Residents and visitors to Wantage are being asked for their feedback on design proposals to improve the town centre and Market Place.

On Wednesday 10 June 2026, Oxfordshire County Council will launch a four-week survey to hear people’s views on the draft designs.

The design proposals have been developed following last year’s community engagement with local residents, businesses and councillors to help shape a vision to enhance Wantage Market Place, while improving walking, wheeling and cycling.

Officers from the county council have since been working with the local community to explore how space could be redesigned to the make the town centre a better place to spend time for shopping, leisure or business. There is also a key desire to support business by improving loading facilities. 

Councillor Gareth Epps, Oxfordshire County Council’s Cabinet Member for Transport, said: “It was wonderful that we received such a wealth of feedback and inspiration from so many people last year. I am delighted to see how this has been realised in a draft design to support better active travel opportunities and create a vibrant, welcoming, and accessible town centre in Wantage, which is safer for residents and visitors.

"We want this plan to truly reflect local community needs and ideas, as well as support an increase in the size of the market and enable more community events.

“I am very much looking forward to hearing how people find the designs and what adjustments can be made. We are working hard to make sure the final designs are not only practical but also accessible for everyone.”

From 12 noon on Wednesday 10 June 2026, people can take part in an online survey on the county council’s digital engagement and consultation platform, Let’s talk Oxfordshire. The consultation will close at 11.59pm on Wednesday 8 July 2026.

The online survey will also be supported by two drop-in events for members of the public to find out about the project and speak to the team in person:

• Saturday 13 June 2026 – 10am - 4pm at The Beacon, Portway, Wantage, OX12 9BX
• Tuesday 16 June 2026 – 5pm - 8pm at The Beacon, Portway, Wantage, OX12 9BX

Feedback will help to identify any possible amendments that should be incorporated into the final design. The improvements will be delivered in two phases – construction on the West End is expected to begin in Autumn 2027, while the Market Place construction is anticipated to start once funding has been secured.

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Yummy Thai Restaurant Ltd and its director, Ms. Yook Ling Chong, of 8 Newbury Street, Wantage, faced enforcement action when a test purchase detected an undeclared allergen in food offered to customers.

During a routine allergen check on 15 November 2024, a trading standards officer told the restaurant about their soya and sesame allergies before buying a vegetable pad thai and spring rolls. Both dishes were sent for testing.

Laboratory analysis found 618mg of soy protein in the combined sample, which is much higher than the safe limit of 10mg.

After reviewing the test results, officers visited the premises on 8 May 2025. They discovered that ingredients used in dishes – including spring rolls, which were labeled as containing soya, sesame, and wheat – were missing from the allergen matrix and had not been disclosed to consumers.

At a hearing on 6 March 2026, Ms Chong pleaded guilty to selling food that did not meet purchasers' requirements under Section 14 of the Food Safety Act 1990.

Ms Chong received a 12 month conditional discharge and ordered to pay a £26 victim surcharge. The company was also fined £1,000, plus a £400 victim surcharge and £1,505.20 in council costs.

The company has also now revised its allergen matrix.

Councillor Jenny Hannaby, Oxfordshire County Council’s Cabinet Member for Community Safety said, said: “This is a situation that could have had disastrous and even deadly consequences, which were fortunately avoided.

“Our trading standards team in its brilliant work securing this prosecution serves as a reminder to other businesses that they need to take their allergen management responsibilities seriously.”

Davina Walkin, Trading Standards Operations Manager at Oxfordshire County Council, said: “Food businesses have a legal and moral responsibility to protect customers with food allergies. Even small amounts of undeclared allergenic ingredients can have dangerous and potentially life threatening consequences for some people. This case demonstrates why robust allergen controls must be in place in every food business.

“We continue to conduct test purchases to ensure food businesses comply with food labelling legislation, including allergen information and take appropriate steps to safeguard consumers.”

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Oxfordshire County Council’s cabinet today adopted the Science Vale movement and place plan that sets out 22 objectives and accompanying actions to create a long-term transport strategy for the area, which is spread across the districts of South Oxfordshire and the Vale of White Horse.

They prioritise people walking, wheeling, cycling and using public transport over private car use.

The Science Vale area has a concentration of world-class innovative research and enterprise facilities. It covers Wantage and Didcot, surrounding villages and the employment sites at Culham Campus, Harwell Campus and Milton Park.

It is home to around 73,000 people and this is expected to rise to more than 170,000 by 2050, which highlights the need to address challenges such as congestion, air quality, rural accessibility and pressure on public transport.

Councillor Judy Roberts, Oxfordshire County Council’s Cabinet Member for Place, Environment and Climate Action, said: “Oxfordshire is embarking upon sustainable and positive change – placing people, communities and places at the heart of this.

“The movement and place plans, including this one for the Science Vale, are key to this. They reflect the needs and aspirations of our communities, help to protect our natural environment and deliver the homes, businesses and leisure facilities that our communities need and enjoy.

“A significant shift in this strategy has been putting people at the heart of plan making, alongside movement and working towards understanding the meaning of place at a local level.”

The plan’s objectives include:

• Creating a comprehensive active travel network that is safe, comfortable and direct by updating national cycle routes, improving lighting and surface quality, reducing severance caused by busy roads and adding cycle hubs.
• Public transport improvements including better bus frequencies, improved interchanges and long-term rail enhancements, for example support for a Wantage and Grove station.
• Supporting economic growth and innovation, given the area’s global reputation for life sciences, fusion research and space technology and the importance of dependable, low carbon connectivity.
• Protecting nature and the environment, with a focus on improving public spaces and strengthening community identity.

The plan’s vision received strong support during a public consultation.

There are 12 proposed movement and place plans for Oxfordshire that the council will be looking deliver over the next year or so. They will act as supporting documents to the council’s wider local transport connectivity plan, which was adopted in 2022.

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A major change to the way the government distributes grant money to councils means it and many other local authorities will face real challenges from 2026/27 with £1.5 million of new savings to services being discussed to help close a budget gap of £5.4m – and more significant reductions in the following two years.

The government only told councils how much money they would be receiving just before Christmas, leaving no time for officers to work up savings proposals for 2026/27.

The county council has options for delivering a balanced budget in 2026/27 but will be unable to expand services as it would have liked and will ask scrutiny councillors and cabinet for views on how a current funding gap of £5.4m can be dealt with by 10 February when a budget is set.

Measures will be proposed for debate including the use of reserves; setting less money aside in forecasting annual pay inflation and increasing the amount anticipated to be accrued in bank interest on money the council plans to spend in the normal process of delivering services  – each of which come with risk.

Another proposal for debate is increasing funding that will potentially be needed to fund the cumulative High Needs dedicated schools grant deficit but not by quite as much as originally planned.

A further option that would help the longer run budget is to seek additional savings of £1.5m from services in 2026/27.

The council now knows for certain that it will need to find further savings of at least £14m in 2027/28 (in addition to the £5.4m in 2026/27) because the government provided funding information for three years. As such there will need to be planning work throughout 2026 to meet this large challenge. Further savings will be needed in 2028/29, the first year of local government reform in Oxfordshire.

By 2028/29 there is a reduction of £24.1m in funding from central government. Within that there is an increase of £3.1m in funding for the Families First Partnership that the government will expect the council to use to fund new investment and activity in preventative services for children’s social care. Excluding that, the reduction in grant funding is £27.2m

Councillor Dan Levy, Oxfordshire County Council’s Cabinet Member for Property, Finance and Transformation, said: “While we always take a prudent approach to budget setting there are pressures relating to social care that need to be met. These services are demand-led and if that demand rises then we have to find the money to meet the costs. There are also inflationary costs to be met in 2026/27.

“As a cabinet we will listen to councillors in the scrutiny committee and debate ourselves how we balance the 2026/27 budget and we have options that do not impact on services. However, people need to be under absolutely no illusion that in future we and many partner councils in local government will not have that luxury. Having three years’ worth of funding information means we know that stark reality for certain.

“Money is being redistributed away from Oxfordshire and other areas on a large scale by the government. There will be very real impacts on our budgets and our services in future.

“While we respect the government’s desire to put extra money into areas of the country that have higher levels of deprivation, we do not think this should be at the expense of Oxfordshire and its residents.”

The proposed Council Tax rise for 2026/27 is 4.99 per cent. The government has assumed that the council will set Council Tax at this level for each of the next three years in calculating the amount of grant funding it awarded the council under its new formula for distributing funds to councils across England.

Cllr Levy added: “This year’s budget features a number of positive investments but we are going to start facing real challenges thereafter. We need people to hear that message loud and clear. The government has cut grant funding and assumed the council will make up the difference with maximum Council Tax rises.

“The effect of this is that we will have to put up Council Tax by 4.99% each year, but a lot of this money will immediately be subtracted by the government and sent elsewhere. This is both financially difficult and hard to square with local accountability and choice.”

Key investments

• The council will continue the annual highway gully cleaning that was reinstated in 2025/26 and a further £4m will be invested (£2m in 2026/27 and £2m in 2027/28) in improved drainage infrastructure to help protect communities from flooding. This will deliver new and replacement drainage systems and help roads be kept free from flooded areas as much as possible, strengthening local flood resilience.
• A total of £150,000 will be invested to progress design and construction for Phase 1 of the Wantage Market Place project, focusing on the West End. Building on previous design work and consultation, the scheme will replace the tarmac surface with paving in keeping with the historic town centre, creating a safe, traffic-free space with step-free access.
• Libraries will see capital programme investment to create flexible, accessible spaces that supports a wider range of activities and resources with £360,000 for Wantage Library and £250,000 (rising by a further £500,000 in 2027/28) for Goring Library and £550,000 for Didcot Library.
• A total of £14m is proposed to be allocated to adult social care to deal with financial pressures including projected population growth and accompanying increases in people in care and the financial effect of the increase in high-cost complex placements.
• A total of £19m is proposed to be allocated to Children’s Services to meet additional costs of children’s social care and education. In addition to this, new activity required by the government as part of the Families First Partnership will be funded from a £3.1m increase in grant funding in 2026/27.
• Demand for the park & ride joint ticketing deal (£4 for 16 hours of parking and return bus ticket for one person, £5 for two people, plus up to three children under 16 travel free) has exceeded expectations. The congestion charge is working to shift people away from cars and onto buses and active travel.  Extra funding of £400,000 is required for it to continue in 2026/27 with potentially more in future years. This will be funded from parking income.
• Maintaining real time passenger information digital display boards at bus stops across the county in 2026/27, installed due to sustained Bus Service Improvement Plan funding from the government, requires additional investment. A total of £320,000 is required to maintain the entire system. This funding helps to ensure the lifespan of all display assets is maximised. This will be funded from reserves.

Savings

Because adult and children’s social care are now a much larger proportion of the council’s budget, it is challenging to find significant service savings. 

The following savings have been identified for 2026/27 but work will need to continue throughout 2026 to identify options from 2027/28 onwards.  

• The county council purchases electricity based on a forward purchasing price. If the prices and market trends remain as projected, there is potentially a £250,000 saving that the council can realise in 2026/27. This would need to be monitored and is subject to price changes.
• Other savings relate to the use of funding held in reserves to fund pressures where that is possible and the addition of £5.4m funding from the national packaging Extended Producer Responsibility Scheme that needs to be used to meet the cost of disposal of packaging waste.

The budget will be set by county councillors on 10 February

Feedback can be provided through a survey open on the council’s digital consultation and engagement platform, Let’s talk Oxfordshire until 7 January 2026. 

The draft LCWIP, which aims to improve walking, wheeling and cycling around the town, has been prepared using feedback gathered from residents, workers and visitors using a map and pin exercise, which took place earlier this year, extensive engagement with a steering group of local members and a comprehensive review of background information.

The input was used to set out proposed improvements for local walking, wheeling and cycling routes over the next 10 years. The draft plan focuses on the connection of cycling and walking routes in Wallingford, improving accessibility within the town and connections with Benson, Cholsey, Crowmarsh Gifford, Preston Crowmarsh, Ewelme, Shillingford, Warborough and Brightwell-cum-Sotwell.

Councillor Andrew Gant, Oxfordshire County Council’s Cabinet Member for Transport Management, said: “We know the importance, and the value of making our travel more sustainable. We also know how crucial it is that we make the conditions right to allow people to make more sustainable travel choices when they have the opportunity to do so.

“Improving the routes in Wallingford and surrounding areas will enable more people to use alternatives to the car or public transport to make our roads safer and our environment healthier. 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 encourage people to look carefully at the plan and share their impressions with us, including whether the most important walking, wheeling 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 be presented to the lead cabinet member in Spring 2026 for a decision on if this can be formally adopted as council policy. If adopted, this will support future funding bids to improve walking and cycling in the Wallingford area.

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The Oxfordshire County Council LCWIP, which aims to improve walking, wheeling and cycling around the town, has been developed using feedback gathered last year from residents, workers and visitors using a ‘map and pin’ exercise.

Their input was used to set out proposed improvements for local walking and cycling routes over the next 10 years. As well as focusing on the connection of cycling and walking routes in Wantage, the LCWIP looks at a wider area including Grove and East Challow.

Councillor Andrew Gant, Oxfordshire County Council’s Cabinet Member for Transport Management, said: “Improving the routes in Wantage and surrounding areas will enable more people to use alternatives to the car or public transport to make our roads safer and our environment healthier. 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 encourage 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 to the lead cabinet member towards the end of this year/early 2026 for a decision on if this can be formally adopted as council policy. This will support funding bids to improve walking and cycling in Wantage and the surrounding area.

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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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Oxfordshire County Council has today (24 June 2025) launched a four-week survey to capture people’s views and ideas.

Proposals are being made to enhance the area and improve accessibility, walking, wheeling and cycling. This follows a commitment by both Oxfordshire County Council and Wantage Town Council in 2024, to explore ways to make the Market Place more accessible and safer for residents and visitors.

Officers from the county council have been working with the local community to investigate how space could be redesigned to the make the town centre a better place to spend time for shopping, leisure or business.

Councillor Judy Roberts, Oxfordshire County Council’s Cabinet Member for Place, Environment and Climate Action, said: “Our vision for Wantage Market Place is to create a vibrant, welcoming, and accessible space for everyone. We aim to enhance the historical charm of the market town while addressing the challenges of climate change. By improving opportunities for walking, wheeling, cycling, and using public transport, we hope to make the Market Place a healthier, friendlier and safer environment for all.

“The project is at an early stage and a design is yet to be developed. Tell us what you think and make suggestions to help us shape the project designs and goals. We would like to find out what is important to local residents and businesses and how we can make it economically and environmentally useful for future years.

“We’ll use what we learn, work with the community to develop a draft design, and come back to you for further consultation next year.”

People can take part in an online survey on the county council’s digital engagement and consultation platform, Let’s talk Oxfordshire. The consultation closes at 11.59pm on Tuesday 22 July 2025.

The online survey will be supported by two drop-in events for members of the public to find out about the project and speak to the team in person:

• Saturday 5 July 2025 – 10am - 4pm

Vale & Downland Museum (Barn Gallery), 19 Church Street, OX12 8BL

• Wednesday 9 July 2025 – 5pm - 8pm

Wantage Methodist Church (Chapel area), 20 Newbury Street, OX12 8DA

A further public consultation on the draft design will take place in 2026, with construction expected once further funding is confirmed. 

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Ben Arthur Eltham, of Chalbar, Denchworth Road, Grove, near Wantage, had previously pleaded guilty at Oxford Crown Court of dishonestly entering into contracts for projects where he charged for materials he did not purchase and for failing to finish work. The work he did carry out was of poor quality.

He also began work on properties without the necessary applications according to building regulations and failed to have work inspected at the required stages, despite assuring clients that this had been done.

Eltham, 41, was sentenced on Friday 30 May to 40 months imprisonment.

Davina Walkin, Trading Standards Operations Manager at Oxfordshire County Council, said: The vast majority of Oxfordshire’s builders complete their work on time and to their customers satisfaction. When this is not the case and traders take money for inadequate work and misuse funds intended for materials before lying to their clients about why projects are delayed, then our trading standards works hard to give residents as much protection as possible from such rogue traders.”

At the time of the offences, committed between 2021 and 2023, Eltham was trading as Ben Eltham General Builder and JFE Building Contractor.

He was contracted to complete work for five customers, primarily in the Wantage area, on garage conversions, extensions and remodelling projects.

There was a distinct pattern to the projects undertaken by Eltham. Work initially progressed well but soon slowed, and it would become difficult for his customers to reach him.

His clients were given increasingly implausible reasons why no work was being carried out and, in some cases, the work was never finished years after starting.

Investigations found that instead of ordering materials and paying staff to carry out the work, Eltham was spending considerable amounts on gambling, holidays and social events.

Davina continued: “We always advise anybody looking for a reliable trader to get a number of detailed quotes, check with friends and family for trusted recommendations and consider a trading standards’ approved trader from our Buy With Confidence scheme.

“People should proceed with caution when agreeing payment for large scale building projects. Paying in instalments is entirely sensible but when the payment schedule is too heavily weighted towards the beginning of the work, as was the case with Mr Eltham, this can be a warning sign and can leave customers heavily out of pocket with little work completed.

“The same applies when making significant down payments for items like fitted kitchens and bathrooms, glazing and heating systems. Always ensure there is proof orders have been made to avoid incurring the expense of having to re-order if an unscrupulous trader uses the money to cover other spending.”

Any Oxfordshire resident that has concerns about activity of this nature should report it using the national consumer helpline 0808 223 1133

Residents and visitors to Carterton are now able to review and comment on a draft plan to improve walking, wheeling and cycling around the town, with a survey open until 18 June.

Earlier this year, Oxfordshire County Council gathered feedback from residents, workers, students and visitors in Carterton 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.”

The final version of the plan, incorporating amendments reflecting the feedback received, will go through a process at Oxfordshire County Council that will allow it to be formally adopted as council policy. This will support funding bids to improve walking and cycling in Carterton and the surrounding area.

The draft plan is available to view alongside a survey on the council’s Let’s talk Oxfordshire platform. Comments can also be emailed to placeplanningnorth@oxfordshire.gov.uk  or write to Freepost OXFORDSHIRE COUNTY COUNCIL¹.

Ends

Notes to editors

• ¹Residents who wish to write to the council should address their envelope with Freepost OXFORDSHIRE COUNTY COUNCIL as one line in the middle with ‘Carterton LCWIP’ written in the top left corner.
• Measures in the central Oxfordshire travel plan and Oxfordshire’s local transport and connectivity plan are designed to make Oxfordshire a better place for everyone.
• Local Cycling and Walking Infrastructure Plans (LCWIP) are designed to
  • identify cycling and walking infrastructure improvements for future investment in the short, medium and long term
  • ensure that consideration is given to cycling and walking within local planning and transport policies and strategies
  • make a case for future funding for walking and cycling infrastructure.

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Oxfordshire County Council last week (24 April) approved local cycling and walking infrastructure plans (LCWIPs) for Chipping Norton and Woodstock.

The LCWIPs set out how to improve the rural market towns’ walking and cycling networks, reducing the reliance on single occupant motor vehicles to help cut congestion between residential areas, the historic town centres, schools, public open spaces and local services and facilities.

Paul Fermer, Oxfordshire County Council’s Director of Environment and Highways, said: “These plans are designed to provide well planned, joined up connectivity and real choice for how people move around their communities. We are particularly keen to encourage independent, healthy travel choices among school children and young people.

“In rural areas such as these, cars are essential for many people to get around, and we’re not trying to stop that. We just want to make it safer and more convenient for more people to walk or cycle for short journeys, or as part of longer journeys combined with using public transport in these towns and beyond.

“These LCWIPs will help achieve a culture of walking and cycling, as they have done elsewhere around the county. This can create  thriving, healthy, inclusive and climate sensitive communities, where improvements enhance the environment that makes Woodstock and Chipping Norton great places to live, work and visit.”

The decisions bring the number of LCWIPs in Oxfordshire up to nine, following on from Oxford, Didcot, Bicester, Abingdon, Witney, Banbury, and Kidlington – and more are planned.

The approval of the plans is expected to make it easier for the council to negotiate funding from developers and the government to deliver improvements.

The latest LCWIPs were developed and amended through discussions with local councillors at parish, town, district and county levels and feedback from public consultation. They provide a long-term strategy for safe, convenient and well-connected walking (including wheeling) and cycling networks that are accessible for people of all abilities, ages and backgrounds.

The aim is for these networks to connect people to where they want to go, including improving routes to access public transport.

Hundreds of specific improvements are proposed in the LCWIPs, including the provision of crossings, narrowing junctions, implementing dropped kerbs and tactile paving, and creating more space for cycling. It is hoped the improvements identified in the plan can be delivered by 2035, subject to funding.

In Chipping Norton, the A44/ A361 New Street junction and London Road are the highest prioritised areas for improvement due to the positive level of impact they would bring.

In Woodstock, reducing the speed limit on part of the A4095 between Bladon and Hanborough to reduce the danger to cyclists and pedestrians is listed as the top priority.

The plans, which were developed following government guidance, will be reviewed every two years to ensure they reflect local needs. The level of change in cycling and walking numbers will be monitored and modifications made if necessary.

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Following a tendering process, Oxfordshire County Council has commissioned SLC Rail to put together the strategic outline business case for the project.

Councillor Judy Roberts, Oxfordshire County Council’s Cabinet Member for Infrastructure and Development Strategy, said: “Oxfordshire County Council has long been an advocate of a proposed Wantage and Grove Station.

“This area has had a rapid increase in population in recent years and if we are going to be able to meet our ambitious targets set in our Local Transport and Connectivity Plan, rail improvements will be a key factor.

“Providing fast, regular and reliable transport options that serve our local communities and businesses across the region is essential for supporting the people, our economic centres and climate change objectives.”

The proposed new station would support the substantial growth in population that has taken place over recent years and provide residents with a high-quality and sustainable alternative means of travel.

Oxfordshire County Council is leading on the promotion of the station and will be working closely with Network Rail, Great Western Railways (GWR) and South Oxfordshire and Vale of White Horse district councils to progress any plans.

Claire Mahoney, Network Rail's industry programme director, said: “We welcome the feasibility study into a proposed new station for Wantage and Grove.

“The industry strategy – the Oxfordshire Rail Corridor Study, jointly commissioned by the county and city councils, Network Rail, and the Department for Transport – highlighted opportunities to expand Oxfordshire’s railway and help deliver economic growth to the region. This recommended a number of potential future improvements to support increasing interconnectivity across Oxfordshire, which could support the provision of new stations.”

A Wantage and Grove station was initially opened in 1846 but has seen no trains since 1964.

GWR's Business Development Portfolio Director Tom Pierpoint said: “We welcome the development of new stations across our network and are proud of our record working with partners to connect communities to the railway in recent years with new stations opening in Bristol, Devon and Reading.

“We look forward to engaging with the study, including on line capacity, rolling stock and crew requirements.”

Proposals for the new station will feature in Oxfordshire County Council’s emerging OxRail 2040: Plan for Rail strategy, which is expected to be adopted later this year.

If reopened, according to an independent opinion in 2018, it is estimated to become the fifth busiest station in Oxfordshire, attracting at least a million users a year.

There is also a strong economic case for the station, as it is estimated to generate £2.48 for every £1 invested.

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The sixth former, aged 18, from Fitzwaryn School, Wantage, has a heightened sense of anxiety, meaning doing things independently like travelling on public transport is a real challenge.

Luckily, help was available for Kiera through Oxfordshire County Council’s independent travel training.

The scheme is designed to help young people with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) use public transport. A travel trainer helps them gain knowledge, experience in completing their planned route, and develop road safety skills. 

It has boosted Kiera’s self-esteem for her daily journey to such an extent that she offered to be a guide for Councillor John Howson – Oxfordshire County Council’s Cabinet Member for Children, Education and Young People’s Services – so he could experience the training first-hand.

Kiera pointed out aspects she had gone through such as stranger awareness, journey planning, using a bus pass or money, understanding the Green Cross Code, and other practical safety advice including ‘what if scenarios.’

“Before the training, my confidence in travelling on public transport was so low that I couldn’t do it,” explained Kiera.

“I was getting to school by taxi, a journey I found noisy and lacking the sense of independence I get from being on a bus, which has better views out of the windows too.

“Look at me now, my confidence has changed a lot since I began the travel training. Now I’m independent, which feels good and helps me in things like talking to the bus driver, and I’m even showing Cllr Howson how I cope on my travel from school.

“My independent travel trainer has been amazing. Nothing has been a problem and nothing is ever an issue, I can’t praise the trainer enough and will never forget how their support and kindness has changed my life.”

Councillor John Howson, Oxfordshire County Council Cabinet Member for Children, Education and Young People’s Services, said: “I’m a regular bus user, and a champion of public transport, so I couldn’t resist the invitation to join Kiera on her journey from school.

“Kiera pointed out to me that it’s not always the same driver or passengers on board each day. This can be daunting in itself, particularly when Kiera and other young people on our independent travel training programme are often more comfortable and confident in familiar surroundings.

“However, the scheme is clearly working for Kiera. She was leading and acting as my guide because it is her route. Kiera knows when to press the bell to alight, making good use of the digital information screens to identify the correct bus stop.

“Indeed, I’d like to thank the bus companies and their drivers who support our independent travel training. They make our young people and their travel trainers welcome and look out for them throughout their journeys.

“We are rightly proud of our county’s bus services and it’s brilliant that we are encouraging young people to use public transport through initiatives like this, giving them independence, boosting their confidence and their freedom to explore and learn.”

Further information about the independent travel training scheme is available on Oxfordshire County Council’s website.

Your Oxfordshire

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Talks took place in 2024 between Oxfordshire County Council, the Lord Lieutenant and the Royal Navy about the possibility of an affiliation. Such connections have been common throughout the history of the navy and many current ships already have links with places in the UK.

HMS Diamond is a Type 45 destroyer with a crew of 240 sailors including a Royal Marines boarding team. The ship's motto, "Honor Clarissima Gemma," translates to "Honour is the Brightest Jewel.

Beyond her primary role in air defence, HMS Diamond is versatile and capable of performing a wide range of duties, from counter-narcotics operations to providing humanitarian aid. Her most recent operations involved protecting merchant shipping lanes from Houthi rebels in the Red Sea.

Councillor Liz Leffman, the leader of Oxfordshire County Council, said: “This strengthens the bond and support between the Royal Navy and the local community and reaffirms the council’s commitment to the Armed Forces Covenant and our significant armed forces communities. The county already plays host to Naval cadet units.”

All major Royal Navy ships have affiliations as part of a long-standing tradition that binds their crews to the land via a network of relationships across the United Kingdom.

The range of organisations and establishments that are invited to become part of a ship’s extended family can encompass cities, hospital trusts, cadet units, army regiments and air force squadrons, as well as venerable city institutions and counties. The benefits of affiliation are mutual. An affiliation gives the ship and the ship’s company a link to the organisation. 

HMS Diamond has an existing affiliation with Coventry. Other current examples include Essex which recently affiliated with HMS Venturer, and the town of Wantage, which has an affiliation with HMS Queen Elizabeth.

Oxfordshire County Council and St. Modwen, the master developer for the Kingsgrove housing development, have worked together to construct the new route that extends between the A417 east of Wantage, and the A338 north of Wantage. This provides easier travel for both residents of the Kingsgrove housing development and visitors to the area.

A three-metre wide path for walking and cycling runs along the length of the road, while the original entrance to the Kingsgrove development is now for pedestrians, cyclists and buses only.

Councillor Judy Roberts, Oxfordshire County Council’s Cabinet Member for Infrastructure and Development Strategy, said: “Wantage is a historic market town that has seen, and will continue to see, significant growth in much-needed new homes and associated community facilities. The need for this scheme was established long before planning approval was obtained, and I am delighted that the entire route is now open.

“King Alfred Way will encourage active travel through the provision of high-quality pedestrian and cycle facilities, together with opportunities for travel by bus. It is also expected to help reduce congestion and noise levels, and improve air quality, within Wantage town centre.

“The opening of the road is reflective of the commitment, hard work and successful collaboration between the county council and St Modwen – together with suppliers working on behalf of both parties.”

Thomas Snell, Development Manager at St. Modwen, said: "We’re incredibly proud to have played a central role in delivering the new road, a project that not only enhances local infrastructure but also supports our growing Kingsgrove community.

“By improving connectivity and prioritising sustainable travel options, this road reflects our commitment to creating thriving, future-ready places where people can live, work, and enjoy their surroundings.”

Officially opened by Olly Glover, MP for Wantage and Didcot and Councillor Iain Cameron, Deputy Mayor of Wantage, the link’s new title – King Alfred Way – commemorates Wantage’s royal history. The name pays tribute to King Alfred the Great, who was born in Wantage in 849, and who is the inspiration for the name of the Kingsgrove community – referencing Alfred’s apple orchards, which once covered the area.

Olly Glover, MP for Wantage and Didcot said: “Residents in Wantage and beyond have been eagerly awaiting the opening of this road for some time, following some delays. I am pleased to see it open and hope it will be of benefit to all road users in the coming months and years.”

Ends

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This major building project will expand the school’s capacity from 210 to 315 primary pupil places, plus there will be 39 new nursery places. Temporary classrooms will be replaced by permanent structures.

The project will be managed by the Oxford Diocesan Schools Trust, which is responsible for the school, working in partnership with the county council and David Wilson Homes, who is delivering a new housing development to the north of the school.

Lisa Lyons, Oxfordshire County Council’s Director of Children Services, said: “These are exciting plans for Grove Church of England Primary School, reflecting our ongoing commitment to provide high quality teaching and learning environments for Oxfordshire’s children, and our success in securing resources for education from housing developers.

“This is a significant investment, adding nearly 150 places for primary and nursery pupils to meet future needs.”

The new school building will consist of seven classrooms, a hall and kitchen, main entrance reception area, and administrative and staff accommodation.

David Wilson Homes will provide the school with a full-sized all-weather sports pitch, and a new entrance into the school site with parking for staff and visitors. This will be on additional school land that forms part of the Monks Farm housing development.

Details of when work will start will be confirmed in coming months, based on the timetable for delivery of the access road by David Wilson Homes.

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Following Oxfordshire County Council’s allocation last year of £1.2 million for rural public and community transport, further new buses will be launched on April 15 to connect more villages to market towns and Oxford.

Councillor Andrew Gant, Oxfordshire County Council’s Cabinet Member for Transport Management, said: “I’m really delighted to be able to back our commitment to high quality public transport with real delivery and budget, in rural areas as well as our larger towns.

“Not everyone has access to a car and so public transport is essential to help people get around for work, shopping, and socialising. We know there is a demand for bus services in these locations, which can’t be met by the commercial operators, and we are glad to be able to help fill this gap.”

The new services will all be operated by accessible minibuses from the council’s in-house fleet but will be open to all bus users.

The announcement follows the introduction in November 2023 of new bus routes to villages, which had been without public transport since 2016, and the allocation of grants worth nearly £425,000 to improve community transport in Oxfordshire last month.

The new routes are:

• 42: Abingdon to Oxford via Sunningwell, Bayworth, Boars Hill and South Hinksey (Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays).
• 49: Cuddesdon and Denton to Cowley Templars Square and Oxford City Centre (Tuesdays and Thursdays; on Tuesdays via Toot Baldon and Marsh Baldon and on Thursdays via King's Copse and Cowley Tesco).
• 79: Hornton, Horley and Hanwell to Banbury Town Centre and Banbury Gateway (Thursdays only).
• 85: Goosey, Charney Bassett, Lyford, West Hanney and Denchworth to Grove and Wantage (Wednesdays only).
• 107: Oddington, Charlton-on-Otmoor, Fencott and Murcott to Bicester via Langford (Fridays only).

Timetables will be available on Traveline later this month.

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Twelve organisations are to share nearly £425,000 to help improve community transport in Oxfordshire.

Oxfordshire County Council is awarding the grants, ranging from £700 to £135,000, to fund new vehicles, expand schemes, provide new services, offer administrative support and carry out surveys of potential passengers.

Councillor Andrew Gant, Oxfordshire County Council’s Cabinet Member for Transport Management, pictured, said: “Most of us take it for granted that we will be able to get to the places we need to. However, when people can’t drive or access public transport, they can be stranded.

“That’s why Oxfordshire’s active and diverse community transport sector is such a lifeline to so many people. From small volunteer car schemes to larger minibus schemes offering timetabled services, we are incredibly grateful to all those who work so hard to keep our residents mobile.

“We know these grants will make a big difference to all these organisations and help them to continue the fantastic work they are doing.”

The recipients are West Oxfordshire Community Transport; Uffington, Baulking and Woolstone (UBW) Minibus; The Villager Community Bus; CAWNAC (Oxfordshire) Volunteer Driver Service; Daybreak Oxford; Readibus; Shrivenham/Bourton/Watchfield/Longcot Parish Councils; Wallingford Town Council; Wantage & District Community Transport Community Interest Company (CIC); Chinnor Village Centre; First & Last Mile CIC; Watlington Parish Council.

Daybreak Oxford, pictured above, has been awarded £135,000 to expand the scheme it has been running for 15 months, transporting people with dementia to and from day centres and taking the older population on shopping trips.

Lee Gray, Chief Executive of Daybreak Oxford, said: “We are absolutely thrilled to receive this funding. It means we can increase the number of days we can operate, the number of centres we can visit, and double the number of people we can serve. We take them door-to-door and it is a real lifeline for so many people.

“We recently bought our second minibus, thanks to a donation from the MacFarlane Family Foundation, and the council’s grant will take care of everything else, from permits to safety inspections, as well as drivers and coordinators to make it sustainable.”

West Oxfordshire’s First & Last Mile, pictured right, has been awarded £40,000 to expand its services and provide administrative support to cope with the additional workload.

It has three vehicles and currently carries about 80 passengers a day, mostly schoolchildren, and serves villages between Long Hanborough and Standlake. However, it is in the process of improving its timetable from next month to include a shopper service from South Leigh into Witney for villagers.

Andy Swarbrick, First & Last Mile CIC Director, said: “We are very pleased to have been awarded a community transport grant. We feel it is in recognition of the widely applauded service we run in one of the most challenging rural areas of Oxfordshire since our inception in January 2022.

“The award will be used to establish not only a shoppers’ service but also put the whole business on a more professional footing. That said, a critical aspect of our philosophy is to engage locally, both in terms of volunteers and the support of the wider community.”

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. It can take disabled people to work, children to school, sick people to healthcare and older people to the shops. It runs local bus routes and provides transport for a wide range of clubs and other groups.

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.

Measures had already been proposed to address what had become an £11.2m shortfall after central government grant funding announcements failed to provide local government with the required finance to meet the pressures being experienced across the nation.

The proposals form part of the final budget being recommended to the council’s cabinet on 30 January, which will then be decided at the annual budget setting meeting of all 63 county councillors on 20 February.

Councillor Dan Levy, Oxfordshire County Council’s Cabinet Member for Finance, said: “Councils throughout the country made clear to central government through the Local Government Association and other channels that more funding was needed this year and in following years due to the high levels of pressures in areas such as social care, special educational needs and other services.

“There has been deep disappointment at the failure of government to address these issues.

“Our track record of responsible financial management means that Oxfordshire County Council has been in a more resilient position than many other authorities. However, the overall position is extremely challenging.

“This final batch of proposed measures means we are able to put forward a balanced budget but it has been a difficult process and we know this is mirrored in town and county halls throughout the land. We know that we, and local government as a whole, will continue to face difficult financial challenges in 2025/26 and beyond.

“It remains the case that our budgets for both adults and children’s social care will increase in real-terms after accounting for inflation in 2024, with investments to meet pressures outweighing savings proposals.”

What are the newly proposed measures?

• The county council has been notified that district councils have given a further improved forecast as to how much council tax will be collected in Oxfordshire. This amounts to £300,000.
• The council is able to reduce the amount it puts in contingency funding by £100,000.
• The council’s award-winning innovation hub (iHub) will move to becoming self-financing, which has created a saving of £300,000. It was launched in 2018 by the council to promote innovation in the county. This includes developing solutions on intelligent infrastructure, health, environment and mobility systems, as well as implementing projects to improve the local economy and environment for Oxfordshire’s citizens.
• A series of rises to charges for on-street parking and residents parking permits (helping cover the full costs of maintenance of controlled parking zones), This would raise £200,000 combined. 

Further detail

Detail as regards proposed on-street parking and residents parking changes:

• Abingdon: On-street parking pay and display would rise from £1.10 for one hour (8am to 6pm excluding Sundays and Bank Holidays) to £1.30. Two hours rises from £1.50 to £2.
• Oxford city centre central area (Zone 1): Street parking for one hour would rise from £6.60 to £7.60; two hours from £13.20 to £15.20. Evening parking would also rise from £6.60 to £7.60. Parking for an hour on Saturday rises from £6.60 to £7.60 and from £13.20 to £15.20 for two hours.
• Oxford city centre (Zone 2 including Jericho): Street parking for one hour would rise from £5.50 to £6.30 and for three hours from £16.50 to £19. Street parking for evenings and Sundays would rise from £5.50 to £6.30.
• Wallingford: Street parking for one and a half hours would rise from 70p to 80p.
• Residents parking permits: In Abingdon and Henley-on-Thames, a second batch of 25 visitor permits would rise from £27.50 to £31.50.
• In Oxford, business permits would rise from £44 to £50.50 for three months, £82.50 to £95 for six months and £126.50 to £145 for nine months. An annual permit would rise from £165 to £190. A change of vehicle charge will rise from £22 to £25.
• In Oxford, residents parking permits would rise from £70 to £80 for a first and second car and £140 to £161 for a third car In the Kassam Stadium area a permit would rise from £17.50 to £20.
• In Oxford a traders permit per week would rise from £27.50 to £31.50. A second batch of 25 visitor permits would rise from £27.50 to £31.50.
• In Banbury and Bicester a residents parking permit would rise from £66 to £76 with a second batch of 25 visitor permits rising from £27.50 to £31.50
• In Wantage and Wallingford a residents parking permit would rise from £100 to £110, and a second 25 visitor permits would rise from £25 to £31.50.
• Parking bay suspensions:  The charge for the suspension of a parking pay (both pay and display and non pay and display) would rise from £33 to £38.

On 2 December 1983, crowds gathered to catch a glimpse of Princess Diana as she officially opened the facility to the east of Wantage, by planting a sapling in the centre’s garden.

Forty years on and the same mulberry tree now towers over the centre and the service has supported more than 200 adults in that time.

Councillor Tim Bearder, Oxfordshire County Council’s Cabinet Member for Adult Social Care, said: “Wantage community support service has a long and important history, supporting adults from the town and the surrounding areas.

“From its royal opening to its current form, the centre has been a lifeline for people with additional needs, supporting them to live their best life.”

Back in 1983, Oxfordshire County Council’s Wantage CSS was called Charlton Training Centre and supported adults with learning disabilities. The building was used for various activities, including carpentry and woodwork as well as gardening in the land behind the centre. It would also sell the products it grew and made, bringing in some extra funds to the service.

During her visit, Princess Diana spoke with many of the adults who used the centre, listening to their stories and asking questions about their experiences. Keith Tollett still regularly attends Wantage CSS and was there on the day.

Keith said: “I had a lovely day! Diana was very pretty and kind and lovely to everyone.”

As the years moved on, the centre was adapted for the changing social care needs of the time. Wantage Market Garden was created in the green space behind the service and is now looked after by community action group, Sustainable Wantage, in partnership with care providers Style Acre and the county council.

Charlton Training Centre was renamed Charlton Day Service, before becoming Wantage Community Support Service in 2017, when even more adults were supported to use the centre, including those with aging health conditions such as dementia and people with mental health needs.

A greater emphasis is now placed on supporting people outside of the centre, including recent visits to Oxford’s Natural History Museum and a walk around Ladygrove Lakes.

To celebrate the centre’s 40^th anniversary, the staff at Wantage CSS are hosting an inclusive and accessible disco for the adults who use the service, as well as their family and carers.

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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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Glenn said: “There were various scans done and that made it clear there was damage in there. But more concerning than that was when the doctor gave the results and said, ‘you’ve got dementia, this is what is dementia is’ and turned to my wife and said, ‘you’re now his carer’.” 

This blunt redefining of roles was upsetting for both Glenn and Christine. Neither had any experience of supporting someone with dementia and the diagnosis led the couple on a journey of discovery to really understand what impact it might have on their relationship.

Glenn is now an ambassador for Dementia Oxfordshire – a service provided by Age UK Oxfordshire with funding support from Oxfordshire County Council. He offers his time to help others who have been diagnosed with dementia, as well as their families.

Research by Warwick University, supported by Dementia Oxfordshire, is looking to learn from the experiences of people like Glenn, by carrying out a study of the network of support available to people when they are diagnosed with dementia and how these might be improved.

Work has already identified common difficulties that people living with dementia, their families and carers face. The aim now is to put together a more comprehensive study, with the overall goal of improving access to support and making it more joined-up or connected, which will benefit people living with dementia in Oxfordshire and more widely.

Happily, for Glenn and Christine, by working together they found they were able to continue their relationship, not the same as before, but still able to love and support each other. 

By taking relatively simple steps – like marking events on a calendar and speaking honestly about any worries and frustrations – Glenn retains meaning in his life and his wife has been able to reconcile the challenges of being both a wife and a carer.

Glenn said: “I think our relationship is probably a bit stronger now, because we’re both a unit. Christine has been incredibly helpful to me in coping with my diagnosis.

“I’ve found when I’ve been open about my dementia status, people have been helpful and not overly worried about it. I think the thing is not to be too frightened by it.”

Glenn continues to work with Dementia Oxfordshire, sharing his own experiences to support others who have recently been given a dementia diagnosis.

Councillor Tim Bearder, Oxfordshire County Council’s Cabinet Member for Adult Social Care, said: “It must be an extremely unsettling time to be told you or a loved one has dementia, but there is help out there.

“I hope this new research leads to more positive experiences for people, strengthening our Oxfordshire Way vision to enable people to live happy, independent lives, within their own communities, for as long as possible.”

A short video about Glenn and his experiences can be viewed here.

A directory of local community groups and organisations providing support services, including those offered by Dementia Oxfordshire, can be found on the council's Live Well Oxfordshire webpages.

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Oxfordshire County Council, Milestone Infrastructure and their suppliers are working on a large layby/service road on the A417 Reading Road in the town. Work began on 14 August and is scheduled to last for five weeks. Environmentally friendly kerbing, bins, asphalt, bollards and concrete are all part of the scheme.

Councillor Andrew Gant, the county council’s Cabinet Member for Highway Management, said: “This otherwise routine scheme of maintenance and minor improvement provides a unique opportunity to incorporate a variety of innovative solutions in one location, and it serves well to demonstrate Oxfordshire County Council’s commitment to being a leader in sustainable highway maintenance and to put action to tackle climate change at the heart of our work.

“The list of sustainable materials being deployed is impressive and we hope it points the way to a different future in highway repair. My thanks go to our county council officers and their colleagues at Milestone for embracing this fresh way of doing things with one eye on the environment.”

Declan Moss, Operations Manager for Milestone said: “We are excited to take this project forward on behalf of the council; affording our graduate team members an opportunity to research sustainable products as part of their learning. The delivery of the work will be supervised by a graduate engineer in conjunction with our own site agent”.

Material and products listed below form the basis of the project with their sustainable benefits.

• Concrete canvas: Concrete canvas is a flexible, cement-impregnated fabric that hardens when hydrated. It offers rapid, cost-effective, and environmentally friendly solutions for erosion control, ditch lining, and concrete repair. The material comes in rolls, making it easy to transport and install. Its benefits include reduced construction time, minimised environmental impact, and durability in various applications. Concrete Canvas rolls will be used on site to construct drainage grips to allow rainwater to drain from the layby into the adjacent road ditch.
• Tree planting: Trees offer numerous benefits, including improved air quality, carbon sequestration, shade provision, and aesthetic enhancement. They contribute to overall environmental sustainability by promoting biodiversity and providing habitats for various species. After the layby reconstruction is completed, an additional two trees will be planted alongside it.
• Wild flower seedings: These plants require minimal maintenance, promote local biodiversity, attract pollinators, and add aesthetic value to landscapes. Wild flower seedings contribute to the conservation of native plant species and create natural, colourful habitats. Wild flower seeds will be sown along the verge at the end of the project
• Recycled plastic bin: Recycled plastic litter bins are environmentally friendly waste disposal solutions. Made from recycled materials, these bins contribute to plastic waste reduction and promote recycling awareness. They offer durability, resistance to corrosion, and low maintenance requirements. The bin that will be used on the layby is made from 100% recycled plastic chippings from bins that are no longer in use.
• Ultifastpath: Ultifastpath is a high-performance asphalt material designed for rapid road construction and repairs. Its quick-setting properties reduce road closure times, minimising traffic disruptions. Ultifastpath is a faster and simpler alternative to conventional footpath solutions as it replaces the need for a separate binder and surface course by combining the two.
• Sustainable kerbing: The kerbs used in this scheme are made from high-quality aggregates and recycled materials. The kerbs contain up to 48.3% recycled material content. It provides effective edge restraint, aiding pavement stability and preventing surface damage. It offers improved strength and durability while being lighter and more environmentally friendly. Benefits include reduced carbon emissions during production, ease of installation, and longevity, resulting in lower maintenance costs.
• TMP Bio-polymer bollard: TMP bio-polymer bollards are eco-friendly alternatives to traditional bollards made from petroleum-based materials. These bollards are crafted from renewable bio-polymers, reducing their carbon footprint. Their benefits include biodegradability, reduced dependence on fossil fuels, and a positive impact on environmental conservation.
• Solar powered temporary traffic signals: Solar powered temporary traffic signals use solar energy to power traffic control signals at construction or maintenance sites. These signals are eco-friendly, reducing the need for conventional power sources and minimising carbon emissions. Their benefits include cost savings on energy, reduced environmental impact, and improved traffic management.
• Warm mix asphalt: Warm mix asphalt is an innovative asphalt mixture that is produced and laid at lower temperatures compared to traditional hot mix asphalt. This technology offers several benefits, including reduced energy consumption during production, lower emissions of greenhouse gases and pollutants, improved workability, and a longer construction season due to lower temperature requirements. Additionally, warm mix asphalt can contribute to enhanced pavement performance and durability.
• CEM free concrete: CEM (cement) free concrete is a concrete mixture that significantly reduces or eliminates the use of traditional Portland cement. It employs alternative cementitious materials or binders, such as fly ash, slag, or natural pozzolans. Benefits of CEM-free concrete include reduced carbon emissions from cement production, decreased reliance on non-renewable resources, and potentially improved long-term durability and performance. This innovative approach aligns with sustainability goals and environmental stewardship.

The tree service was answering a request from local environmental groups to help them plant trees on land to the north of the Wantage community support service and Wantage Market Garden, a project jointly run between Oxfordshire County Council, Sustainable Wantage and Style Acre.

County council-run Wantage community support service, in Charlton Village Road, provides daytime support for adults with physical disabilities, learning disabilities, mental health problems and dementia.

On Friday 5 May, members of the county council’s tree service (Andy Lederer, Luke Rowland, Edward Whorwood, Matthew Hirons, James Hammond and Ellie Rawden) supported by James Smith (the council’s countryside access delivery team) and Lucy Duerdoth (national trails team) helped volunteers of all ages, Wantage Market Garden, Sustainable Wantage and Wild Wantage, plus day centre staff and users, plant 14 apple trees to create an orchard that will be available for the local community to enjoy for years to come.

Principal Officer – Arboriculture, Andy Lederer, said: “We absolutely love helping to enable projects like this to take place. We identified the potential but it was through significant planning and conversations by Luke, Senior Tree Officer, that the community and associated organisations were engaged and ultimately supported the idea through to delivery.

“We want to be enablers of projects as we know the importance of trees to our environment, not forgetting the ability to access food sources and improve our wellbeing and mental health. Well done to all the volunteers taking part and we look forward to helping with similar projects in the future.”

The council provided the trees, the equipment – including spades – and the expertise, while the volunteers gave their time and labour to turn the vision into reality.

Volunteers helped prepare the trees to be planted, put them in the ground and fill the holes with soil, with guidance from the county council’s tree professionals.

Jo Harvey, Sustainability Coordinator for Sustainable Wantage, said: “We're delighted to see this patch of land coming back into use. We would love to be able to help this develop into a community orchard, getting local residents and groups involved in its care and in enjoying the benefits and harvest.

“Given how COVID lockdowns and rising energy costs have highlighted the fragilities of our current food system, the more we can grow and use locally the better!”

It is hoped that pupils from Charlton Primary School and residents will join members of Wantage Market Garden in helping to look after the orchard.

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As a shared lives carer for Oxfordshire County Council, Sarah offers a place to stay for adults with learning disabilities, mental health problems or other needs that make it harder for them to live on their own. 

Sarah’s been part of the council’s adult social care scheme since 2020 and has just been celebrated at the Oxfordshire Care Awards, winning the Josie Award for her work making “an exceptional difference to dignity in care.”

Shared lives matches someone who needs care with an approved carer like Sarah. The carer shares their family and community life and gives care and support to the person staying with them. Some people move in with their shared lives carer for a period of time, while others stay for regular short breaks.

Sarah said: “Winning at the care awards was a real honour, especially hearing the kind words of the people I support. Being part of shared lives has given me the chance to meet some incredible people. It’s so rewarding for me and my sons – I find it really rewarding on a day to day basis!”

She is currently supporting a young woman called Sammy. Sammy says: “Since living at Sarah’s house, it’s always been like a home to me. Sarah is the most incredible shared lives carer, she always does a perfect job looking after people for respite.

“I am really happy she’s my carer, as she keeps me smiling every day. I am really proud of her winning the award as she deserves to follow her dreams.”

A recurring theme in Sarah’s testimonials is her dog Hugo, who Sarah sees as a valuable member of her shared lives experience. Sarah says: “It’s important that when people stay with us they feel like they’re part of the family. This can be as easy as taking Hugo for a walk in the park.

“While it’s important people have a positive experience with us, that sense of normality can be just what people need to really put them at ease.”

Anyone can become a shared lives carer. There are varying levels of commitment from one-off respite stays to more permanent support. Some combine daytime and overnight visits.

Karen Fuller, Oxfordshire County Council’s Interim Director for Adult Social Care, said: “Shared lives is an important part of our Oxfordshire Way vision to support people to live well and independently within their own communities for as long as possible.

“People like Sarah not only offer support to the people with additional needs, but also provide that important respite time for their family and friends who might support them on a more regular basis.

“I’m thrilled Sarah has been acknowledged at the care awards for her work and I hope her story inspires others to take part in the service.”

If you have a spare room, are kind and understanding, and have some time to support someone, you could become a shared lives carer too. Find out more at oxfordshire.gov.uk/sharedlives

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Oxfordshire County Council has adopted the Abingdon Local Cycling and Walking Infrastructure Plan (LCWIP), which will set out how to improve the town’s active travel network, reduce the reliance on single use motor vehicles, and cut congestion.

Councillor Andrew Gant, Oxfordshire County Council’s Cabinet Member for Highways Management, said: “This plan really sums up this council’s ambitions. LCWIPs are practical ways of helping people to reduce their reliance on cars for short journeys, and help the council meet our objectives of tackling climate action, improving air quality, and creating a healthier Oxfordshire.

“Many different community groups were involved in helping us put this plan together, and we are sure this approach will help it be a success. Nowhere in Abingdon is more than one and a half miles from the town centre – that’s roughly a 30 minute walk or a 10 minute cycle ride – so we look forward to more people using active travel over the next few years.”

The proposals include more than 100 suggestions for the following types of improvements:

• new and improved crossings for walking and cycling
• junction redesign to prioritise walking and cycling
• removal or modification of barriers on walking and cycling routes to improve accessibility
• provision of additional high-quality cycle parking
• on-carriageway cycling improvements such as wider cycle lanes
• provision of segregated cycle tracks, some of which will require reallocation of highway space from motor vehicles to active travel
• permissions for cycling on some routes where it is not currently allowed
• new crossings for walking and cycling over the River Thames and River Ock
• footway widening
• provision of new and improved walking and cycling routes between Abingdon and other key destinations outside the town.

These infrastructure improvements are intended for development over a 10 year period and will help to increase active and sustainable travel and reduce the use of private motor vehicle journeys.

The Abingdon plan is the fourth LCWIP to be approved in Oxfordshire, following on from Oxford, Bicester, and Kidlington. Consultations have taken place for others in Witney and Banbury.

Implementing the plan is expected to make it easier for the council to negotiate funding from developers and the government once the design stage of the project begins.

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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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At Wantage Market Garden, it’s not just the plants that are flourishing. For Hannah Crabb (pictured here on the right), who’s from Didcot, spending time amongst the growing flowers with green fingered friends has given her the chance to feel free.

“It’s good for the soul,” Hannah says, who’s been coming to the garden for five years. “It’s beautiful here. I love the outdoors, meeting new people and doing a bit of gardening!”

Wantage Market Garden is a cherished green space in southern Oxfordshire. It is owned by Oxfordshire County Council and sits to the back of the adult social care team’s Wantage Community Support Service building. The garden is looked after by community action group, Sustainable Wantage, in partnership with care providers Style Acre.

Hannah suffers with epilepsy and short-term memory loss that affects her everyday life but with the help of her support worker, Wendy Trueman (pictured on the left), she is able to come to the garden on a regular basis.

Wendy’s worked with Hannah for more than two years and has seen her confidence grow: “The garden really helps Hannah’s outlook on life. There are times when she’s struggling emotionally but, when we get here, it lifts her mood and gives her something positive to focus on.”

Wendy is employed by Style Acre, a charity that supports people with learning difficulties and autism. They help around 275 people in the county in supported living housing as well as providing opportunities for day activities and social enterprises to help service users find employment.

While Style Acre supports the people, the main garden is managed by Sustainable Wantage, which brings in volunteers at weekends to help keep the site maintained.

On the surface, the garden is a simple programme, helping adults needing additional support to feel the benefits of nature. But dig a little deeper and you will find the roots of the county council’s Oxfordshire Way – an approach which is fundamentally transforming how care is delivered in the county.

By focusing on each individual, and working with community partners, people are being helped to live well within their community, remaining fit and healthy for as long as possible.

For Hannah, the garden’s tranquillity not only benefits her mental wellbeing but also helps her to control her epilepsy, giving her greater confidence to live life her way, without the need for more formal care.

And while many gardeners are thinking about packing their tools away for the winter, Hannah has big plans ahead. “We’ll be making Christmas wreaths and decorations soon,” she says. And for anyone thinking about coming to the garden, Hannah has one message: “Come on down! If you like being outdoors and meeting new people – you’ll just love it here!”.

Wantage Market Garden welcomes the public over the weekend with prearranged visits available. For more information search for Wantage Market Garden on Facebook.

Take a look at our video to find out more.

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Hosted for the third consecutive time by Oxfordshire County Council, and the county’s city and district councils, Oxfordshire was the venue for the final stage of this year’s six stage race, won by Lorena Wiebes.

Enthusiastic residents ensured a colourful spectacle along the route, showcasing their neighbourhoods to national and international TV audiences.

Riders were flagged off in Chipping Norton’s High Street on a 90 mile route to the finish along Oxford’s historic St Giles’.

Carterton pupil, Chester Youd, aged 7, from St John the Evangelist CE Primary School, won the competition to design the starter flag. Read his story here, and see his Union Jack inspired artwork above.

The route passed through many picture-postcard locations, including taking in one of Britain’s most loved areas, the Cotswolds (see image of the Burford hill climb, above). It headed as far north as Milcombe – a short distance from Banbury where Italian rider Marta Bastianelli triumphed in the 2021 race – before changing course and travelling south through West Oxfordshire towards RAF Brize Norton in Carterton.

Stage six also visited Faringdon, Wantage and Abingdon in the Vale of White Horse; and Didcot and Wallingford in South Oxfordshire, where a large section of the route followed the stunning scenery of the North Wessex Downs.

Riders crossed the River Thames using the Folly Bridge as the race entered Oxford from its south side, with a dramatic finish on the historic St Giles’.

As in previous years (image below) many residents used their creative flair to give the competitors a bright and colourful welcome.

Throngs of spectators cheered noisily as the riders approached the finish line in Oxford.

Businesses, community representatives and cycling club members had also helped raise awareness in the build up to the race (image below).

Councillor Liz Leffman, Leader of Oxfordshire County Council, said: “The Women’s Tour has been a fantastic way to showcase our wonderful county to the world. Hosting this prestigious race for a third time was a great collaborative effort between the county council and our local authority colleagues.”

Leading law firm Blake Morgan sponsored the final stage of the Women’s Tour.

About the Women’s Tour

Created by SweetSpot Group in 2014, the Women’s Tour is the UK’s first international stage race for women, bringing the world’s top riders to compete in Great Britain as a part of the UCI Women’s WorldTour.

The race, which has been won by the likes of Marianne Vos (2014), Lizzie Deignan (2016, 2019) and Demi Vollering (2021), attracts an annual roadside audience of 300,000, as well as over three million fans through linear and online platforms.

Follow the Women’s Tour on Twitter (#WomensTour), Facebook, and Instagram or via the event’s official website at womenstour.co.uk.

For further media information please contact Peter Hodges (07970 526 519 / peterh@thetour.co.uk) and Nick Bull (07977 151 184 / nickb@thetour.co.uk).

(Photographs courtesy of SWpix are marked in the ‘click on’ captions)

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Hosted for the third consecutive time by Oxfordshire County Council, and the county’s city and district councils, Oxfordshire is the venue for the final stage of this year’s six stage race.

Riders will be flagged off in Chipping Norton’s High Street at 11am on a 90 mile route to the finish along Oxford’s historic St Giles’ at around 3pm. 

Carterton pupil, Chester Youd, aged 7, from St John the Evangelist CE Primary School, won the competition to design the starter flag.  Read his story here, and see his Union Jack inspired artwork below:

The route - detailed on the Women's Tour website - will pass through many picture-postcard locations, including taking in one of Britain’s most loved areas, the Cotswolds. It will head as far north as Milcombe – a short distance from Banbury where Italian rider Marta Bastianelli triumphed in the 2021 race – before changing course and travelling south through West Oxfordshire towards RAF Brize Norton in Carterton.

Stage six will also visit Faringdon, Wantage and Abingdon in the Vale of White Horse; and Didcot and Wallingford in South Oxfordshire, where a large section of the route will follow the stunning scenery of the North Wessex Downs.  Those watching at Burcot will have the thrill of welcoming riders for the final sprint of this year’s tour, which is estimated at around 2.25pm.

Riders will cross the River Thames using the Folly Bridge as the race enters Oxford from its south side. In what promises to be a truly stunning end to the 2022 race, the stage will finish on the historic St Giles’ around 3pm.

Councillor Liz Leffman, Leader of Oxfordshire County Council, said: “The Women’s Tour is a fantastic way to showcase our wonderful county to the world. I’m confident this event will support and raise awareness of cycling and its benefits, as well as bring an economic boost to our communities – so important as businesses recover from the pandemic. Hosting this prestigious race for a third time is a great collaborative effort between the county council and our local authority colleagues.”

Rolling road closures

There will be rolling road closures from 11am at the race start area in Chipping Norton, controlled by police and route marshals, which will then continue along the route. This will involve highways and junctions, with access roads onto the route, closing for short periods while the race passes through. The length of closure depends on how dispersed the riders are.

Road closure locations along the route, with predicted race timings, are listed in full on Oxfordshire County Council’s website.

Redbridge Recycling Centre, temporary closure

 As the race will pass close to Redbridge Recycling Centre, the site will be closed between 1:30pm and 3pm. All other household waste and recycling centres are scheduled to remain open as normal. 

Economic and health benefits

Oxfordshire is expecting economic and health benefits from hosting the prestigious event, with cycling fans expected to visit the county to watch the race, generating additional business for restaurants, bars, hotels, B&Bs and shops.

Over 100 professional riders will weave their way through towns, villages and rural areas, and it is hoped that local schools will be inspired to organise themed sport and fitness lessons.

Families are expected to line the route to cheer on competitors, turning the event into an exciting community spectacle. Spectators will be encouraged to use healthy and environmentally friendly transport to reach vantage points to watch the race.

Councillor Andy Graham, Leader of West Oxfordshire District Council, said: “It’s fantastic to have such a prestigious race taking place in our district and it’s a great honour for Chipping Norton to be hosting the start of the race. We hope the Women’s Tour will leave a positive legacy with more people getting into cycling and making the most of our beautiful countryside in West Oxfordshire.”

Councillor Louise Upton, Cabinet Member for Health and Transport at Oxford City Council, said: “Oxford is extraordinarily beautiful, one of the most scenic cities in the world. As these amazing women ride through the city to a well-deserved hero’s welcome at St Giles’, they will see many of the things that make Oxford such a special place, from the first park and ride in the country to the ancient University colleges that have produced so many world-beating athletes.

“We hope to create a really festive atmosphere to celebrate the Women’s Tour ending in Oxford and will have lots of fun activities to keep the crowd entertained as they wait for the nail-biting finish.”

Councillor Eric de la Harpe, Cycling Champion at Vale of White Horse District Council, said: “I’m very proud that we’ve been able to bring The Women’s Tour to Oxfordshire and I’m really excited to see a fantastic finale on 11 June. Like many sports, cycling can be seen as quite a male dominated environment, but events like this can really help to encourage a new generation of female cyclists. Across the county we are seeing many more residents join our growing cycling community and the Women’s Tour has played a real part in inspiring people to get on their bike, whether that’s to get around the local area, to improve health and fitness, or more seriously as part of a cycling club.”

Councillor Sam Casey-Rerhaye, Cycling Champion at South Oxfordshire District Council, said: “Coming just days after the Jubilee celebrations, the Women’s Tour will be another wonderful event for our communities to enjoy. I’m really looking forward to seeing people join with friends and family to line the streets to mark the occasion and cheer the riders on. I hope the event brings more visitors to the area on Saturday and that they make the most our wonderful pubs, cafes and shops. If you are coming along to watch the race, make sure you check the times carefully as the cyclists go through each area very quickly, so we wouldn’t want anyone to miss out!”

Councillor Phil Chapman, Cherwell District Council’s Portfolio Holder for Healthy Communities, said: “Watching a world class bike race is a truly thrilling experience and one I definitely recommend to anyone who’s not seen one before. It’s a privilege to once again be supporting the Women’s Tour and have it pass through our district for local people and visitors to enjoy.”

Leading law firm Blake Morgan is sponsoring the final stage of the Women’s Tour.

About the Women’s Tour

Created by SweetSpot Group in 2014, the Women’s Tour is the UK’s first international stage race for women, bringing the world’s top riders to compete in Great Britain as a part of the UCI Women’s WorldTour.

The race, which has been won by the likes of Marianne Vos (2014), Lizzie Deignan (2016, 2019) and Demi Vollering (2021), attracts an annual roadside audience of 300,000, as well as over three million fans through linear and online platforms.

Follow the Women’s Tour on Twitter (#WomensTour), Facebook, and Instagram or via the event’s official website at womenstour.co.uk.

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Oxfordshire County Council has started a consultation for the Banbury Local Cycling and Walking Infrastructure Plan (LCWIP), which will set out how to improve the town’s active travel network over the next 10 years.

Councillor Andrew Gant, Oxfordshire County Council’s Cabinet Member for Highways Management, said: “Our aim is to prioritise active travel, such as cycling and walking, over road capacity for cars. Projects like this Banbury LCWIP show practical ways that we can help people to reduce their reliance on cars for short journeys, and helps the council tackle climate action, improve air quality and create a healthier Oxfordshire.

“The feedback we receive from the public, from businesses and other organisations will help us shape these proposals. We have already worked with Banbury Town Council and Cherwell District Council and now we want as many people as possible to take part so we can develop a better-connected active travel network.”

People can take part in the consultation, which includes maps of suggested routes within Banbury and connections to neighbouring villages, at https://letstalk.oxfordshire.gov.uk/banbury-lcwip-initial until 20 June.

LCWIPs help councils identify where transport infrastructure – such as cycleways and pedestrian crossings – should be implemented or improved to enable residents to cycle and walk safely and conveniently over the next 10 years. They also increase the chances of securing funds from the government and developers for active travel infrastructure.

If approved, the Banbury plan would be the fourth LCWIP to be developed in Oxfordshire, following on from Oxford, Bicester and Kidlington.

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 To mark the occasion, the library is going back to 1972 with a nostalgic display of 70s memorabilia, including some of the bestselling books of 1972, fashion, pictures and film.

 Staff, volunteers and councillors will be marking the occasion with a small birthday celebration – including cake – at 2pm. Local Member of Parliament, David Johnston, will also be visiting on Friday 11 March to mark the anniversary.

 Councillor Neil Fawcett, Oxfordshire County Council’s Cabinet Member for Consumer Services, said: “Libraries are a critical part of so many of our communities. They provide a safe and welcoming space and are trusted, free to use and open to everyone.

 “I am delighted Grove Library served its local communities for 50 years and hope residents and media can join volunteers and staff to mark the occasion on 14 March.”

 The library is run with the help of volunteers through the Friends of Grove Library group. Find out more, including how to get involved at grovelibrary.co.uk

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Oxfordshire County Council’s Cabinet has approved the Kidlington Local Cycling and Walking Infrastructure Plan (LCWIP), which will set out how to improve the village’s active travel network over the next 10 years and reduce the reliance on single use motor vehicles.

Councillor Tim Bearder, Oxfordshire County Council’s Cabinet Member for Highways Management, said: “We have pledged to prioritise active travel, such as cycling and walking, over road capacity for cars. In fact, we need to radically embrace alternative modes of transport because our Local Transport and Connectivity Plan pledges to replace or remove one out of every four current car trips in Oxfordshire by 2030.

“Projects like this Kidlington LCWIP show practical ways that we can help people to reduce their reliance on cars for short journeys, and helps the council meet our objectives of tackling climate action, improving air quality, and creating a healthier Oxfordshire. We’re particularly keen on making it easier for children to cycle or walk to school as active travel becomes more attractive, comfortable and direct and this is the start of that journey.”

The Kidlington plan is the third LCWIP to be developed in Oxfordshire, following on from Oxford and Bicester, which were approved in 2020. It contains proposals for encouraging cycling and walking in the village and to neighbouring areas to reduce traffic congestion and support planned growth around the Kidlington area.

Implementing the plan is expected to make it easier for the council to negotiate funding from developers and the government once the design stage of the project begins.

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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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Thanks to consultation responses from residents and organisations in January and February, final scheme designs have been agreed by the county council and are now set to be implemented.

Councillor Yvonne Constance, Cabinet Member for Environment, said: “I’d like to thank all those that contributed their views in the consultations on the schemes for Bicester and Witney. The consultations have helped us to design schemes that are right for the towns and that make a lasting difference in the council’s goals of increasing journeys made by cycling and walking.”

“Active travel and climate action are at the heart of our plans. We have put forward schemes that will have the greatest impact in terms of air quality, physical activity and environmental benefit. Both schemes are projects which go to the heart of supporting healthy and vibrant communities.”

Nigel Tipple, Chief Executive of the Oxfordshire Local Enterprise Partnership, said: “We are delighted to learn that work is set to begin on this scheme, benefitting both businesses and residents alike, as well as supporting a shift towards cleaner travel. As the Local Enterprise Partnership for Oxfordshire, we continue to play a vitally important role moving forward, securing investment that enables and unlocks new opportunities for our many businesses and communities right across the county.”

The work has been delivered at pace thanks to funding of £1.4 million secured by the Oxfordshire Local Enterprise Partnership (OxLEP) from the Government’s Local Growth Fund.

In Witney, an enhanced cycling and walking connection between Tower Hill and Madley Park will be created, incorporating the town centre, shops, schools and businesses. Following consultation feedback, Holloway Road will remain open and the proposed bus lane on Corn Street has been deferred to be considered within the Witney transport strategy review.

The work in Bicester incorporates the eastern end of Middleton Stoney Road. This scheme will boost cycling and walking from the expanding south and west of Bicester and provide connectivity into the town centre through Oxford Road/Kings End and Causeway, as well as an off-road route through Piggy Lane. A decision on Causeway has been deferred until the detailed designs have been prepared and discussed with stakeholders.

Shared paths will be widened in both towns to three metres wherever possible to create a safer environment to cycle and walk.

Work on both schemes is set to be completed in May, offering residents a great chance to enjoy more active travel journeys from the summer.

Oxfordshire County Council has finished work on five cycling routes which make up the first phase of the Science Vale Cycling Network project – more than 10km of improved cycle and pedestrian paths that are now open to the public.

The routes link the science and research centres at Harwell Campus, Milton Park and Culham Science Centre with Abingdon, Wantage and Didcot, including Didcot Parkway railway station. To see the network in full, visit the map of the routes.

Councillor Yvonne Constance, Oxfordshire County Council’s Cabinet Member for Environment, said: “The completion of these five cycling routes is great news for this part of the county, and complements the work being carried out in Oxford, Witney and Bicester as part of our active travel programme. Having the infrastructure in place is a huge factor when it comes to persuading people to swap the car for the bike, and the Science Vale Cycle Network is just the sort of project that will make it easier to take the healthier option.”

Despite the challenges presented by the pandemic and the nature of the off-road routes, the work was completed three months before the funding deadline, and route 1 earned a Green Apple Environment Award for minimising carbon emissions and reducing environmental impact during construction.

Some of these environmentally friendly practices included:

• Powering the on-site offices by using solar energy.
• Using sustainable materials, such as locally sourced European oak.
• Reusing excavated soil to minimise waste to landfill.
• Navigating within existing trees, reducing the tree clearance and preventing negative impact on biodiversity.
• Pioneering photo-luminescent technology – i-glo discs – as path markers. They glow brightly throughout the night and use natural light to recharge during the day.
• Using a new sustainable paving, Flexipave, 50 per cent of which is made from recycled tyres. This porous material allows large volumes of water and air to penetrate the surface and promotes water recharge directly into natural aquifers, which hold groundwater. More than 16,000 tyres were used to deliver 7,115 metres of Flexipave, contributing to a carbon reduction of 382,217kg CO2 from surfacing alone.

The project is part of the Science Vale Cycling Network strategy, which supports and enables housing growth near employment sites. The strategy’s vision is for a world-class cycle network enabling users to make safe, efficient, connected journeys by bike, comparable with those found in continental Europe, supporting the growth and investment being made in Science Vale.

The Oxfordshire Local Enterprise Partnership (OxLEP) secured £5.1m of funding for the project through the government’s Local Growth Fund. The investment shows OxLEP’s commitment to improving infrastructure and connectivity across Oxfordshire, with the aim of providing greater accessibility, reducing congestion and travel times, supporting jobs and improving the quality of life for people and communities.

The rest of the money came from Oxfordshire County Council, largely from developers’ Section 106 contributions.

Nigel Tipple, OxLEP Chief Executive, said: “The completion of such a significant project – that will have a positive impact on our business community – is excellent news, particularly in a post COVID-19 economy.

“As the local enterprise partnership for Oxfordshire, we will continue to play a vitally important role for the county moving forward, securing investment that enables new opportunities and effective connectivity that will benefit the county’s businesses for many years to come.”

The science and technology parks welcomed the improvement of facilities for existing cyclists and walkers, and those who would now be tempted to take up active travel.

Philip Campbell, Commercial Director of MEPC, which manages Milton Park – home to 250 businesses and 9,000 employees – said: “To officially open this key section of new infrastructure at a time when people are telling us that they would like to travel to and from work using sustainable travel modes is a positive milestone. Thank you to the project teams at the county council, their contractors, and our team for delivering the project. We hope that people enjoy using the new path and it helps to make their commute that little bit easier.”

Jason Stafford, Development and Construction Director at Harwell Campus, said: “The Wantage to Harwell cycle route is important for commuters to and from the Campus, both for our regular cyclists and as a more usable option for new cyclists. We are pleased to work with Oxfordshire County Council in delivering green travel initiatives as part of the Campus’ sustainability drive and the efforts of the Council’s team in enabling the completion of this key project are recognised and appreciated.”

Bus operators have also taken a number of measures to promote safe travel, by implementing social distancing measures on board, restricting capacity and enhancing cleaning regimes, particularly of key touchpoints. Passengers are reminded that face coverings are mandatory on public transport, except for those who are in exempt categories.

Councillor Yvonne Constance, Cabinet Member for Transport at Oxfordshire County Council said: “These changes are positive news for residents of Oxfordshire; we’ve worked with the bus operators to revise bus services and frequencies to connect people with real upgrades in services to vital areas of growing employment and economic activity.

This is particularly important as we look toward recovery from the pandemic and as a means of reducing our environmental impact as individuals within growing communities. The improvements to services will also mean real travel choices for people as we look to fight congestion and improve air quality too.”

Phil Southall, Thames Travel Managing Director, said: “We’re proud to be launching a raft of new services in the new year to help drive the region’s recovery and continue to improve congestion and air quality.

“Our new contracts with Milton Park and Oxfordshire County Council to provide frequent shuttle bus services to the park will provide improved connectivity with Didcot Parkway Rail Station, Wantage, East Oxford and Headington’s life sciences district. It will also improve the frequency of local services in Didcot using our Connector branded buses. This has created new jobs and will help make travel more sustainable.

“Passengers can be reassured our buses are deep cleaned daily and a recent investigation by Channel 4’s Dispatches concluded the special cleaning measures conducted on public transport are ‘very effective’.”

From 4 January 2021, there are major changes to most bus routes in the Science Vale in response to county council contract awards and a new partnership between Milton Park and Thames Travel. Services will now operate more frequently between Milton Park and Didcot, with improved links to the site from Wantage, Grove, Abingdon and Oxford.

Milton Park staff who live in Didcot can now buy a Didcot Zone travel pass for just £20 per year, giving unlimited journeys on all Thames Travel services within the town and to work.

New service X36 is introduced between Wantage, Grove, Milton Park and Didcot, while the frequency of service X2 is increased between Didcot, Abingdon and Oxford – including an improved evening and Sunday service.

Thames Travel’s existing service X32 will be extended to operate between Wantage, Harwell Campus, Didcot, Milton Park, Oxford and John Radcliffe Hospital, providing a new direct link between south Oxfordshire and the hospital. Service 94 to/from Blewbury will be revised to also serve Chilton and Harwell Campus, and a new Saturday service will be introduced.

There will also be improved links to Culham Science Centre from Didcot, with a new service 95 offering peak time connections from the town and the Ladygrove estate. Long Wittenham, Clifton Hampden and Berinsfield will also see a new 95B service to/from Didcot on weekdays.

Abingdon will once again be linked to Oxford station by service X2. Service X3 will operate through to the John Radcliffe Hospital (replacing service X13), while also serving the new Barton Park development and Barton. A higher frequency will be introduced between Abingdon and Oxford city centre on Mondays to Saturdays.

The county council is also working with local community groups and developers to restore services to Horspath and Littleworth. A new service 46, provided by Thames Travel, will run on Mondays to Fridays between Wheatley, Horspath and Cowley Centre, with through tickets available onto Oxford city centre.

Meanwhile, in the Bicester area, a number of services have been revised, with the introduction of new services 29 and H5 doubling the frequency of service between Ambrosden and Bicester, together with a new service for the emerging Graven Hill development.

Service H5 now provides new, regular bus links between Bicester and John Radcliffe Hospital, also creating new services for Merton and Islip. Service 29 will serve Bullingdon Prison and Arncott, with a limited off-peak service for Upper Arncott retained following discussions with the local community.

The county council has also stepped in to provide funding to maintain vital links to Langford, Launton and Stratton Audley following withdrawal of the S5 and 18 bus services from these areas. New services 27 and 28 will run to Langford and Launton, while Stratton Audley will be served by a new Comet community transport route on Tuesdays and Thursdays.

From 17 January, Stagecoach will re-number service S7 between Carterton, Witney and the John Radcliffe Hospital to H2 and introduce two new journeys on Sundays to cover shift times.

Provision of improved bus services is a key component of the county council’s vision of thriving communities. The council has awarded over £9 million of local bus contracts in the past 12 months to support this goal.

Further details of changes can be found online:

• Thames Travel changes in and around Didcot

• X3 bus service between Abingdon and Barton

• New bus service for Horspath

• Stagecoach services in and around Bicester

Her placement is part of the wider 18-month Careers in Care project delivered by Oxfordshire County Council’s Oxfordshire Employment and Style Acre. It aims to support both people with a learning disability and those with wider health and disability needs to develop skills, and to find work within the Oxfordshire social care sector

Vicky, who is in her early thirties and from Wantage first joined the programme in July 2019 after expressing an interest in learning how to support others with learning disabilities.

Bubbly Vicky wanted to learn the right way to support someone with a variety of complex special needs and help in their development.

After many false starts looking for work and developing skills, she wanted something that would allow her to overcome her own mild disabilities and a flexible role in which she could learn at her own pace and gain confidence In the past she has experience of care but no formal qualifications, just a willingness to learn and adapt.

The programme brings together Oxfordshire Employment’s expertise in job coaching and supporting successful employment outcomes together with Style Acre’s ability to deliver bespoke work experience, learning and development within its own social care services and social enterprises.

In her time at placement, Vicky has learnt how to support others, she has almost completed her Level 1 Support Worker online training; and has completed a Level 2 in food safety.

She is now looking into government funded courses in health and social care to assist her with a qualification alongside her support role and is hopeful that her current placement will lead to paid work.

Sarah, project co-ordinator at Style Acre said:

“Vicky has an excellent rapport with the service users and is greatly missed by everyone when she takes some holiday time off she has learnt a great deal on programme and is always keen to learn more.”

The Careers in Care programme has been extended to 31 March 2021 to deliver more support opportunities.

Chris Ingram, Chief Executive at Style Acre said:

“Wellbeing seems to be a trendy word at the moment, but it has been a fundamental part of what we have focused on at Style Acre for a number of years. There is a lot of evidence to show how important a job can be for people’s wellbeing, which is why our work programme has become such an important focus for Style Acre.

“People with learning and other disabilities are hugely disadvantaged in the employment market and very few work within social care which is why this project done in collaboration with Oxfordshire Employment has been so important to us.

“The fact that we have been able to link it with our other enterprises like the garden project at Wantage has been a real benefit to everyone. The project has been a huge success and I would like to thank everyone at Style Acre, Oxfordshire Employment and our partners who have been part of the journey so far.”

Will Gardner, team manager at Oxfordshire Employment said:

“I’m delighted that the in-depth support provided has helped Vicky find a role that adds value for her and brings her superb skills into the sector. This is about bringing people closer to work, whether volunteering or through employment, but I’m confident that Vicky can join others we have supported through Careers in Care and gain paid employment”

“I am also delighted that we’ve been able to extend this project by another six months so that we can deliver even more opportunities to people across the county.”

More information

Find out more about the work of Oxfordshire Employment here.

Find out more about Style Acre and the work that they do across Oxfordshire here.

Innovative ideas have been identified by county councillors all over Oxfordshire in response to the Government’s national £250 million cash fund to implement changes to roads and transport networks.

There’s set to be a focus on encouraging residents to walk and cycle, with the county council linking up with district councils, Oxford City Council and other partners on the work. In terms of longer-term recovery, the use of public transport will be encouraged as part of the county-wide strategy.

Oxfordshire County Council’s Cabinet Member for Environment Cllr Yvonne Constance and Cycling Champion Cllr Suzanne Bartington recently asked all 63 county councillors covering every part of the county for their ideas on what should be done.

Enthusiastic responses were received as the council seeks to make sure that every town and village will benefit from how the funds are invested.

Of the responses submitted, there is particularly clear support for measures including:

• Wider roll-out of 20 mph speed zones where supported by residents
• The introduction of school streets to restrict motor vehicles around schools at certain times of day
• Improved cycling infrastructure such as more cycle-only lanes in every town
• Additional cycle facilities such as more secure cycle racks at rural bus stops

Oxford is already well positioned to benefit from the work done as a result of its Local Cycling and Walking Infrastructure Plan (LCWIP), which has identified steps to maximise the uptake in cycling and walking across the city.

Cllr Yvonne Constance said: “The immense challenges of coronavirus have disrupted our transport network. However there are now opportunities to rethink the way we travel and a chance to make strides towards sustainable and zero emission transport. There’s a real chance to do things differently, helping more people to walk, cycle and travel in sustainable ways.

“By working with councillors across the county on adapting our transport infrastructure and options we can alter the way people think about travelling. This could all lead to much-needed improvements in air quality as well as supporting a sustainable recovery from the pandemic.”

“The county council will work to ensure people have access to the facilities and information they will need to take advantage of the adapted infrastructure that is planned.”

Specific steps will be announced shortly - some will be implemented in June, with further changes to be made between July and September.

The precise allocation and terms for the county of the £250 million government fund is still to be confirmed. The county council will work with the district and city councils to use this funding as widely as possible to address the active transport measures under consideration for the benefit of residents.

Despite the restrictions of the lockdown, this remains an important moment for the nation and the tributes will begin with a video message online from Oxfordshire’s Lord Lieutenant Tim Stevenson at 2.50pm.

On 8th May 1945, Britain and its allies celebrated the defeat of Nazi Germany and the end of Hitler's aggression. This formally recognised the end of the Second World War in Europe and became known as Victory in Europe (VE) Day.

Plans to celebrate the 75th anniversary of VE Day have been severely impacted by the Coronavirus pandemic with events either cancelled or postponed.

However, 8th May 2020 remains a Bank Holiday and many will participate in a planned national toast to the Heroes of World War Two at 3pm from the safety of our own homes.

Take part by raising a glass, cheering and clapping on your doorsteps and offer your tribute; The official toast is: “To those who gave so much, we thank you.”

Other parts of Oxfordshire are also celebrating. In Oxford, The Lord Mayor Councillor Craig Simmons will start the VE Day celebrations at 11am for the nation’s two-minute silence from his doorstep. At 3pm he will raise a toast to the nation.

Cllr Andrew McHugh as the military champion for Cherwell District Council has recorded a message to celebrate VE Day which will feature on our Facebook page.

South Oxfordshire and Vale of the White Horse district councils are running a campaign to encourage staff, councillors and residents to get creative: making red, white and/or blue cakes, buns or muffins, dress their houses/pets/selves up to celebrate the end of the conflict – and to get residents to join in the government’s garden party, and submit to us their photos on social media, which will be shared in a big photo montage. Make your submissions to: communications@southandvale.gov.uk

Witney Town Council also has a series of virtual events including a concert by Voicebox Choir who were due to have performed live in Witney Market Square. Further information here: http://www.witney-tc.gov.uk/news/witney-plans-for-a-virtual-ve-day-75-commemoration/.

Schedule: VE Day 75 8^th May 2020

11am - 2 minutes silence for a national moment of remembrance

11.15am - Join the Royal British Legion VE Day Livestream

2.50pm – Watch Oxfordshire’s Lord Lieutenant’s message on our Facebook page: https://tinyurl.com/y98mdzsu

6.00pm: Christchurch Cathedral Oxford: listen to a VE Day Evensong from this historic place of worship: https://www.chch.ox.ac.uk/oxfords-cathedral/online-worship

9pm - Her Majesty The Queen will send a message to the nation on BBC One, at 9pm, the same time her father, King George VI, gave a radio address in 1945.

 Followed by a national singalong of Dame Vera Lynn's We'll Meet Again.Open your doors and join in with this national moment of celebration.

9-10^th May: Oxfordshire County Council continues VE Day 75:

Keep following the 75^th anniversary as our Facebook page features video messages from Oxfordshire’s council leaders as well as contributions from active duty personnel in the Royal Air Force and Army across Oxfordshire. The videos will be uploaded across both days and can be watched at: https://tinyurl.com/y98mdzsu

We will also be presenting a range of photos on our Oxfordshire County Council Twitter account that residents have submitted to us of locations across Oxfordshire that played a part in World War Two. Follow us @OxfordshireCC

Stay Safe, Stay at Home:

Please do not to travel or hold any gatherings that go against the stay home rules. Everyone must stay at home, protect the NHS and save lives. www.gov.uk/coronavirus 

The best way for everyone to protect themselves and others from illness is to stay at home. If you are leaving your home for exercise once a day, please stay local and use open spaces near to your home.

Further resources:

Poster/bunting template

• Great British bunting template - BBC

Learning resources

• Imperial War Museum - What you need to know about VE Day
• Royal British Legion - VE Day Learning Resources
• BBC History - End of WW2
• VE Day 75 Resources

Social distancing rules may change the way care is delivered but social care workers are going above and beyond to support people on the front-line, while observing social distancing rules and using the appropriate Personal Protective Equipment (PPE).

We are sharing a series of stories called ‘caring in a crisis’ to praise our colleagues and highlight the magnificent work taking place behind the scenes that support people who are vulnerable.

Since the lockdown begun on Friday 23 March, the team of 25 Support Workers have mobilised to proactively organise daily welfare calls to support the government message: stay home and stay safe.

The team have gone above and beyond to come up with new ideas every day, to provide a versatile and bespoke service that caters for people who rely on them.   

Here, the Redlands Banbury Community Support Service share their experience of reacting to the coronavirus outbreak:

A new Youtube channel launches 

Technology platforms are now used to provide essential care for people's physical and emotional well-being, to encourage the day centre visitors to communicate and to simply have fun.

To keep in touch, the team perform ‘welfare calls’ to reduce the risk to staff and to keep people safe and in contact. Jennifer Farrell is a Team Leader at  Redlands: ‘we call our day centre guests to ask how they are, if they have any problems and need anything. Sometimes we help with tasks such as collecting prescriptions, doing the weekly grocery shop and directing people to mental health resources and support that links to local providers. We don’t want people to feel isolated or unwell when we can still be a friendly presence’

For the welfare calls, there is a traffic light chart system to keep in touch with people and gauge how much support is needed. If a person is marked as ‘green’ -this means they are doing great, ‘amber’ means some extra care and attention is needed and ‘red’ means the person will need dedicated support.

The coronavirus has presented an opportunity to communicate in different ways to match the needs of our vulnerable people. Some people like emails, others like to write and send homemade postcards and sometimes people like speak via video calls to connect.

A new 'Redlands CSS' (Community Support Service) YouTube channel has launched so people can log on daily to watch singing, get involved with quizzes and receive companionship.

Jennifer joined the Redlands team 17 years ago: 

‘The thing I love about my job is that I get to make a difference and it feels great to be supported by colleagues, really inspirational in fact! This is a challenging time because everyone is told to stay home, and we miss our friends. We are a service where people can integrate and be themselves and we run a variety of activities, so we are doing our best to keep business as usual. Our users and relatives have given us fantastic feedback about the YouTube channel to encourage us to keep adding more videos.

Community Support Services – more than a building

There are eight Community Support Services across Oxfordshire offering tailored support activities for adults who have a learning disability, ageing health needs, physical disability, dementia or mental health needs.

The services make sure people have independence (where possible) choice and control over their lives and offer them the opportunity to be involved in how the service works.

Presented as a front of house service, the Banbury community support service aka Day Centre supports a total of 52 adults who have various needs. The facility usually welcomes between 20 – 30 visitors who voluntarily choose to spend their time at the facility, every day with ages ranging from 18 to 93 years old. The team are passionate about making a positive difference to everyone who walks through the door - such as Ilaine.

Meet Ilaine: staff have become like extra family

Ilaine is 55 years old, she has learning difficulties and she has made friends with different age groups during her eight years of visiting Redlands Community Support Service, every day.

Tanya is Ilaine’s sister-in-law and she is grateful for the team who offer daily respite care:

‘They are a superb team and the team do a phenomenal job, they make our lives better. I’m able to go out and work as an approved mental health professional because I know Ilaine is in good hands. This means I can contribute to society to go out and work, thanks to the staff who look after Ilaine because she can talk to them about anything, so the staff have become like family. She is missing her friends now, but the team are making an effort to fill the gap’.

Ilaine refers to the day centre as ‘going to work’ because she feels the day of activities gives her a clear purpose and structure to the day while providing a social and friendly setting.

Tanya says: ‘the staff help her with skills such as going swimming, pampering sessions and Ilaine is keen to help staff with cooking and light admin tasks in the office. The highlight of her week is going to the pub on a Friday afternoon – just like everyone else after a long week at ‘work’’.

'While we stay at home, a Support Worker will phone Ilaine every day and they have sent activity packs that includes seeds, puzzles, games, pictures. It’s a vital part of her physical and social well-being -I could not have coped without them. They are consistent and always there which is vital for me as Ilaine’s carer'.

Thank you to the versatile Support Team!

The people who receive assitance are led by a team of 25 Support Workers who are praised for keeping vulnerable people entertained and connected. The role of the Support Worker is an extremely skilled and vital role.

Support Workers are highly trained with a detailed knowledge of dealing with people who have communication and autism challenges or perhaps they need help taking medication. Support Workers help people to eat and drink and provide personal care.

For more information:

While the day centre is closed to the public, a respite service is available for keyworkers who must go out for essential work. This allows particular vulnerable people to access a limited day service while adhering to social distancing rules with distanced activity tables for art projects and watching films to stay safe.

The Community Support Services take place across eight locations which include Abingdon, Bicester, Didcot, Oxford, Wallingford, Wantage and Witney – please enquire here to find out more.

If you or someone you know is currently shielding during the coronavirus – please read this information about a phone line that can be accessed to seek support.

This year and last the county council invested millions of pounds over and above its usual budget so that it can do more repairs and resurfacing projects - and the strategy is paying off with 34,159 potholes repaired compared to 23,486 the year before.

Extra investment means better roads

The county council recently announced an extra £13m for road maintenance for this financial year on top of its existing £18.5m programme of work – this follows last year’s additional £12m boost.

Last year’s extra cash saw more than 37 extra miles of road being resurfaced through a range of methods which also included surface dressing and micro-asphalting – both of which make road surfaces waterproof and extend their life.

This year’s additional money will be spent across Oxfordshire’s towns and villages on resurfacing, drainage, bridge repairs and footways.

The council’s road repair crews have also been busy fixing other ‘defects’ on the roads, too – over 42,000 in total in 2018, an average of 3,500 a month.

Changing for the better

County Councillor Yvonne Constance, Cabinet member for Environment, said: “In Oxfordshire we have taken steps to listen to residents’ concerns by increasing the numbers of workers on the roads, bringing in and additional Dragon Patcher, and our focusing on reports made by the public on FixMyStreet.

“We are now looking to the future and meticulously planning our improvement schemes over a longer period is vital to ensure we see real change in Oxfordshire.

“We appreciate the standards our residents expect and are serious about getting things right. The additional £12m we invested in 2018 is testament to that as is the extra £13m we will spend this year.

“It’s been great to see the fantastic work that has been done and credit must go to the staff working for the council and our contractors at Skanska.”

Summer work already begun

A £3.5m programme of surface dressing – a technique that seals and extends the life of road surfaces – is underway now across Oxfordshire. Around 50 miles of road will be improved this year through this technique alone. A further £676,000 is to be spent on micro-asphalting – a similar technique to surface dressing.

The county council also has a £5.375m programme of major resurfacing work planned across the county with sites in Oxford, Charlbury, Faringdon, Wantage, Benson, Eynsham, Wantage and Banbury lined up for the coming months.

A further £9.65m has been budgeted for patching work. This is small scale resurfacing which takes care of localised problems where full resurfacing is not necessary. This approach makes the most of the money available for road repairs and can help prepare the roads for surface dressing or micro-asphalting the following year.

Last year’s extra cash investment saw more than 37 extra miles of road being resurfaced through a range of methods which also included surface dressing and micro-asphalting – both of which make road surfaces waterproof and extend their life.

This year’s additional money will be spent across Oxfordshire on resurfacing, drainage, bridge repairs and footways.

Meet the team

Repairing roads in Oxfordshire’s thriving communities is a year-round activity. And while everyone knows the roads they use well, they probably don’t know much about the people who turn out in all weathers to carry out repairs and maintenance.

Take a look a this video to find out more about what a day in the life of a pothole repair team is like.

Help us to fix more faults

To fix more problems on the roads we need your help. The best way to tell us if you find a ‘defect’ is to report it directly to us via Fix My Street. But what exactly is a defect?

Any problem you find on the roads including potholes, blocked drains, damaged signs, missing or worn lines or broken street lights all count.

When your report is received our team take a look at what you’ve highlighted and include it on a list for inspection when a decision can be made as to the best course of action. Why not take a look at Fix My Street now to see what’s been reported and repaired in your area?

The county council has been conducting a wide-ranging review of its special educational needs provision in light of the large increases in the numbers of children with such needs entering the educational system in recent years and the forecast for continued increases in the future.

The rebuild of Northfield School would be accompanied by a new school at Bloxham Grove in North Oxfordshire (due to open in 2020) and at Valley Park, Didcot (target date 2023) as part of a free school application process

Councillor Lorraine Lindsay-Gale, Oxfordshire County Council’s Cabinet Member for Education and Cultural Services will make a final decision with cabinet colleagues on December 18.

She said: “Our simple aim is to invest in and develop a good quality local provision which meets the needs of children and young people with SEND in Oxfordshire. We want pupils in the right provision at the right place with a local first approach to ensure children’s needs are at the core of planning.

“We want to reduce the numbers of children who are currently being educated out of the county, with a preference to having enough provision to meet the needs of the majority of children locally. We would like to reduce demand for specialist placements particularly in the independent non-maintained sector. After six years our strategy would be unlocking savings of £7m a year while at the same time delivering better education for pupils.

“These proposed changes are to ensure there is a sufficient supply of places. The school age population is rising and is forecast to continue to do so due to proposed large scale housing growth together with an increase in numbers of children being diagnosed with SEND needs

“We have seen an increase in the requests for Education and Health Care Needs Assessments since 2013 (77 per cent), some of this is a result of the SEND Reform Act of 2014 which increased the age range from 2-19 to 0-25 years.

“While these plans are ambitious and wide-ranging we should stress that they will not deliver changes overnight, there is a great deal of work to do.”

Northfield School

Northfield School has recently seen a £600,000 investment to deal with serious structural issues to the building at the site and will now see a much larger investment of £9.5m to rebuild the school to accommodate circa 100 children.

Other provision

In addition to the 300 places to be created at three new special schools, 68 places will be created via new resource bases located in mainstream schools.

All new schools will have a resource base included to enable a comprehensive geographical spread of places. These would be at Aureus Primary School, Didcot; Aureus Secondary School, Didcot; Banbury (starting at Longford Park but moving to the new Southern Road Primary school); Gagle Brook Primary School, Bicester; South West Bicester Secondary School; Barton Primary School and the planned West Witney Primary School.

The current programme of special school expansions at Fitzwaryn School in Wantage; Bardwell School in Bicester and John Watson School in Wheatley will also continue. The council would also seek to confirm the potential to relocate and expand accommodation used by the secondary phase of Bishopswood School in Sonning Common.

Focal point

Councillor Lindsay-Gale added: “Everybody at the council is very much aware that it has been a difficult period for Northfield School and at one stage the council was considering closure. The future of the school would not only be secured if my cabinet colleagues decide to go along with the recommendations of officers at our December 18 cabinet meeting, but would enable the school to expand and become a real focal point for special educational needs throughout Oxfordshire.”

The council is constantly reviewing all SEND provision and will continue to provide a high quality of education for these pupils and have sufficient places to meet their needs.

As the picture shows, the drainage pipe and carrier line in the road’s verge have been replaced.

As shown in the pictures, our road repairs team have resurfaced the street to get rid of the tired tarmac and utility trenches that have been troubling local residents for some time. The edge of the resurfaced area will be sealed too – we just didn’t have to time to get a photo of it.

Know of any other roads that need our attention? Report them at https://fixmystreet.oxfordshire.gov.uk/

Seesen Way in Wantage will be resurfaced with work starting on 29 October for five nights from 8pm until 6am.

The team will be working on an area measuring around 300m including the Grove Street roundabout. This area has been chosen for repair as much of the surface has worn to the point of failure with patching and filling potholes no longer being viable – the new surface will transform the route completely making for a much better ride for all road users. All the work is expected to cost £183,000.

The road will be closed during the work, but reopened each day in time for the morning rush hour. Access will be available to properties where possible.

In the five years to December 2017, in Oxfordshire there were 24 people injured while using mobility scooters, and one death.

Nationally, during the same period, 859 mobility scooter users were injured, and there were 41 deaths.

Oxfordshire County Council Fire and Rescue Service is holding a driver training scheme in Wantage that if successful could be replicated in other parts of the county.

The Wantage workshops aim to raise awareness of the issues users face – such as pavement obstructions, and judging when it is safe to proceed on pedestrian crossings – and improve their driving skills.

Participants get to meet scooter manufacturers to discuss design and safety features, whilst an obstacle course allows them to put driving theory into practice.

Sean Mienie, from Oxfordshire County Council Fire and Rescue Service, said:

“At the county council, we aim to help people live safe, healthy lives and play an active part in their community. These workshops will support mobility scooter users in understanding their responsibilities to the public and teach them how to drive in a safe manner. It’s also the perfect way to make new friends.”

Talking about his vision for the future, Sean added: “I hope this group of mobility scooter users increases so that we can educate more people and learn from their experiences.

“This could be a model for each town or village in our county. It is a fantastic initiative and opportunity. The users enjoy meeting new people and attending the workshops."

Locals are asked to support the scheme by being more considerate, especially in their parking and driving.

The next training workshop takes place at Wantage Fire Station on Tuesday 23 October between 2:30pm to 4pm.

For more information about the mobility scooter training workshops email Sean.Mienie@Oxfordshire.gov.uk or phone 07469 937 982.

Well, if you've ever been driven mad by the sound of metal on metal, there is something you can do about it. Report it online via https://fixmystreet.oxfordshire.gov.uk/ and we will take a look and see what we can do.

The pictures here show one such manhole on Ickleton Road in Wantage which, as it turns out, was no longer needed. The team removed it, installed a steel plate and resurfaced the area - now there's no more din!

Our team has just finished laying more than 100m of new tarmac and edging making the once rutted path a joy to walk on.