Oxfordshire is to receive £3.6 million to triple its number of public electric vehicle (EV) chargers after the county’s Local EV Infrastructure (LEVI) bid was approved.

Money from the Department for Transport will seed fund a major rollout of infrastructure worth over £10m that will see more than 1,300 public chargers delivered in the county by the end of 2025. The rest of the funding will largely come in the form of investment from the EV chargepoint operators themselves.

Oxfordshire County Council led the application in close collaboration with Oxford City Council and Cherwell, West Oxfordshire, South Oxfordshire and Vale of White Horse district councils.

The programme aims to create a reliable, easy-to-use, contactless EV charging network spanning the county. This will give more people the opportunity to switch to an EV – regardless of where they live or their parking situation – to improve Oxfordshire’s environment and air quality.

Fun activities and community days, family exercise, a museum of marvellous things and a cartoon circus are just some of the free and low-cost activities available for children and their families to enjoy during the Easter holidays.

South Oxfordshire and Vale of White Horse District Councils are providing activities and events at venues across the area from 29 March to 12 April.

The councils’ Active Communities team are providing family circuits, Boxfit for teens, music-based exercise sessions and Xplorer events for young children and an activity day. There’s also a series of community days in south Abingdon hosted by The Oxfordshire Play Association.

Cornerstone Arts Centre in Didcot will be packed with family entertainment.  From The Museum of Marvellous Things where the impossible can happen, Decorate Your Own Bug House and live action and puppetry with There Was An Old Lady Who Swallowed A Fly to swashbuckling with Pirates at a pre-holiday performance on 24 March.

There’ll also be lots of circus themed fun at The Beacon in Wantage, with the laughter-packed stage show, Cartoon Circus Live, featuring some of Britain’s funniest clowns, traditional slapstick comedy and much more and a range of low-cost activities with a circus theme throughout the Easter break for children of all ages including arts and craft and Monkey Mayhem.

The activities are expected to be very popular so, where required, residents are encouraged to book now to avoid disappointment.

For details on what’s on and how to book, visit southandvale.gov.uk/holidayactivities. 

The Better Leisure Centres across South Oxfordshire and the Vale of White Horse, managed on behalf of the district councils by GLL, also have a range of family activities to get involved with this Easter.

They are launching their new Active Holiday Clubs at leisure centres in Abingdon, Didcot, Faringdon and Wantage. There are junior funded memberships as part of the Holiday, Activity and Food programme (HAF), plus family swims, roller skating and soft play. Details about what’s available at each centre can be found on the Better UK website and the leisure centre Facebook pages.

Another five historic images have been uploaded.

See https://www.astonrowantparishcouncil.gov.uk/historic-images/