybe able to find guidance from a page on SODC’s website. Navigate here to see the advice.