Below is the latest report from our ward district councillors. Download and read it to see what’s going on in the county and the ward.

The Sharing Life Trust (https://www.sharinglifetrust.org/) is an organisation based in Thame supporting residents in our area through the pandemic.

The Village Centre in Chinnor is open on Monday, Wednesday and Friday, from 10:00 – 12:00, for donations for The Sharing Life Trust food bank.

Below is a link to the shopping list they would like assistance with https://www.sharinglifetrust.org/foodbank-detail

SODC has reported that thousands of residents in south Oxfordshire have found their recycling bins unemptied each week because they have put the wrong things in them.

Putting non-recyclable items in recycling can contaminate a whole truckload, which is then rejected at the recycling facility. This turns neighbours’ recycling into rubbish and ultimately wastes energy and raw materials by removing these items from the recycling process.

Bin crews have stepped up monitoring of recycling bins in recent months as the lockdown has meant an increase in household waste, which has meant an increased risk of people putting the wrong items in recycling bins.

To remind residents about what can (and can’t) be recycled, SODC has devised a new recycling quiz here

https://survey.southandvale.gov.uk/s/TheGreenRecyclingBinQuiz/

Bins found with incorrect items for recycling were left unemptied.

The vast majority were rejected because residents had put black or coloured bin bags into recycling bins. Crews cannot see what is in them and so won’t empty the bin. The next biggest category of rejections was because food was found in the green bin. Food contaminates recycling making it unrecyclable. Food can be collected in food bins and taken to a separate facility where it is transformed into electricity and fertiliser.

Textiles, like old T-shirts and odd socks are another reason for crews to leave recycling bins unemptied. Although both councils collect textiles for recycling at a different facility, they must be left in a tied carrier bag next to the green bin. Other non-recyclable items which are regularly found by bin crews in recycling bins are polystyrene, plastic toys, garden waste, electrical items, wood and nappies.

These items cannot be sorted at the recycling centres and shouldn’t be put in the recycling as they can contaminate a whole truckload of recycling.

Recycling should be in the green bin loose or in clear bags so the crews can easily identify that the contents are recyclable.

If they see non-recyclables, crews will leave the bins unemptied, record the reasons and leave a tag on the bin explaining to residents.

For more information about what can and cannot be recycled please go here.

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