Sentencing took place at Oxford Crown Court on Monday 15 September 2025, following conviction at Oxford Magistrates Court earlier in the year (Thursday 24 July 2025).

Fire safety inspectors from Oxfordshire County Council’s fire and rescue service visited the premises in February 2023. They found that the business owner, Mr Zdzislaw Fircowicz, had failed to ensure there was an adequate risk assessment of fire, failed to protect escape routes in case of fire, and failed to provide a working fire alarm and detection system.

The business was operating within an industrial unit where staff were being allowed to sleep on the mezzanine floor, without adequate fire safety arrangements in place.

A fire safety audit was conducted under the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005, and inspectors found that the premises were so dangerous that they were left with no alternative but to prohibit the use of the building for sleeping until safety measures were improved.

As a consequence, they ordered the immediate removal of the occupants of the flats on safety grounds by use of a prohibition notice, so that it could not to be used for sleeping.

An investigation resulted in Mr Fircowicz being found guilty of four charges under the fire safety legislation. He was also ordered to pay a total of £2,500 in costs.

Councillor Jenny Hannaby, Oxfordshire County Council’s Cabinet Member for Community Services and Safety, said: “Businesses that ‘cut corners’ not only put the public and environment at risk, but they gain an unfair advantage over their competitors. This is made even worse when it relates to such important fire safety requirements.”

Jody Kerman, Head of Oxfordshire County Council’s Prevention, Protection and Trading Standards teams, said: “Through the use of both targeted inspections and from acting on complaints, our fire safety inspectors are finding an increasing number of businesses where there is unsafe and inappropriate sleeping accommodation and a lack of fire safety measures being implemented. This is a very dangerous mix and, as this case shows, we will not hesitate to take action to ensure the safety of occupants, residents and customers.”

Issuing of a prohibition notice restricts the use of any premises providing accommodation that does not meet the accepted standards of fire safety. Responsible persons – business owners or employers – must accept that they have a duty of care to ensure the accommodation they provide is safe and suitable.

Any businessperson or employee can seek fire safety advice by emailing fire.service@oxfordshire.gov.uk.

Oxfordshire Fire and Rescue Service’s vision is to work every day to save and improve the lives of people across the county.

The former owner of an Indian restaurant in Watlington has also been fined for a series of fire safety breaches; sentenced to a six-month custodial sentence, suspended for 18 months, a £1,700 fine and ordered to carry out 100 hours of unpaid work.

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Oxfordshire County Council is awarding the grants, ranging from £500 to £36,000, to fund new routes and services, vehicle running costs, and drivers’ expenses.

Councillor Andrew Gant, Oxfordshire County Council’s Cabinet Member for Transport Management, said: “Oxfordshire’s community transport sector is a lifeline to many people who don’t drive or don’t have a car.

“The grants will make a big difference to all four organisations and help them to continue the great work they are doing. We are extremely grateful for all the work they and other community transport groups do to make life easier for residents.”

The recipients, who will receive their grants over between one and five years to support continuation of their schemes are Daybreak Oxford, Thame Senior Friendship Centre, Filkins & Broughton Poggs volunteer doctor and hospital car service, and Wallingford Town Council.

The Wallingford project, in association with Going Forward Buses, is already in operation, with the new 131 town bus service going live from 1 September.

Daybreak Oxford, which transports people with dementia to and from day centres and takes the older population on shopping trips, received £25,072 to provide new provision in areas of the city not previously served.

Community transport is part of the voluntary sector and plays a key role in filling gaps in service where public transport is not available. It helps provide safe, accessible, cost effective, flexible transport run by the community for the community in rural and urban areas.

Community transport can include car clubs, community minibuses, dial-a-ride, lift shares, taxi shares and voluntary car schemes.

Some groups offer services just for their members, while others are open to the public. They can take disabled people to work, children to school, sick people to healthcare and older people to the shops. Some run local bus routes and provide transport for a wide range of clubs and other groups.

Last month, the Villager Community Bus Services unveiled a new electric minibus, which was part funded by £50,000 awarded in 2024’s round of grants.

It runs the Chippy Shuttle, an hourly, weekday service connecting residential areas in Chipping Norton with town centre shops, services and the out of town health centre.

It has been running for nine years and provides an essential service for residents who have mobility problems and no access to their own transport. The new electric minibus replaces its previous diesel vehicle.

Keith Gowing, Chairman of the Villager Community Bus Services, said: “Our new battery powered bus enables us to continue providing the shuttle service to our many loyal customers whilst reducing our impact on the environment in terms of reduced carbon emissions, air pollution and vehicle noise.

“We could not have afforded this without the help of Oxfordshire County Council.”

The council supports the development of not for profit community transport groups and services.

Small start-up grants to help groups in their development are available, while the council can also help with the cost of training volunteers as minibus and passenger assistants.

More information is available on Oxfordshire County Council’s website.

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Last year, Oxfordshire County Council gathered feedback from residents, workers and visitors in Thame, via a ‘map and pin’ exercise to identify improvements to local travel.

Their input was used to create the draft local walking and cycling infrastructure plan, which sets out proposed improvements for local walking and cycling routes over the next 10 years and is now available for comment.

Councillor Andrew Gant, Oxfordshire County Council’s Cabinet Member for Transport Management, said: “This plan has been drafted using valuable insights that people have taken the time to share with us and it is now our intention to take those changes forward and make these routes the best we can.

“I would like people to look carefully at the plan and share their impressions with us, including whether the most important walking and cycling routes and improvements have been identified and what we can do to make the plan better.”

Feedback will be used to amend the plan. The final version will presented for Cabinet Member Decision towards the end of this year and then be formally adopted as council policy. This will support funding bids to improve walking and cycling in Thame and the surrounding area.

The draft plan is available to view alongside a survey on the council’s digital consultation and engagement platform, Let’s talk Oxfordshire.

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An electric car club pilot scheme has proved so popular that 15 vehicles are set to remain in place at more than 10 new and existing locations around the county, following the end of the 18 month trial period.

Since the pilot scheme was launched in April 2023, it has attracted over new 1,200 members, seen over 5,200 individual hiring sessions and led to more than a quarter of a million electric miles being driven.

The scheme has been coordinated by Oxfordshire County Council and is supported by Oxford City Council and Cherwell, South Oxfordshire, Vale of White Horse and West Oxfordshire district councils who have hosted the pilot vehicles in their car parks. The vehicles have been provided and operated by hire companies Co Wheels, Enterprise CarClub and Zimbl.

The success of the extended trial scheme means that car club vehicles are set to continue in the following locations:

• Abingdon – Cattle Market and West St Helen Street car parks (Co Wheels)
• Banbury – Calthorpe Street West and Windsor Street car parks (Zimbl)
• Bicester – Claremont car park (Zimbl)
• Eynsham – Back Lane car park (Co Wheels)
• Henley – Greys Road car park (Co Wheels)
• Oxford – Redbridge and Seacourt Park and Rides (Co Wheels and Zimbl)
• Wallingford – Cattlemarket car park (Co Wheels)
• Witney – Woodford Way car park (Enterprise CarClub).

New car club vehicles are also set to be introduced at these new locations:

• Chipping Norton – New Road car park (Zimbl)
• Woodstock – Hensington Road car park (Zimbl)
• Thame – Upper High Street (Co Wheels).

Councillor Pete Sudbury, Deputy Leader of Oxfordshire County Council with Responsibility for Climate Change, Environment and Future Generations, said: “The popularity of the EV car clubs has led to the continuation of the schemes in many places, meaning even more residents and businesses can try out these shared cars for themselves.

“Car clubs give people the chance to use an EV when they need one, without the expense of owning or leasing one outright. They can make it much more affordable for people who don’t drive every day and provide real-world experience of driving electric without a long-term commitment.”

It is estimated that a successful car club vehicle can take on average 20 individually owned cars – often petrol or diesel vehicles – off the road.

EVs in the scheme can be hired from £5.95 per hour, including insurance, plus 12p per electric mile.

If demand for car clubs continues and funding can be identified, then it’s likely more car club locations will be introduced within the next few years. Residents can submit locations where they would like to car clubs using Oxfordshire County Council’s EV charger and car club demand tracker.

Updated details about the EV car club pilot and where your nearest car club location is can be found on the Oxfordshire County Council website.

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More than 200 requests to reduce speed limits to 20mph in towns and villages have now been approved in Oxfordshire.

Yesterday, 25 applications were given the go ahead by Oxfordshire County Council, including ones in the towns of Banbury, Thame and Wallingford. It takes the total number of approved 20mph schemes in the county to 214 since the project began in 2022.

Councillor Andrew Gant, Oxfordshire County Council’s Cabinet Member for Transport Management, said: “This is an incredible landmark and I want to thank all the communities who have been in touch with us, asking to make their residential streets safer and more pleasant places.

“Throughout the delivery of this programme we have been clear about the advantages it brings. You are seven times more likely to survive if you are hit by a car driving at 20mph than if you are hit at 30mph.

“Reducing speeds in residential areas is a vital pillar of our commitment to Vision Zero – our ambition to eliminate deaths and serious injuries from road traffic collisions in Oxfordshire by 2050.”

The latest areas to have their applications approved by Cllr Gant at a decision-making meeting also included Appleford, Appleton with Eaton, Berinsfield, Brize Meadow, Buscot and Buscot Wick, Chadlington, Culham, Ducklington, East Hagbourne, Fernham, Freeland, Fyfield and Tubney, Horley, Kelmscott, Little Wittenham, Middleton Stoney, Northmoor, Shipton-on-Cherwell, Souldern, Sibford Gower, Tiddington and West Hendred.

Decisions on more than 30 other applications are set to be made in the future.

Unlike the approach taken in Wales, where the 30mph limit was changed by default to 20mph in built-up areas, the Oxfordshire rollout has been led by residents in the towns and villages and each scheme has been tailored to local needs.

In fact, the Welsh approach has now been revised and is much closer to Oxfordshire’s, with much greater local input from councils into whether, and how, speed limits should be changed.

To be eligible for 20mph in Oxfordshire, an application must initially be supported by each affected town or parish council and the local county councillor.

A public consultation then takes place, with opportunities for people to influence the design and the adoption of the scheme within the constraints of the approved 20mph policy and guidance.

Once the remaining schemes are implemented across the county, a period of monitoring and evaluation will take place to assess the effectiveness of the measures, and any locations where further intervention may be beneficial to ensure the outcomes of the project are achieved.

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The Be a Better Biker workshops are provided as part of road casualty reduction work by Oxfordshire County Council’s Fire and Rescue Service and neighbouring local authorities.

Training covers a range of advanced techniques including:

• Manoeuvring
• Overtaking
• Cornering techniques
• An on-road assessment with a qualified observer
• A review of the on-road session.

The next sessions will take place at Kidlington Fire Station on Saturday 13 April and Saturday 11 May, and at Thame Fire Station on Saturday 27 April.

Andy Ford, from Oxfordshire County Council’s Fire and Rescue Service’ community safety team, said: “Whether you are a relatively new biker, returning to motorcycling after a break or a rider who has years of experience, our Be a Better Biker workshops are suited to all.

“The day includes classroom based learning and a two hour practical ride out, where participants will develop skills to become better, safer riders.”

Anyone wishing to take part must hold a full and valid motorbike licence and have access to their own vehicle to use during the course.

For more information, including booking fee and how to reserve a place, visit the book a motorbike course website.

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They were among 18 applications for 20mph limits to be approved by Oxfordshire County Council’s Cabinet Member for Transport Management, Councillor Andrew Gant, on 14 December.

The others were Alvescot, Ardington & Lockinge, Backthorn, Brightwell-cum-Sotwell, Buckland, Toot Baldon & Marsh Baldon, Dorchester, Elsfield, Charney Bassett, Kingham, Longworth, Sandford St Martin, Upton, Stanton Harcourt, Yarnton, and the Green Lane area of Ewelme.

Cllr Gant said: “This is another landmark moment for our 20mph policy. We believe these changes will make these towns and villages safer, quieter and less polluted places and will encourage more people to cycle and walk – reducing the county’s carbon footprint.

“There is a clear link between the speed of traffic and the likelihood of accidents happening in which people are killed or injured. You are seven times more likely to survive if you are hit by a car driving at 20mph than if you are hit at 30mph.”

Plans have been approved or are being worked on to implement 20mph limits in about 234 of the 310 parishes in Oxfordshire over the £8 million project’s three year period. Other towns to have adopted 20mph limits already include Witney and Abingdon.

The scheme is free to town and parish councils, with the county council funding sign-only changes for areas wishing to be part of the changes as long as locations meet the agreed criteria for 20mph restrictions.

Town and parish councils will be expected to fund any traffic calming measures or speed activated signs that may be required to support the new limit in their areas.

While the council has been working alongside Thames Valley Police, the emphasis is on drivers adhering to the new limits through a change of mindset, rather than enforcement. It is hoped that as 20mph areas become more common, breaking the limit will become socially unacceptable for drivers.

The 20mph programme also fits in with the council’s Vision Zero policy, which aims to eliminate all deaths and serious injuries from Oxfordshire’s roads by 2050.

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Following Oxfordshire County Council’s cabinet’s decision to allocate £1.2 million to improve rural public and community transport, further new services will be launched this month to connect more villages back to the bus network, market towns and Oxford.

Councillor Andrew Gant, Oxfordshire County Council’s Cabinet Member for Transport Management, said: “This is more good news for bus users on top of improved services announced last month – a £1 single fare cap for Sundays in December; the imminent arrival of a new fleet of electric buses for Oxford; and the extension of our park and ride joint parking and ticketing deal.

“Many people rely on buses to get around the county, and beyond, and we’re committed to working with providers to make it as easy and reliable for them to do so.”

From Monday 6 November, the following services will begin:

• 122/123: Watlington to Reading via Nettlebed, Stoke Row, Checkendon, Rotherfield Peppard and Kidmore End. This will run on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, through Red Rose Travel
• 126/127: Watlington to Thame via Lewknor, Postcombe, Tetsworth, The Miltons, Chalgrove, The Haseleys and Moreton. This will run on Tuesdays and Thursdays through Red Rose Travel.

From Monday 27 November, these services will be in operation:

• 68: Longcot, Fernham, Uffington, Kingston Lisle, Westcot, Sparsholt, Childrey and the Letcombes to Wantage and Faringdon. This will run from Monday to Saturday through Pulhams Coaches.
• 108: Forest Hill, Stanton St John, Beckley, Horton-cum-Studley, Blackthorn and Piddington to Oxford and Bicester. This will run from Monday to Saturday and is being operated by Oxford Bus Company.

Timetables will be available shortly from Traveline and individual operator websites.

Revisions to the Villager Community Bus V26 service to link Ramsden with Witney, and providing new journeys on Thursdays, began in early October. Further new services linking several villages north of Bicester and north of Banbury are anticipated to begin in February 2024.

These new services are in addition to those funded by the government through the council’s successful Bus Service Improvement Plan, including restoration of a service between Carterton and Swindon, new express peak buses from Carterton and Banbury to Oxford and improvements to other strategic inter-urban routes throughout the county.

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Firefighters from Oxfordshire County Council’s Fire and Rescue Service will be playing some Halloween themed games and providing guided tours of the fire engines. There will be a pumpkin carving competition, raffle prizes and some trick or treat shenanigans.

Anyone wanting to enter the pumpkin carving competition should post a picture of their pumpkin on Thame Fire Station’s Facebook page. Full instructions are provided on the page.

Firefighters will judge entries and invite the ten shortlisted entrants to each bring their pumpkin to the open evening where the winner will be announced and awarded a special prize.

Firefighter Lisa Norgate-Barnes, from Thame Fire Station, said: “As on-call firefighters, we work and live in the local community, with the fire station a pivotal landmark in our town centre.

“This event is a great way for residents to find out more about what we do and for many to achieve an ambition, to sit in the cab of a fire engine. We hope it will be spookily exciting, with lots of fun and plenty of sweets for children and adults alike.

“Our spooktacular event is free but we are also raising funds for The Firefighters Charity. These events help support every member of the fire service by providing a broad range of health and wellbeing services.”

Notes to editors

Thame Fire Station is based on Nelson Street, OX9 2DP

Photograph: Thame firefighters from left to right are Dan O’Neill, Adam Sims, and Lisa Norgate-Barnes.

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The two hour adults cycling with confidence training sessions  are being run by Oxfordshire County Council’s Fire and Rescue Service and are taking place:

• 3 July, 10am - 12 noon at Didcot Fire Station
• 11 September, 10am - 12 noon, at Seacourt Park and Ride in Botley, Oxford
• 13 September, 10am - 12 noon, at Kidlington Fire Station
• 26 September, 10am - 12 noon, at Bicester Fire Station
• 17 October, 10am - 12 noon at Thame Fire Station
• 7 November, 10am - 12 noon at Redbridge Park & Ride in Oxford.

They can be booked by emailing:

roadsafety.education@Oxfordshire.gov.uk

The session is practical. Participants should come with their bike, safety helmet and appropriate clothing.

Andy Ford, from Oxfordshire County Council’s Fire and Rescue Service’ community safety team, said: “Cycling is a great way to exercise and is an environmentally friendly form of transport. However, it is important that anyone using their bike is familiar with the Highway Code and the safety critical dos and don’ts, particularly on busy main roads and at junctions.”

 Safety advice is also available on Oxfordshire Fire and Rescue Service’s website

Cycle Safety | 365Alive including:

• Cycle at least half a metre from the kerb to avoid drains and gutters.
• Never pass nearside between traffic and the pavement especially close to junctions, particularly when there are large vehicles where the driver may not have seen you in their wing mirrors.
• Do not ride on the pavement, except where it is designated as a cycle path. Where this is provided, moderate your speed and take care when passing pedestrians and give way at junctions.
• If a road junction is busy, do not feel you have to continue cycling. You can always get off, push your bike, or walk on the pavement.
• Do not weave in and out of traffic or change direction suddenly without signalling.
• Give pedestrians priority when necessary.
• Use your bell to inform other road users of your presence. Fit a bell if your bicycle is not fitted with one.
• If you are not confident cycling in moving traffic you may want to consider further cycle training.
• Wear a cycle helmet, high-visibility clothing or accessories.

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Oxfordshire County Council has secured £520,415 from the government’s Active Travel Capability Fund to invest in improving access to active travel options across the county. 

This investment will be used to deliver projects that enable more people to walk, wheel or cycle as a first choice for local transport. It will also be used to enhance high streets and improve access to work and education. 

Active Travel Minister, Jesse Norman, announced an additional £32.9 million of government funding under an Active Travel Capability Fund last week. The fund supports Active Travel England’s ambition for half of all journeys within English towns and cities to be made through walking, wheeling, or cycling by 2030. 

The funding enables the council to deliver more of its wider active travel strategy across South and Vale, Cherwell and West Oxfordshire districts. 

Ongoing reporting on shifts to active modes of travel in Oxford, Bicester, and Witney over the last two years all show increases ranging from six to 33 per cent. 

Councillor Duncan Enright, Cabinet Member for Travel and Development Strategy, said: “This is fantastic news. It will help us to support people across the county to get around quicker, easier and more safely. Our ambitions to make Oxford a champion cycling city are well advanced and we are working to improve cycling, walking and wheeling routes around the county. 

“We aim to work closely with community groups, workplaces and schools over the coming year to develop and implement positive change in people’s access to better travel options. This will, help Oxfordshire to reduce car journeys by at least a quarter by 2030 and double the numbers of journeys made by bike, on foot, or by wheelchair or scooter.” 

The active travel funding must be used for specific projects approved by the Department for Transport. The projects are expected to directly benefit more than 19,000 people locally and include: 

• Developing local cycling and walking infrastructure plans for Wantage and Grove and Thame. 
• Planning for priority cycleways identified in Banbury, Bicester, Kidlington, and Witney. 
• Extending the county council bike library scheme to enable low-income families to be able to cycle to school. 
• Sustaining use of the Street Tag walk to school app to encourage participation from more schools across the county. 
• Community cycle loan services, cycle maintenance training and community bike repair stands. 
• Implementing cycle safety support in secondary schools and workplaces. 
• Creating user-friendly local cycling and walking/wheeling maps. 

These initiatives are critical to enable people to change how they travel and to ensure that residents who face greater barriers to cycling and walking receive the support they need to become more physically active. 

Councillor Dan Levy, Oxfordshire County Council Active Travel Champion, said: “We are now focusing on our larger market towns to ensure we progress well with delivering an excellent cycling network across the county that provides joined-up routes. Through the start of this year we will be planning an inter-connected strategy ensuring that these new projects complement our existing active travel initiatives, including those we are embedding into new housing and transport delivery. These will answer local need and deliver on our wider ambitions for Oxfordshire as a leader in green travel options that are sustainable and practicable.” 

Ends 

For more information about this release contact the Oxfordshire County Council communications team on 01865 323870 or email press.office@oxfordshire.gov.uk 

Notes to editors 
• Active Travel England is an executive agency of the UK government Department for Transport. 
• Read the government’s press release on additional active travel funding. 


 

The final EV charging hub in the Park and Charge Oxfordshire project went live this month at Claremont short stay car park in Bicester.

It marks the completion of the 20th hub successfully delivered in the project and means a total of 250 EV charging points have been delivered across the county since May 2021.

Councillor Pete Sudbury, Oxfordshire County Council’s Cabinet Member for Climate Change Delivery and Environment, said: “The reaction from Oxfordshire residents has been overwhelmingly positive, from EV drivers and prospective EV drivers alike.

“Park and Charge is enabling local people who don’t have private off-street parking to have a convenient location to charge their EVs overnight, meaning more Oxfordshire residents have the opportunity to drive electric. It’s another great reason to make sure your next vehicle is an EV.”

The hubs have been seeing very promising usage level with over 3,300 individual EV charging sessions taking place across the Park and Charge network in October alone – a 23 per cent rise in the number of charging sessions since the previous month.

The EV chargers have been designed and produced by local Bicester-based company – EZ Charge – who will operate the chargers for the next 10 years.

Oxfordshire has the highest uptake of electric vehicles (EVs) in the country, with 32 per cent of all new vehicles sold in August being fully battery electric EVs.

The 20 Park and Charge locations, each containing between 10 and 16 EV charging points, are:

• Cattle Market and Claremont car parks in Bicester
• Curtis Place car park, Kidlington
• Windsor Street and Calthorpe Street West car parks in Banbury
• Woodford Way car park in Witney
• Black Bourton car park in Carterton
• Hensington Road car park in Woodstock
• Back Lane car park in Eynsham
• New Street car park in Chipping Norton
• Cattlemarket and Goldsmith’s Lane car parks in Wallingford
• Kings Road and Greys Road car parks in Henley
• Southern Road car park in Thame
• West St Helens, Audlett Drive and Cattle Market car parks in Abingdon
• Portway car park in Wantage
• Southampton Road car park in Faringdon.

Councillor Sue Cooper, South Oxfordshire District Council Cabinet Member for Environment, Climate Change and Nature Recovery, said: “We’ve been pleased with the interest in the EV chargers in South Oxfordshire, with one car park in Henley alone having more than 1,000 sessions in its first three months. The uptake of charging bays has been higher than expected in some car parks but in others it will take longer as habits change.

“Having plenty of spaces to charge EVs will help those thinking of buying an EV but do not have a charging point at their property.”

Councillor Sally Povolotsky, Vale of White Horse District Council Cabinet Member for Climate Emergency and Environment, said: “We’ve been very pleased to bring EV chargers to the Vale-run car parks as part of our council goals to reduce carbon emissions. There has already been a high rate of EV ownership in Oxfordshire which is why we have undertaken this long-term project investing in the infrastructure to make it easier for those to make the switch to an EV whether or not they have access to easy charging at home.

“The scheme has been designed to encourage local residents without off-street parking to switch to an EV as they can park and charge in our car parks overnight. This has already proved popular in Abingdon with nearly 20 per cent of charging sessions at West St Helen car park being done overnight.”

Councillor Andrew Prosser, Cabinet Member for Climate Change at West Oxfordshire District Council, said: “Latest statistics suggest that a third of all new cars bought in Oxfordshire are now fully battery electric, which is well ahead of the rest of the UK. Projects such as Park and Charge are helping to build countywide EV infrastructure that supports this growth in EV ownership.

“We want to make it easier for EV drivers to charge up and give motorists the confidence to purchase their first electric vehicle. Maximising opportunities to grow this network will accelerate the shift to ultra-low emission transport and our pathway to net zero carbon emissions.”

Councillor Dan Sames, Cherwell District Council’s Portfolio Holder for Cleaner and Greener Communities, said: “The pioneering EV charging project has exceeded expectations and usage continues to grow. We are delighted to have been able to expand the project and create more charging hubs within Cherwell.”

The £5.4 million project was funded by grants from Innovate UK and the Office for Zero Emissions Vehicles as well as private investment from local companies Zeta and Urban Integrated. It has provided the biggest ever single boost to public EV charging infrastructure in the county.

The network of ‘fast’ EV chargers have a power rating of 7kW to 22kW, which means EV drivers can get between 25 and 75 miles of charge for every hour they charge, depending on the rate at which their vehicle can charge. These innovative chargers are highly robust and reliable, and have multiple payment options including contactless ‘tap and go’, ensuring that EV drivers can always get a charge when they need one.

More details on how to use the chargers and the Park and Charge scheme are available at www.parkandchargeoxfordshire.co.uk.

The Park and Charge project is a key part of the Oxfordshire Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Strategy, which was named Public Sector Infrastructure Strategy of the Year at the 2022 Electric Vehicle Innovation & Excellence Awards (EVIEs).

Oxfordshire County Council is currently working with all other councils across Oxfordshire to roll out further residential EV charging hubs in car parks right across the county, pending securing appropriate funding.

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A full pressurised water supply has now been returned to households and businesses (in OX1, OX2, OX3, OX4, OX9, OX10, OX14, OX33, OX39 (4NA), OX44, HP17 and HP18) that were affected by a burst water main on Tuesday 4 October at the Heyford Hill roundabout on the Oxford Ring Road.

Any residents who experience low water pressure are asked to report the problem by contacting Thames Water. Residents can also access information on what to expect when the water is back on at Thames Water’s website.

The A4142 Eastern Bypass from Heyford Hill to Rose Hill Roundabout re-opened on Sunday morning.

Anyone who needs to travel by car, should plan ahead and can check @OxonTravel for updates and the county’s park and ride options.

Thanks to the work of Home First – a joint venture between Oxfordshire County Council, Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (OUH), and Oxford Health NHS Foundation Trust (OH), John’s dream became a reality when he went with his daughter to Buckingham Palace on Wednesday 18 May 2022.

John, who is in his nineties and lives in Thame, came into contact with the Home First team back in March 2022 following a hospital stay for a broken hip.

He first came to the UK as a child as part of the famous Kindertransport that rescued thousands of Jewish children from mainland Europe in the 1930s. He was awarded in the Queen’s 2020 New Year’s Honours List for his work with the National Holocaust Centre, educating over 40,000 children and young people. He has also published a book about his experiences.

With his award celebration having been delayed for two years due to COVID-19 restrictions, he made it his goal to be able to walk independently and collect his award in May.

Upon being discharged from hospital, John worked closely with his Home First physiotherapist Sinead and other members of the team to improve his mobility and was soon seeing progress. 

Sally Steele, System Lead for Home First at Oxfordshire County Council, said: “From the very start, John was incredibly motivated and worked tirelessly in his recovery. 

“With just a few little extra bits of equipment, such as a walker and a grab rail by his  front door, John's been able to get back into the swing of things in no time – meeting friends and going on short walks locally.  

“He’s still working hard and has even asked for more exercises to improve his strength and balance!”

John himself has nothing but praise for the support he received both from the ambulance team that first saw him to the Home First team helping him regain his independence. He said: “One notices the stress. Of course, you’re aware services are stretched and sometimes there’s a little bit of a wait. But the care I received from March, from the ambulance team, the hospital staff and the care team has been 100 per cent.”

The support of his friends and family was also a big help, John added: “Behind all the support, I have had a group of friends who are prayerful and faithful. I have found that whenever good things have happened, a group of people have been praying.”

Councillor Tim Bearder, Oxfordshire County Council’s Cabinet Member for Adult Social Care, said: “I am so pleased to hear that John managed to collect his medal and attend a celebration at Buckingham Palace as he had hoped. This is just another example of how Home First makes such a difference to individuals across the county. This way of working allows them to return to their communities and live the lives they want to lead.”

Louise Johnson, Deputy Director for urgent care at OUH, said: “This is another great example of how the Home First approach can really make a difference.  We’re delighted to hear of John’s progress and what it has allowed him to do.

“By helping people regain their independence and continuing our 'home first' approach, the team can continue to deliver safe, effective care and support in the most appropriate and often happiest setting for our patients.”

John was awarded his medal by Oxfordshire's Lord-Lieutenant and attended a Buckingham Palace garden party to celebrate his investiture. 

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 Award-winning novelist Claire, who was born in Chinnor, visited the library to give an interview to local media. In celebration of her visit, the library put on displays showcasing her work and pieces of memorabilia dating back from when she was a member of the library as a child.

 Claire talked of her fond memories spent reading books at Chinnor Library and has credited her experiences there as a significant influence in her decision to become an author.

 Councillor Neil Fawcett, Oxfordshire County Council’s Cabinet Member for Consumer Services, said: “It is marvelous to have Claire return to her hometown here in Oxfordshire to promote our libraries and instill a love of reading in children. It is also inspiring to hear that her own positive experiences of our libraries helped her become an author.

 “I hope that her success can inspire young people across the county. Visiting a local library and using the wider services can have a profound positive impact on children later in life – as Claire attests. We want to encourage all young people in Oxfordshire to become library users – it is free, and there are no reservation charges for children.

 “Our ambition for the service is embedded in our new proposed libraries and heritage strategy, which is open for consultation until 18 March 2022. More information is available on our consultation and engagement platform Let’s Talk Oxfordshire.”

 Find out more about Oxfordshire’s libraries, including upcoming events, on Oxfordshire County Council’s website.

About Claire Fuller

Claire Fuller first began writing fiction at the age of 40 after many years of working in marketing. She was born and raised just outside of Chinnor before moving to Winchester to attend university  where she now resides with her family.

Her four novels are Unsettled Ground (Costa Novel Award 2021, and shortlisted for the 2021 Women's Prize for Fiction), the critically acclaimed Bitter Orange (longlisted for the International Dublin Literary Award), Swimming Lessons (shortlisted for the Encore Prize, and Livre de Poche Prize in France), and Our Endless Numbered Days (winner of the 2015 Desmond Elliott Prize for debut fiction). Her novels have been translated into 20 languages.

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Following the installation of the first park and charge EV hub at Bicester’s Cattle Market car park in May, the locations of the remaining 19 sites have been announced. Work started earlier this month and is due to be completed by March 2022.

The park and charge scheme allows residents without off-street parking to park for free overnight and charge up using a ‘fast’ 7 - 22kw EV charging point. The chargers will also provide much needed battery top-ups to commuters and visitors during the daytime.

The project is being delivered by a consortium of partners including Oxfordshire County Council, University of Oxford, Urban Integrated UK, and Bicester firm Zeta Lighting which is running the EV charging service under the trading name EZ-Charge. Cherwell, West Oxfordshire, South Oxfordshire and the Vale of White Horse District Councils are also supporting the scheme and hosting the EV charging hubs.

Councillor Pete Sudbury, Oxfordshire County Council’s Cabinet Member for Climate Change Delivery and Environment, said: “Many councillors have already had residents who don't have off-street parking asking about charging EVs, and we at the county council know we need to accelerate different solutions to that problem. Park and charge is a key part of the Oxfordshire EV strategy, helping people to move away from using diesel and petrol vehicles.”

The locations set to benefit from park and charge hubs, each containing between 10 and 16 EV charging points, are:

• Claremont car park, Bicester
• Curtis Place car park, Kidlington
• Windsor Street and Calthorpe Street West car parks in Banbury
• Woodford Way car park in Witney
• Black Bourton car park in Carterton
• Hensington Road car park, Woodstock
• Back Lane car park, Eynsham
• New Street car park, Chipping Norton
• Cattlemarket and Goldsmiths Lane car parks in Wallingford
• Kings Road and Greys Road car parks in Henley
• Southern Road car park, Thame
• West St Helens, Audlett Drive and Cattle Market car parks in Abingdon
• Portway car park in Wantage
• Southampton Road car park in Faringdon.

Councillor Sue Cooper, South Oxfordshire District Council’s Cabinet Member for Environment, Climate Change and Nature Recovery, said: “This is great news for residents as they will have access to 62 new chargers across the district. This could be the difference to those living in Thame, Wallingford and Henley, to make the switch to EV ownership knowing they have easy access to charging points. Being part of this project also shows the council’s determination to take action to tackle the climate emergency, which we are prioritising as part of our corporate plan.”

Councillor Catherine Webber, Vale of White Horse District Council Cabinet member for the Environment and Climate Emergency, said: “We are delighted that we can accommodate so many EV charging points across the Vale in our car parks. It should really help those wishing to switch to EVs but who live in town centres such as Abingdon, Faringdon and Wantage and have on-street parking which can make it difficult to access charging. More chargers should mean more people can make the switch to cleaner travel.”

Councillor Dan Sames, Cherwell District Council’s Lead Member for Clean and Green, said: “The pioneering electric vehicle charging project has exceeded expectations and usage continues to grow. We are delighted to be able to expand the project and create more charging hubs within Cherwell. The added bonus is that we are using home grown technology developed by a Bicester-based company.”

Councillor David Harvey, Cabinet Member for Climate Change at West Oxfordshire District Council, said: “With transport emissions being the largest contributor to greenhouse gases and air pollution in the district, moving to electric vehicles is a hugely important step in reaching our local and national net zero targets. The positive news is that recent statistics suggest that one in six cars now sold have a plug. We are delighted to be a partner in the park and charge Oxfordshire project, which will see more EV charging points installed across the county and here in West Oxfordshire, making it even easier for residents and business to make the switch to ultra-low emission vehicles.”

It is predicted that by 2030, one in five cars on Oxfordshire’s roads will be an EV, according to data modelling by the University of Oxford.

The £5.4 million programme is among the first of its kind in the UK and is being funded by the Office for Zero Emissions Vehicles through Innovate UK and the government’s On-Street Residential Charging Scheme.

Transport Minister Trudy Harrison said: “Providing accessible and reliable charging infrastructure is fundamental in our mission to achieve net-zero. I am delighted Oxfordshire County Council has received funding through our £20m On-Street Residential Chargepoint scheme and I hope it gives the area a boost to go green and to make it easier for drivers to make the important switch to electric.”

More details about the scheme are available on the Park and Charge website.

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The music groups are aimed at children who have been playing an instrument for at least a term and up to grade 5 and who are looking to develop their skills and performance with other players of similar ages. They will offer a fun, safe supportive atmosphere where children can make new friends and improve their playing by performing with others.

The 90-minute Saturday music centre sessions are available through school term times from 18 September and are available in Bicester, Oxford, Didcot, Thame and Witney.

Councillor Neil Fawcett, Cabinet Member for Community Services and Safety, said: “Culture plays a very important part in the lives our communities and this is especially true for our children. After the restrictions we’ve had to adapt to through the pandemic, the resumption of the music group sessions is a very welcome part of our commitment to the cultural life of children in the county.

“Evidence has found that learning music is best when you play with other people - it's more fun, and you make faster progress - come along to play in a band or group with children the same age and standard and have fun playing your instrument with others.”

Music centre instructors will offer expert tuition to allow the children in the sessions to develop their musical skills by playing as a group in an orchestral style. All of our instructors are DBS checked and risk assessments and safety precautions are being taken to reduce the risks of COVID-19 transmission.

Booking lessons is easy; parents can visit the council’s webpage, select the nearest venue and reserve a place. The groups will run on an ongoing basis through school terms. Participating children will need to bring their own instruments to the sessions.

The sessions will run each Saturday from 9am until 10.30am.

The new sessions come after school choirs and bands have not been able to rehearse together for more than a year, and children learning to play an instrument had to rely on remote instruction from their teachers.

The current service 120 route from Aylesbury to Haddenham in Buckinghamshire is being extended to Thame town centre, after which it will serve some residential areas of the town that have seen little or no bus coverage in recent years.

Bill Cotton, Oxfordshire County Council’s Director of Environment and Place, said: “This improved service is positive news for residents of Thame; we’ve worked with Redline Buses to connect people with real upgrades in services.

“This is particularly important as we look toward recovery from the pandemic and as a means of reducing our individual environmental impact within growing communities. The improved 120 route will also mean real travel choices for people as we look to cut transport emissions and improve air quality too.”

Taj Khan, Managing Director of Redline Buses, said: “We are a locally owned and managed bus company and are delighted to be working in close partnership with Oxfordshire County Council in providing this new route serving the residents of Thame. I look forward to working with the local community in developing this route into an attractive and sustainable service for the town.”

The enhanced service operates six times a day, Monday to Friday (except public holidays), on a one-way anti-clockwise loop around Thame, restoring links to the Towersey Drive area lost in 2016 as well as providing a new service to Cromwell Avenue. The service is being supported by new funding on an 18-month trial from the county council.

The first journey from Towersey Drive is at 08.40, with the last return from Thame Town Hall at 13.50. Buses operate broadly hourly between these times. The sections of route on Towersey Drive and Cromwell Avenue are hail and ride, meaning passengers can board or alight at any safe place on these sections of road.

Beyond Thame, buses operate to/from Haddenham and Thame Parkway station and Aylesbury. Concessionary pass holders can use the service after 09.00.

The council has awarded over £9 million of local bus contracts in the past 18 months.

Further details of the route timetable by visiting the timetable online.

Regular handwashing, keeping a safe distance from others, minimising the handling of goods and wearing face coverings are among vital steps libraries are taking to #stopthespread.

Allie Thomlinson and Kim Kearney from our library service have both been central to the reopening of our libraries during Summer in their areas of the county. Oxfordshire’s libraries have been gradually reopening with 20 of the 44 now open for business - and work behind the scenes has not stopped.

Allie lives in Thame and is the group library manager for the Thame group of libraries which includes the Wheatley, Watlington and Chinnor sites. She has been working for the county’s library service for 37 years and started her career aged 16 at the Blackbird Leys library in Oxford in the early 1980s. After spending 28 years of her career at Oxford Central Library, Allie moved to the Thame branch in 2010 and became group library manager from 2012.

Thame Library reopened in July but before that could happen, lots of planning was required to keep residents and staff safe. In the early part of the lockdown, Allie was working with colleagues across the library service; planning for reopening of as many sites as possible with all the measures that would be required. To keep staff safe, these planning meetings were held online using Microsoft Teams. Senior library staff then came up with a series of measures and risk assessments to allow libraries to open again after a number of important steps were taken to #stopthespread.

Allie said: “As an individual, hand washing is something I do, many times a day and wearing a mask. We’ve also staggered staff start times and allowed them to work at home when possible. The safety changes mean that quarantining books for 72 hours is now standard. We’ve also introduced test and trace forms, hand sanitiser at the door as well as limiting visits to the library to 30 minutes. The number of people able to access the building at any single time is now 12 library users plus four staff at any time.

“Another handy thing we’ve done to make life easier and keep people safe is to introduce a book drop box if people do not want to come inside. This can be used both when the library is open or closed.”

“Other important steps are also being taken to keep you and librarians safe including an extra visit by a cleaner at midday to make sure a full and rigorous extra level of sanitisation is made. We are also asking visitors to pay by card to help reduce the risk further. It is still possible to pay for photocopying by coins.”

“Many staff have even gone as far as to record or hold Zoom sessions of activities that would normally be held at libraries including popular reading events and rhymetimes.

Amid the lockdown and school holidays, demand for books and materials has soared; an important plea to residents now is to return children’s picture books as soon as you can. The quarantine process and demand means that available stocks of picture books are now very low.

Library users can now return items with no risk with the book drop boxes accessible in or out of opening hours. People can also of course return them inside our safely-adapted libraries if you want to.

Kim, the Group Library Manager for Abingdon manages our sites in Cowley, Blackbird Leys, Littlemore & Kennington and has also taken measures to #stopthespread.

She’s been at Abingdon since April 2017 and joined the service in January 2007..But she wanted to join a lot earlier! When she left school in 1985, the first job she applied for was as a library assistant at Abingdon Library but went onto a career in banking as well as working for a lettings agency in Didcot before starting work where she had first applied to..in 1985!

Kim said: “We took a consultative approach to look at what was possible. To keep people safe, we have removed furniture such as study tables and chairs and repositioned self-service machines to allow people to keep a safe distance. We have moved some book stock to allow room for book quarantine as well as fitting protective screens up at service counters. We’ve also installed a new area in lobby for a no-contact book drop and we now have a person to meet & greet visitors at the entrance and ask them fill in a test & trace form.”

Kim follows the guidelines to #stopthespread: She wears a mask and washes her hands very regularly as well as keeping a two-metre distance from staff and visitors.

Kim also says that now the changes have been made, she’d love to see more residents return to use the libraries:

“We welcome residents to come back to our libraries; we are only at a third of our previous level of visitors. We have taken extensive steps to keep you safe and we’d be very glad to see you again soon.”

In the earlier period of the lockdown, a number of library staff played a vital role by adapting their customer service and administration skills to frontline needs. This included moving to meet the immediate needs at the Registration service, by acting as marshals at Household Waste Recycling Centres and by making calls to vulnerable residents to support them though their needs in the emergency.

Organising a fireworks display? Let us know and we’ll list it here. Keep checking back for more great suggestions for bonfire night!

Saturday 27th October
 

• Family Fireworks Spectacular at Edward Feild Primary School (Kidlington)

• Weston On The Green Village Fireworks (Weston On The Green)

• Nettlebed Halloween Spooktacular Fireworks at Sue Ryder (Nettlebed)

Friday 2nd November

• South Stoke Bonfire & Firework Night (South Stoke)

• Bonfire & Firework night at Far Peak Campsite (North Leach)

• Deddington CofE School PTA’s Firework Night (Deddington)

• Hanborough musical fireworks (Long Hanborough)

• Grove RFC Fireworks (Grove)

• Checkendon School Association Fireworks (Checkendon)

• Mill Lane School Fireworks, Chinnor

Saturday 3rd November

• Oxford Fireworks South Park – The Oxford Round Table charity firework display (Oxford)

• Halloween Fireworks Display at Blenheim Palace (Woodstock)

• Thame Fireworks (Thame)

• 2nd Abingdon Scouts Fireworks Display (Abingdon)

• Charlbury Cricket Club Bonfire Night (Charlbury)

• Bicester Round Table Fireworks Display (Bicester)

• RAL Rec-soc fireworks display & disco (Harwell)

• Wallingford 1155 Fireworks & Bonfire (Wallingford)

• Dorchester on Thames village fireworks (Dorchester on Thames)

• Faringdon Fireworks and Bonfire (Faringdon)

• Kingham Village Fireworks and Bonfire (Kingham)

• Thame Fireworks @ Lord William’s Lower School (Thame)

• Standlake Village Hall (Standlake) Bonfire & Fireworks

Sunday 4th November

• Fireworks Night at Phyllis Court (Henley)

• Witney RFC Bonfire and Fireworks Spectacular (Witney)

• Didcot Pyromusical Fireworks Display (Didcot)

• Fireworks Night at Bicester hotel and golf & spa (Chesterton, nr Bicester)

• Bicester Round Table Fireworks (Bicester)

Monday 5th November

• The Plough’s free firework night (Wolvercote)

• UPDATED! Bodicote Fireworks Display: Gates open 5.45, display 7.30 £4 entry, under 5's free!

Saturday 10th November

• Abingdon Festival of Fireworks (Dalton Barracks, Abingdon)

• Kirtlington Fireworks Display (Kirtlington)

If you do, report them to us via Fix My Street and we will carry out a repair like the ones in the photos.

Here, on the A329 Rycote Lane, Thame, our team have used a technique called Paco Patching – a technique specifically designed to deal with this sort of repair.

finding and cleaning blocked drains means they work more effectively and also help prevent flooding.

To report a blocked drain, or any other problem you find on the highway, visit fixmystreet.oxfordshire.gov.uk

A defibrillator delivers a dose of electric current (often called a countershock) to the heart when problems have occurred.

A total of seven county councillors have so far undergone the training and Cllr Hudspeth was today joined by another five fellow county councillors: Cllr Nick Carter (Thame & Chinnor), Cllr Mike Fox-Davies (Hendreds & Harwell), Cllr Lorraine Lindsay-Gale (Berinsfield & Garsington), Cllr Susanna Pressel (Oxford Jericho & Osney) and Cllr Hudspeth (Woodstock).

The training is delivered by Dick Tracey who served as an Ambulance Commander with South Central Ambulance Service for 23 years. He recently retired and is devoting his time to raising money towards having defibrillators installed and spreading the word about how important they are.

Councillor Hudspeth said: “I enjoyed the training a great deal. As many people as possible should know how to use a defibrillator and I know that Dick Tracey has made it his mission to make sure they and the skills to use them are as widespread as possible in our county.”

Banbury Christmas Light Switch On

26 November, 17:00, FreeSwitch on 5pm around the tree outside the Town Hall. Launching Banbury into the festive season. Music, food, entertainment, and of course Santa!

'Christmas at Blenheim'

24th November-1st January

Witney Christmas Light Switch On

24 Nov 5pm-7pm Witney

Henley Christmas MarketFriday 17 November 12pm – 7pm, Saturday 18 November 9am-7pm, Sunday 19 November 10am-5pm, Free

Featuring a wide range of stalls this popular Christmas Market is the ideal place to find those perfect Christmas gifts, stocking fillers and delicious goodies for Christmas hampers

Oxford’s Christmas Light Festival17-19 November

A highlight that’s not to be missed, Oxford’s festive season has a dazzling start with the annual Christmas Light Festival weekend, one of the most exciting events held in the city centre. There are lots of fun events for everyone, as well as a festive market and food stalls.

Night of 1000 Candles, Woodstock

Saturday 25th November 2017

Town Square, Woodstock

Faringdon Nativity Lantern-Making Workshop 

28 November, 6-9pm, Free (Adults only)Your chance to make a lantern to be used in Faringdon’s Live Nativity with artist Emily Cooling. Adults only 20 places on a first come first served basis. Your Lantern will be used as part of the performance but will be available for collection after the event. All materials provided

Bicester Christmas Lights

November 30, Sheep Street, 4pm to 8pm

Didcot Christmas Street Fair

30 November 4pm – 9 pmBroadway and Orchard Centre

Kidlington Christmas Lights Switch onThursday 30^th November 5:30pm

December

Carterton Christmas Lights Switch-on

01 December 2017 16:30, Alvesdon Road 

Wantage Library Dickensian Evening

Dickensian Evening - A dizzying dickensian delight - Mill Street 1 Dec 16:00 - 23:00

Get into the Christmas spirit with some mince pies and hot chocolate at Wantage Library

Festive stories for the children between 6.30pm and 7pm! No need to book, just pop in

Thame’s Christmas Light Switch On

1 Dec - 12:00-22:00 High Street Thame

On Friday 1 December 2017, Thame will host its annual community Christmas event which typically attracts thousands of local residents and families all looking to spoil themselves or their loved ones with good food and great gifts, not to mention the lantern parade and fantastic selection of entertainment and attractions on offer, including the return of our popular Santa’s Grotto and Go-Karts! We will also be hosting a human-sized snow globe, for you and your family to take photos in and play in the snow!

Cogges Christmas Market

Saturday, 2 December 2017 to Sunday, 3 December 2017

10:00 - 16:00 (£2)

The Christmas market in the Wheat barn and Barley Barn will have over 60 stalls from local businesses, crafters and makers offering hand-made gifts, rural crafts, festive decor, and local produce, cakes, pies, speciality local beers and ciders, gift bags and hampers.

Meet Father Christmas in the manor house with a story.

Ramsden Christmas Market (Chipping Norton)

Saturday 2 December, £2 Adults, under 16’s free

The biggest and most magical Christmas market in West Oxfordshire, with over 50 stalls selling hand-made, ethically sourced or local crafts and gifts, locally produced and organic food items. The entire market is under cover and there will be musical entertainment throughout the afternoon. Santa Claus for the children, hot mulled wine and a bar for the grown-ups, cakes, teas - come and enjoy.

£2 Adults, under 16’s free

Abingdon Christmas Extravaganza

2 December, Market Place

Lights switched on at 6pm, as well as fireworks

Wallingford

Christmas Festival - Dec 3 2017

As well as the Christmas Festival in the Town Centre there’s also the Wallingford Santa Dash at Wallingford School, Join hundreds of Santas and run, walk or sleigh ride your way on this 3km run from Wallingford School to the Market Place.

Faringdon Town Nativity

8 December, 6pm, Free

This Christmas, for one night only, the centre of Faringdon will be transformed into Bethlehem! Faringdon Town Council has partnered with Faringdon Dramatic Society, Faringdon All Saints’, Faringdon Baptist Church and many other local organisations and community members in order to create a spectacular nativity for everyone to come and see. The Faringdon Town Nativity will take place on Friday 8th December, in the market square at 6pm and will include live acting, live singing, spectacular lightning and sound, beautiful lanterns, a donkey and three real camels!

Christmas in Chippy
Friday 8th of December

Dorchester Christmas Festival
Sunday 10 December 11am – 16:00pm

Eynsham Library Children’s Christmas Craft Event
21 December 2:30-4pm

There will be lots of fun things to do in the Library this afternoon between 2.30pm and 4.00pm. Festive makes, wordsearches, songs and stories. Suggested age 4-9 years, although younger or older siblings are more than welcome if they want to come along.

What have we missed?

There are so many brilliant events across the county that no doubt a few have fallen off our list! If you know of an event that’s somehow slipped us by, let us know the details in the comments below!

Not long to go before Christmas Markets start to appear across the county, and festive lights brighten up the night. We've scoured the interwebs for details of events across Oxfordshire to look forward to!

Traffic restrictions and road closures ahead of Remembrance Day parades and events this weekend.

11 November

Remembrance Day Witney
11 November 08-13:00
Church Green
Welch Way

Didcot Armistice Day Ceremony
11 November 10:55 - 11:05
B4493 High Street, Didcot

12 November

Abingdon
12 November 10:30 - 11:45
Ock Street

Chipping Norton
12 November 10:25-12:15
High Street

Burford
12 November 10:40 - 11:20
High Street

Carterton
12 November 10:15 - 11:30
Burford Road

Faringdon
12 November 09:00 - 12:30
Gloucester Street Gravel Walk

And11 November - Exhibition on A4095 Market Place

Marcham Remembrance Parade
12 November 10:30 - 12:30
New Road

Kennington
12 November 10:30 - 11:30
Kennington Road

Goring
12 November 10:50-11:15
Section of B471

Woodstock
10:00-12:30 Remembrance parade
Unknown road

Wantage
12 November 10:30 - 13:00
Market Place

Wallingford
12 November 10:00 - 12:00
St Martins Street

Benson Remembrance Parade
12 November 10:15 - 11:45

Remembrance Day - Chinnor
12 November 10:25 - 11:10

Henley Remembrance Sunday
12 November 10:15 - 12:00
Station Road

Charlbury
12:00-13:30
School Road

Didcot
12 November 10:20 - 11:30
Broadway

Harwell
12 November 10:20 - 11:30
B4493 Drewitts Corner

Grove
12 November 09:35 - 09:45
Main street

Godstow
12 November 10:20-11:45
Godstow road

Oxford: St Giles Remembrance Sunday Parade
12 November 07:00-14:00
St Giles

Thame
12 November 13:00
High Street

Have we missed any? Let us know in the comments.

The streets where work is scheduled to take place from Monday, September 25 are in Abingdon, Benson, Drayton, St Helen Without and Thame

The finance for the scheme as a whole comes from a £2.8m central Government grant and £1m of Oxfordshire County Council capital funding.

Blanket testing is taking place at the following locations during October:

• Oxford - Monday 2 October
• Banbury - Tuesday 3 October
• Witney - Wednesday 4 October
• Wallingford - Thursday 5 October
• Abingdon - Friday 6 October
• Oxford - Monday 16 October
• Bicester - Tuesday 17 October
• Chipping Norton - Wednesday 18 October
• Thame - Thursday 19 October
• Wantage - Friday 20 October

Councillor Judith Heathcoat, Oxfordshire County Council’s Deputy Leader, said: ““I urge people to book their place at one of the testing days. As the cold winter months approach, many people will be dusting off their electric blankets ready for use.

"If the condition of the blanket is allowed to deteriorate there is the possibility that it could have become faulty, which could lead to injury and fire.

“We want to ensure that they are still safe for use, so come along and encourage any elderly neighbours to attend too. It is better to be safe than sorry.”

In 2016 831 blankets were tested and 177 blankets failed, a rate of 21%.

To book your safety check appointment call 01865 898642 or email: communityengagement@oxfordshire.gov.uk

ENDS

Notes to editors:

· This advice is part of Oxfordshire County Council’s Fire and Rescue Service’s 365alive initiative.

· For more information about the initiative, please visit www.365alive.co.uk

This year’s summer reading challenge, Oxfordshire Reads, will tackle the themes of "Hidden Depths” and “Eureka” - talking about books which are not always as they seem and those which feature a sudden moment of revelation.

The event at Thame Library, which takes place on Friday, 4 August at 2.30pm, is free to attend – just contact local library staff for a ticket.

Countywide events

Events across Oxfordshire will include talks, quizzes and social media discussions urging readers to recommend this summer’s hottest thrillers, journeys of discovery, or twisting tales of deceit.

Visitors to all 43 of the county council’s libraries will also be encouraged to enter a prize draw by writing on postcards about the books they love. Prizes include tickets for Blenheim Palace, Cotswold Wildlife Park, Roald Dahl Museum, Oxford Ice Rink, Waterperry Gardens, Wychwood Brewery, Didcot Railway Centre and the Randolph Hotel.

Oxfordshire Reads kicks off this Saturday (8 July) and runs until 9 September.

Come and talk about books sessions

The following events are free to attend and include light refreshments – just contact the relevant library for a ticket.

• Friday 4 August 2.30pm Come and Talk About Crime Books Thame
• Monday 7 August 5.30pm Come and Talk About Graphic Novels Bicester (for fans of comics, graphic novels and manga. Suitable for 14yrs+)
• Tuesday 15 August 2.30pm Come and Talk About Books Benson
• Wednesday 16 August 2pm Come and Talk About Books Hook Norton
• Thursday 24 August 2pm Come and Talk About Books Carterton
• Friday 8th September 6.30pm Come and Talk About Books Wantage

Find out more on the webpage www.oxfordshire.gov.uk/oxfordshirereads

Full list of Prizes:

• Bill Spectre's Ghost Trail Ticket for 4
• Blenheim Palace Ticket for 2 adults & 2 children
• Bodleian Library 5 books about Oxford
• Bowlplex Oxford 4 tickets for bowling
• Cogges Manor Farm Family Day entry
• Cotswold Wildlife Park Ticket for 1 adult and 1 child
• Crocodiles of the World Ticket for 1 adult and 1 child
• Didcot Railway Centre Family ticket for 4
• Oxford Botanic Garden Annual Pass
• Oxford Bus Museum Family ticket
• Oxford Ice Rink Family skate- 2 adults and 3 children
• Randolph Hotel £50 voucher
• Roald Dahl Museum Golden Ticket for 2 adults and 3 children
• Theatre, Chipping Norton 2 tickets
• Waterperry Gardens Season ticket for 2 people
• Wychwood Brewery 2 tickets for a brewery tour

Community services will complement the council’s new service for 0-19 year-olds, which will meet the needs and aspirations of children at risk of abuse and neglect in Oxfordshire, and ensure that families who need extra help are identified at an early stage.

Total adds up

When added to previously considered applications, the approval of these latest proposals would give a total of 25 funded community schemes for services such as ‘stay and play’ to continue at children’s centres across the county.

On top of this, open access sessions are continuing at the Children and Family Centres and satellite centres at the heart of the council’s new Children’s Service.

Fantastic response

Oxfordshire County Council’s Cabinet Member for Local Communities Councillor Mark Gray said: “Over the last year we have seen a tremendous response from local communities who have taken up the baton for the delivery of open access children’s services across the county.

“In many cases what parents will see when they come into these centres will be little different from when they were fully funded by the council, and that’s testament to the commitment and hard work of local people who have made this happen.”

He added: “It has never been the council’s desire to see children’s centres close, and through the transition fund we have worked alongside a large number of community groups to help them bring their plans to fruition.”

List of applicants / children’s centres recommended to receive third-round transition funding:

• Ambrosden 4 Children (Ambrosden Children’s Centre): £5,964

• Donnington Doorstep (Florence Park Children’s Centre): £32,239

• St Johns Church – Grove PCC (Grove & Wantage Children’s Centres): £40,000

• HBC Superdads (Marston Northway Children’s Centre): £5,940

• Henley Baptist Church and D:two (Rainbow Children’s Centre): £8,000 (Received £21,900 in previous funding round)

• Abingdon Baby Café (North Abingdon Children’s Centre): £5,000

• Abingdon Carousel (South Abingdon Children’s Centre): £35,500

• Sunshine Centre (Sunshine Children’s Centre): £18,585

• Witney Churches (Witney Children’s Centre): £30,000

• Friends of Brittania Road (Brittania Road Children’s Centre, Banbury): £6,414

• The Kings Church (South Didcot): £20,000

  List of proposals approved in second round transition funding:

• Ace Centre Charity (Ace Centre, Chipping Norton): £29.983
• Barton Community Association (Barton EI Satellite, Oxford): £14,000
• Employment Action Group (Berinsfield Children’s Centre): £35,000
• Chalgrove Primary School (Chalgrove and Watlington Children’s Centres) £30,000
• Faringdon Town Council (Faringdon Children’s Centre): £30,000
• Kidlington with Hampton Poyle PCC (Kaleidoscope Children’s Centre, Kidlington): £35,000
• Friends of Maple Tree (Maple Tree Children’s Centre, Wheatley): £30,000
• Cutteslowe Community Association (North Oxford Children’s Centre): £30,000
• Wallingford Town Council (Wallingford Children’s Centre): £30,000

List of proposals approved in first round:

• Bloxham Primary School (Butterfly Meadows, Children’s Centre): £29,384
• Carterton Town Council (Carterton Children’s Centre): £30,000
• Botley Bridges (Elms Road Children’s Centre, Oxford): £30,000
• Grandpont Nursery (Grandpont Children’s Centre, Oxford): £35,600
• St Nicholas Primary School (Marston Northway Children’s Centre): £8,000
• Sharing Life Trust (Red Kite Children’s Centre, Thame): £30,000

List of Children and Family Centres and satellite centres:

• Banbury
• Bicester
• Witney
• Abingdon
• Didcot
• Barton
• Rose Hill
• Blackbird Leys
• East Oxford (satellite centre)
• Banbury (satellite centre).

In total there are around 200 voluntary sector daytime support providers for older people and people with disabilities in Oxfordshire. In excess of 150 of these operate without any financial support from the county council. More than 40 currently receive funding that covers some or all of their costs.

The council wants to support as many of these services as possible to continue, but recognises this is a decision for those organisations. The vast majority have applied for transition funding from the £300,000 budget set aside by council in February. Only six have not bid for funding, two of them because they decided they are ready to continue without support from the council.

All but one were assessed by the cross-party panel as meeting the criteria to receive funding, and a final decision will be taken by the county council’s Cabinet Member for Adult Social Care, Councillor Judith Heathcoat, on April 19.

The transition funding will support these voluntary sector providers from September to March, as they action their plans to become more self-sustaining. Later in 2017 they will once again be able to bid for £250,000 of transitional funding in 2018/19, as well as funding from two further grants pots – a Sustainability Fund and an Innovation Fund.

Which services are proposed for transition funding

Age UK run day centres are proposed for a combined £98,000 of funding:

• Bluebells, Henley

• Burford Lunch Club

• Kidlington Area Day Centre

• Kingsmoor Day Centre, Hinton Waldrist

• Oakwood Centre, Faringdon

• Share Care Day Centre, Holton

• St Francis Court, Headington/Anchor Court, Oxford – two services which are merging.

Daybreak Oxford run day centres are proposed for a combined £50,000 of funding:

• The Lilacs, Kidlington

• The Limes, Oxford

• Rosewood, Oxford

Other providers:

• Berinsfield Voluntary Day Centre £10,106

• Bromsgrove Day Centre, Faringdon £6,800

• Carterton Day Centre £9,500

• Chalgrove Day Centre £8,000

• Charlbury Day Centre £3,742

• Chinnor Day Centre £8,000

• Cluster Care Group, Banbury £4,500

• Eynsham Day Centre £2,625

• Goring and District Community Centre Lunch Club £2,900

• Grove Day Centre for the Elderly £7,000

• Hanborough and District Day Centre £6,378

• Highlands Day Centre, Chipping Norton £5,000

• Hook Norton Day Centre, £2,625

• The October Club, Wantage £14,000

• Chinese Community Day Centre, Oxford £7978

• Happy Place Day Centre, Oxford £3,300

• Cornhill, Banbury £2,625

• West Way Day Centre, Botley £5,466

• St Mary’s Thursday Club, Bloxham £4,786

• Stonesfield Lunch Club £2,906

• Thame and District Day Centre £12,500

• The Thursday Social Club, Watlington £2,500

• Watlington and District Age Concern Drop In £1,500

• Windmill Thursday Club/Deddington Day Centre £5,000

• Wychwoods Day Centre £3,390

• Volunteer Link Up £14,625

The services who have decided they do not need to bid to continue to operate

• Bampton Bush Day Centre

• Fielding Lunch Club, Sibford Gower

The services who have not made a bid

• Leonard Cheshire Disability (open access self-help group)

• Leonard Cheshire Disability (Tryard Disability Group)

• Order of St John, Lake House, Adderbury

• The Alzheimers Society, Abingdon service

Cholsey Day Centre does not quality for funding as it has reserves of £340,000.

The information provided in the application for Marston Court, provided by Order of St John Care Trust, was not sufficient to evaluate the bid. Further information has been requested.

How will the council’s own service be configured?

• The county council is continuing to provide a core service for people who are eligible for social care support, which makes sure they have the care and support they need. This is planned to be a countywide service with an annual budget of £4.5m and a wide range of flexible, costed support options. The council will replace its current Health and Wellbeing Centres and Learning Disability Daytime Support services (22 building-based services) with eight new bases at the Abbey Centre, Abingdon; Redlands in Banbury; Bicester Health and Wellbeing Centre; The Meadows in Didcot; Oxford Options; High Street, Wallingford; Witney Resource Centre and the Charlton Centre in Wantage.

• These bases will run from October and would be subject to ongoing review in terms of locations. People with different needs will be supported in the same buildings but there would be a range of different spaces and facilities to meet different needs and interests.

• The plans include transport to and from services for everybody who is eligible for it or who chooses to purchase it.

• The council-funded Dementia Support Service provides support to people with dementia and their families across Oxfordshire through Dementia Advisors. It provides face-to-face support to an average of 120 people per week. This service will continue to be funded.

• The council-funded Wellbeing and Employment Service, “OxForward” provides support to people over the age of 18 with learning disabilities, autism and physical disabilities. It supports 700 people each year providing opportunities such as moving in to and maintaining volunteering roles and employment. This will continue with its existing budget.

• The council will continue to work with the Age UK provided Community Information Network service. The Community Information Network is working with people affected by the changes, to help manage a personalised transition from current daytime support services for those people who do not have eligible needs/ who choose not to use the new service.

• In addition the council will be permanently investing £25,000 a year in training for services around dementia and autism and £100,000 a year in enabling people to make choices about the use of their personal budgets.

The proposals, which will receive a total of £305,883, are among the latest to be considered as part of the transition from council-funded to community-led services at children’s centre locations.

Community services will complement the council’s new service for 0-19 year-olds, which will meet the needs and aspirations of children at risk of abuse and neglect in Oxfordshire, and ensure that families who need extra help are identified at an early stage.

Total adds up – and more to come

When added to previously considered applications, the approval of these 12 schemes means funded plans are now in place for services such as ‘stay and play’ to continue at 18 children’s centres, with business cases at a further six centres supported in principle but deferred to the final round of the Transition Fund for more work.

Added to this, open access sessions will also continue at the eight Children and Family Centres and two satellite centres at the heart of the council’s new Children’s Service.

In total, it means a combination of council-funded and community-led solutions for open access services are now confirmed or supported in principle at 34 buildings across the county – with more to come when applications for the final round of transition funding are considered.

Fantastic response

Oxfordshire County Council’s Cabinet member for Children and Family Services Melinda Tilley said: “The response of local communities has been fantastic, and we are well on the way to seeing solutions in place at the vast majority of children’s centre locations. It has never been the council’s intention to close children’s centres – quite the opposite in fact.

“I suspect many people didn’t think this was possible, but we now have the makings of a truly countywide distribution of locations where ‘drop-in’ children’s services will continue to operate. I look forward to these schemes getting up and running as soon as possible, as I’m sure do many families across Oxfordshire.”

List of applicants / children’s centres to receive second round transition funding:

• Ace Centre Charity (Ace Centre, Chipping Norton): £29.983

• Barton Community Association (Barton EI Satellite, Oxford): £14,000
• Employment Action Group (Berinsfield Children’s Centre): £35,000
• Friends of Britannia Road (Britannia Road Children’s Centre, Banbury): £10,000 (*interim award pending submission to final round)
• Chalgrove Primary School (Chalgrove and Watlington Children’s Centres) £30,000
• Faringdon Town Council (Faringdon Children’s Centre): £30,000
• Grove PCC (Grove and Wantage Children’s Centres): £10,000 (*interim award pending submission to final round)
• Kidlington with Hampton Poyle PCC (Kaleidoscope Children’s Centre, Kidlington): £35,000
• Friends of Maple Tree (Maple Tree Children’s Centre, Wheatley): £30,000
• Cutteslowe Community Association (North Oxford Children’s Centre): £30,000
• D:two (Rainbow Children’s Centre, Henley): £21,900
• Wallingford Town Council (Wallingford Children’s Centre): £30,000

List of proposals approved in first round:

• Bloxham Primary School (Butterfly Meadows, Children’s Centre): £29,384
• Carterton Town Council (Carterton Children’s Centre): £30,000
• Botley Bridges (Elms Road Children’s Centre, Oxford): £30,000
• Grandpont Nursery (Grandpont Children’s Centre, Oxford): £35,600
• St Nicholas Primary School (Marston Northway Children’s Centre): £8,000
• Sharing Life Trust (Red Kite Children’s Centre, Thame): £30,000

List of bids deferred to final round for more work but supported in principle:

• Aflah Nursery (Florence Park Children’s Centre, Oxford)
• The Nature Effect (Florence Park Children’s Centre, Oxford)
• Mortimer Hall (Marston Northway Children’s Centre)
• The Kings Church Didcot (South Didcot Children’s Centre)
• Sunshine Centre (Sunshine Centre, Banbury)
• Witney Methodist Church (Witney Children’s Centre)

List of Children and Family Centres and satellite centres providing council-funded open access services:

• Banbury
• Bicester
• Witney
• Abingdon
• Didcot
• Barton
• Rose Hill
• Blackbird Leys
• East Oxford (satellite centre at the current Early Intervention Hub)
• Banbury (satellite centre at the current East Street Children’s Centre.

Total locations set to continue open access services: 34

Community services will complement the council’s new service for 0-19 year-olds, which will meet the needs and aspirations of children at risk of abuse and neglect in Oxfordshire, and ensure that families who need extra help are identified at an early stage.

Total adds up – and more to come

When added to previously considered applications, the approval of these 12 schemes would mean funded plans are now in place for services such as ‘stay and play’ to continue at 18 children’s centres, with business cases at a further six centres supported in principle but deferred to the final round of the Transition Fund for more work.

Added to this, open access sessions will also continue at the eight Children and Family Centres and two satellite centres at the heart of the council’s new Children’s Service.

In total, it means a combination of council-funded and community-led solutions for open access services are now confirmed, recommended for approval or supported in principle at 34 buildings across the county – with more to come when applications for the final round of transition funding are considered in June.

Fantastic response

Oxfordshire County Council’s Cabinet member for Children and Family Services Melinda Tilley said: “The response of local communities has been fantastic, and we are well on the way to seeing solutions in place at the vast majority of children’s centre locations. It has never been the council’s intention to close children’s centres – quite the opposite in fact.

“I suspect many people didn’t think this was possible, but we now have the makings of a truly countywide distribution of locations where ‘drop-in’ children’s services will continue to operate. I look forward to these schemes getting up and running as soon as possible, as I’m sure do many families across Oxfordshire.”

List of applicants / children’s centres recommended for second round transition funding:

• Ace Centre Charity (Ace Centre, Chipping Norton): £29.983

• Barton Community Association (Barton EI Satellite, Oxford): £14,000
• Employment Action Group (Berinsfield Children’s Centre): £35,000
• Friends of Britannia Road (Britannia Road Children’s Centre, Banbury): £10,000 (*interim award pending submission to final round)
• Chalgrove Primary School (Chalgrove and Watlington Children’s Centres) £30,000
• Faringdon Town Council (Faringdon Children’s Centre): £30,000
• Grove PCC (Grove and Wantage Children’s Centres): £10,000 (*interim award pending submission to final round)
• Kidlington with Hampton Poyle PCC (Kaleidoscope Children’s Centre, Kidlington): £35,000
• Friends of Maple Tree (Maple Tree Children’s Centre, Wheatley): £30,000
• Cutteslowe Community Association (North Oxford Children’s Centre): £30,000
• D:two (Rainbow Children’s Centre, Henley): £21,900
• Wallingford Town Council (Wallingford Children’s Centre): £30,000

List of proposals approved in first round:

• Bloxham Primary School (Butterfly Meadows, Children’s Centre): £29,384
• Carterton Town Council (Carterton Children’s Centre): £30,000
• Botley Bridges (Elms Road Children’s Centre, Oxford): £30,000
• Grandpont Nursery (Grandpont Children’s Centre, Oxford): £35,600
• St Nicholas Primary School (Marston Northway Children’s Centre): £8,000
• Sharing Life Trust (Red Kite Children’s Centre, Thame): £30,000

List of bids deferred to final round for more work but supported in principle:

• Aflah Nursery (Florence Park Children’s Centre, Oxford)
• The Nature Effect (Florence Park Children’s Centre, Oxford)
• Mortimer Hall (Marston Northway Children’s Centre)
• The Kings Church Didcot (South Didcot Children’s Centre)
• Sunshine Centre (Sunshine Centre, Banbury)
• Witney Methodist Church (Witney Children’s Centre)

List of Children and Family Centres and satellite centres providing council-funded open access services:

• Banbury
• Bicester
• Witney
• Abingdon
• Didcot
• Barton
• Rose Hill
• Blackbird Leys
• East Oxford (satellite centre at the current Early Intervention Hub)
• Banbury (satellite centre at the current East Street Children’s Centre).

Total locations set to continue open access services: 34

A new online “toolkit” has been launched by Oxfordshire County Council which promises to provide a “one-stop-shop” for flooding information and advice.

Access the Flooding Toolkit

The new website, which can be found at www.oxfordshirefloodtoolkit.com brings together all the information needed to take action against the potential menace posed by flooding.

First of its kind in Oxfordshire

The flood toolkit is the first resource of its kind in Oxfordshire and builds on the success of the approach in Northamptonshire. The website is also supported financially by Oxford City Council, South Oxfordshire District Council, Vale of White Horse District Council, West Oxfordshire District Council and Thames Water.

How to guides

Visitors to the site can browse through information helpfully organised under headings such as “Am I at Risk” and learn how best to help themselves through a series of “How to” guides.

The toolkit also explains the different types of flooding that can occur with bespoke guides on how to deal with them and, for those responsible for things such as drains and streams running across their land, guides on how to carry out preventative maintenance.

Interactive illustrations give visual inspiration for ways people can protect their properties and highlight some of the areas that would not instantly spring to mind, such as the garage, air bricks and cable holes.

Preventing the worst effects of flooding

County Councillor Rodney Rose, Deputy Leader of Oxfordshire County Council, said: “The county council is the lead local flood authority for Oxfordshire which means that we have taken the idea of the flood toolkit seriously, and we are delighted with the support we have had from our partners.

“Knowledge and preparation is the key to preventing the worst effects of flooding.

“There is much that can be done to plan for and deal with flooding so that it affects you as little as possible Doing your research and taking action now is far more effective and preferable to clearing up afterwards.

“I would urge people to look at the site now. Even just doing one or two of the things shown on the site such as signing up to a flood alert could make a big difference, but I would suggest people sit down and take some time to go through the toolkit and see just how much they could do to help themselves.

“The county council and partner agencies are playing their part to reduce the impact of flooding through developing and maintaining new and existing infrastructure. But that is only part of the picture – self-help is also needed.

“Flooding can devastate homes and disrupt lives as well as have a real impact on businesses and communities. The benefits of having a plan can’t be stressed enough and so the value of the new Flood Toolkit can’t be emphasised enough.”

Find funding and teach the children

Other useful features on the toolkit site include links that could help secure funding for flood related projects and an educational pack for schools.

Community-led schemes will complement a comprehensive new service for 0-19-year-olds across Oxfordshire which ensures children at risk of abuse and neglect are protected and that families who need extra help are identified at an early stage.

Applications received during the first round of the £1m grant scheme were assessed by a cross-party working group of councillors which made recommendations to the council’s Cabinet. The successful bidders (listed below) are planning to run services in Oxford, Carterton, Bloxham, Marston and Thame.

A further eight bids were supported in principle by the working group, but deferred to the second round of bids so that further work can be carried out on the business models. Just three bids were considered not to meet the funding criteria and were refused.

Start-up funding

The £1m transition fund is intended to help groups establish themselves in order to become self-funding, and to develop and deliver the services that are most important to their communities – responding to specific local needs.

As part of the council’s continuing investment in early intervention, new teams of ‘locality workers’ will advise and support community groups delivering open-access sessions – such as ‘stay and play’ - as well as other universal services including schools, health and early years providers.

Positive solutions

The council’s Cabinet Member for Children and Family Services Melinda Tilley said: “There has been a great response from local communities to identify positive solutions for providing open access services, and a huge appetite to make this a success. I’m delighted we’re now at the stage where community groups can begin putting those plans into action, with the help of start-up funding.

“Some proposals need a bit of further work, but it is clear that the cross-party working group looked very carefully at all the bids received, and that the vast majority are on the way to meeting the criteria for funding.”

She added: “We are continuing to discuss proposals with community groups as they develop their plans ahead of the second round of applications. We are also continuing to work with the Oxfordshire Community and Voluntary Action (OCVA) to support groups with developing business plans.”

The second round of applications will close on January 9.

List of applicants to receive funding:

• Butterfly Meadows (Bloxham) - £29,384
• Carterton Town Council - £30,000
• Botley Bridges (Oxford) - £30,000
• Grandpont Nursery (Oxford) - £35,600
• St Nicholas Primary School (Marston) - £8,000
• Sharing Life Trust (Thame) - £30,000

List of those supported in principle, but deferred for further work:

• Barton Community Association
• Employment Action Group (Berinsfield)
• Chalgrove Primary School
• Cutteslowe Primary School
• The Nature Effect (Florence Park)
• Magpies Pre-School (Kidlington)
• Friends of Maple Tree Children’s Centre & Wheatley Nursery School
• Oxfordshire Play Association (Abingdon)

Councillor Rodney Rose, the cabinet member with responsibility for Oxfordshire County Council’s Fire and Rescue Service, said:

“Without sufficient tread depth your tyres may not be able to cope properly and you face an increased risk of aquaplaning. If this has ever happened to you, you'll know what a frightening experience this can be as you have no control of the car.

“I’d encourage everyone to take the 20p tyre test which is such a simple way of checking if your tyres are illegal or not. Just think of the people you share your car with and other road users. Safe tyres with legal tread depth reduces the risks to you, your passengers and all road users.”

Free tyre health check events

Drivers are being offered safety advice and a FREE tyre health check to ensure their tyres have safe thread depth and that they are properly inflated during the month of October. Oxfordshire County Council’s road safety education team and firefighters will be out and about around the county, offering free tyre health checks, with support from local Tyre Safe partners.

• Oxford - Thursday 6th October at Toys R Us at Botley from 10am to 2pm
• Faringdon – Tuesday 11th October at Tesco’s from 10am to 2pm
• Kidlington – Wednesday 12th October at Sainsbury’s 9:30am to 12:30pm
• Banbury – Friday 14th October at Sainsbury’s from 9:30am to 12:30pm
• Thame – Tuesday 18th October at Town Hall from 10am to 2pm
• Abingdon – Wednesday 19th October at Tesco’s from 10am to 1pm.

The Tyre Safe partners supporting these events are: Merityres, Kwik-Fit and Micheldever Tyre and Auto Services.

Mick Clarke, Oxfordshire County Council’s Fire and Rescue Service Road Safety Manager said:

“Your tyres are the only thing connecting your car to the road and good grip is essential especially during the winter weather. If tyres are not roadworthy then they could make your vehicle slide and skid on wet roads, which can be a frightening and potentially dangerous experience. I would encourage all drivers to ACT on the following tyre check once a month: A is for air pressure; C is for condition and T is for tread. Checking these three things when doing tyre safety checks will keep you safe as well as anyone in your vehicle.”

Unable to attend any of the events?

It’s important to check tyres regularly because the tread grooves on your tyres influence the way your car accelerates, breaks and corners. Without sufficient tread depth and correct pressure, your tyres may not be able to grip the road properly and you face an increased risk of aquaplaning. TyreSafe members nationally are offering a free tyre health checks throughout the whole month, to find your local retailer visit http://www.tyresafe.org/