Oxfordshire County Council has commissioned consultants Jacobs to carry out an options appraisal for a mass rapid transit (MRT) system between Carterton, Witney, Eynsham and Oxford.

Councillor Gareth Epps, Oxfordshire County Council’s Cabinet Member for Transport, said: “The closure of the Witney railway in 1970 and subsequent largescale development in the area have proved to be costly and mistaken. Reversing congestion and improving connectivity won't be easy – but it is essential that we try to address this.

“We want to identify, evaluate and recommend feasible options which can be in place by 2050 at the latest. The study will consider existing and planned infrastructure, as well as projected housing and employment growth.

“Current and forecasted travel demands, plus national, regional and local policy aimed at prioritising sustainable transport, mean that a major change in public transport provision is needed. Projects like this could help provide that.”

Bruce Slattery, Jacobs’ Director for Transport Planning, said: “Jacobs is supporting Oxfordshire County Council with the early-stage development of the west Oxfordshire mass rapid transit project. Through this work, we are helping to define a transport solution that will deliver essential public transport connections to the area and help to stimulate sustainable economic growth.”

An MRT system is a public transport network typically operating on dedicated corridors or priority lanes to offer reliable and efficient services. Unlike standard bus or rail services, MRT systems often use advanced vehicles, benefit from priority measures, and feature high-quality infrastructure such as segregated lanes or tracks, level boarding, and integrated ticketing.

West Oxfordshire is experiencing significant pressure from housing and employment growth, with Carterton, Witney, and Eynsham identified as key areas for development with up to 18,000 new homes and 60 hectares of employment proposed to be delivered by 2043.

Carterton is also home to the UK’s largest and potentially expanding RAF base required for national security while the Cotswolds is a national tourism hub with visitor numbers increasing annually.

Oxford, as a regional employment and educational hub, is facing increasing congestion and demand for sustainable travel options. The A40 corridor, the primary route serving west Oxfordshire, is subject to ongoing and planned improvements, in particular focused on prioritising bus services.

An MRT system is being considered to address the challenges, improve connectivity, and support sustainable regional growth.

It is expected that the chosen system will form part of the Oxfordshire Metro as discussed in the council’s recent OxRAIL 2040: Plan for Rail.

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Community Catalysts helps people access flexible, personalised support closer to home, and has been working in Oxfordshire since 2020 – first through a pilot in Cherwell and later under contract with Oxfordshire County Council’s adult social care service.

A new two year contract extension means that Community Catalyst Project Coordinator, Anita Wingad, will now focus on the West Oxfordshire district where demand for community‑based support has been growing, particularly among older residents in rural areas.

Anita will help people to set up and run community micro‑enterprises (CMEs). These CMEs are small, local providers offering care and support to adults.

The programme has already delivered significant benefits in Oxfordshire.

In Cherwell, 89 CMEs completed the programme, collectively providing more than 4,000 hours of support and 118 activity sessions each week to 2,028 people, while creating 150 jobs and 142 volunteering roles.

In the Vale of White Horse, a further 37 CMEs have been supported since 2023, many offering activities for people with learning disabilities who previously had to travel much further afield.

Anita said: "I’m really excited to begin this next chapter in West Oxfordshire.

“Every community has people with the passion and skills to make a difference locally, and my role is simply to help them turn their ideas into safe and sustainable micro‑enterprises that support others.

“We’ve already seen how powerful this model can be in Cherwell and the Vale of White Horse, and I’m looking forward to working with residents and local organisations to build community‑based support for people across West Oxfordshire."

Councillor Tim Bearder, Cabinet Member for Adult Social Care at Oxfordshire County Council, said: "Community micro‑enterprises are a vital part of our vision for a more personalised and sustainable care system in Oxfordshire.

“They give people genuine choice about who supports them and how, while creating new local jobs and strengthening communities.

“We’re delighted to extend our partnership with Community Catalysts and bring this approach to West Oxfordshire, where it will help ensure that more residents are able to live well, independently, and close to the people and places they know best."

Fabia Cerra, who set up her own micro enterprise through the programme, said: "Community Catalysts gave me the confidence and support to turn my experience into something that helps others.

“My mentor was always there when I needed guidance, and being part of a network of other micro enterprises has been really encouraging.

“I’d like to think I’m helping people in my community improve their quality of life, even a small change in someone’s day can make a huge difference."

Extending the Community Catalysts model is expected to bring a range of benefits, including more personalised care options, new local employment opportunities, improved staff retention, and better value for money for people using CMEs.

As part of the launch, Community Catalysts will be running public drop‑in sessions at Witney Library between 12.30pm – 2pm on:

• 15 April
• 22 April
• 29 April
• 6 May.

Residents can meet Anita, learn more about the programme, and explore ideas for setting up their own micro enterprise. Witney Library can be found on Facebook.

Residents or community organisations interested in starting a micro‑enterprise, or exploring an idea, can contact Anita Wingad, Project Coordinator for Oxfordshire, directly or using the enquiry form on the Community Catalysts website.

Existing CMEs in the county can be viewed on the Small Good Stuff directory.

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Oxfordshire County Council has approved seven vehicle improvement grant applications that will collectively help fund 13 new electric buses, convert two existing minibuses from diesel to electric power, and deliver passenger enhancements to many other vehicles.

The grants have been awarded under the council’s vehicle improvement fund, new for 2025/26, and funded through the Bus Grant awarded by the government.

The fund was open to all operators of local bus services in Oxfordshire. The initiative has attracted an additional £4.056m in collective investment from the operators, which will result in improvements in vehicles totalling £5.461m.

Councillor Andrew Gant, Oxfordshire County Council’s Cabinet Member for Transport Management, said: “This is really good news and an excellent example of partnership working delivering real benefit and value to our residents.

“The purchase of new electric vehicles and improvements to existing ones has been made possible by the council’s continued close working relationship with our bus operators through our Enhanced Partnership, soon to be strengthened further. We look forward to seeing passengers using them in the future.”

Successful bids included the Oxford Bus Company’s parent group Go-Ahead, which was awarded £1.204m towards the purchase of 13 new single deck electric buses to serve the Oxfordshire area.

Luke Marion, Managing Director of Oxford Bus Company, said: “This is another significant sustainability milestone for the Oxfordshire bus network and takes the total number of electric buses now operating in our Oxfordshire fleet to 117.

“The investment from Oxfordshire County Council has been supported by an additional £3.9m investment from our business, and collectively this enables us to expand our fleet of electric buses on to more routes outside the Oxford SmartZone, further improving air quality for local communities.

“The result of strong partnership working, I’d like to thank Oxfordshire County Council and Go-Ahead Group for supporting this investment.”

Reading Buses was awarded £60,000 to improve the passenger experience in four vehicles which serve Peppard Common, including installing USB chargers, 5G ready Wi-Fi and tap-out readers.

Three community transport operators have also received grants.

West Oxfordshire Community Transport (WOCT) was awarded a total of £138,605 towards the cost of converting two diesel minibuses into fully electric vehicles, install EV charging equipment and fit internal and external CCTV camera systems on all its vehicles.

WOCT is a community owned cooperative, running nine bus routes across west Oxfordshire and providing vital transport links for the local community.

Andrew Lyon, Chief Executive of West Oxfordshire Community Transport, said: “We are very excited regarding the opportunities provided by the VIF grants. The first grant will provide cameras for our buses, which will enhance safety for both our drivers and passengers.

“The second grant will enable us to explore the possibility of converting redundant diesel buses to electric vehicles. Conversion of redundant buses is a double win for the environment.

“Conversion means the carbon emissions produced during both manufacture and operation are drastically reduced. In addition, as far as we know, this conversion has not been attempted before. If the project is successful, it will provide a template for the future.”

First and Last Mile, a volunteer led company serving rural villages in the Eynsham area, received £1,536 to convert a minibus passenger door and step from manual to electric operation to improve efficiency and accessibility.

Our Bus Bartons will use its £385 grant to design, manufacture and install additional safety rails to help passengers board and disembark their two electric minibuses.

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.

It is hoped that the vehicle improvement fund will be repeated in future years to build on the decarbonisation and passenger improvements delivered by the ZEBRA scheme, which funded 159 electric buses to serve Oxfordshire.

Anyone wanting to support WOCT can visit its crowdfunding page Ignite the next mile.

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People living or travelling in Eynsham are being asked for their views on a draft local cycling and walking infrastructure plan for Eynsham and surrounding villages until 24 June.

The plan will help to identify positive changes for the village’s walking and cycling network, improving accessibility and connections with the surrounding area including: Begbroke, Botley, Cassington, Farmoor, Freeland, Hanborough, South Leigh, Stanton Harcourt, Swinford and Yarnton over the next 10 years.

Paul Fermer, Director of Environment and Highways for Oxfordshire County Council, said: “Walking, wheeling and cycling for journeys as part of daily life can help retain health, increase happiness and enable connection with nature.

“We make numerous short journeys around our neighbourhoods every day to the shop, doing the school run, catching a bus to work, and visiting friends or family in nearby streets or villages.

“We have routes we follow frequently. We might even have shorter routes we avoid because a road or path feels too narrow or is harder to cross. I’d like to hear from people where their trips could be improved by making small changes like a marked cycle route, a wider pavement, a level pathway or a properly accessible crossing point.

“These changes, however small, can connect a travel network that we can all benefit from and enjoy.”

Residents can take part by visiting the council’s digital engagement and consultation platform, Let’s talk Oxfordshire, and adding a pin and comment to the online map. People can also email comments to placeplanningnorth@oxfordshire.gov.uk or write to Freepost OXFORDSHIRE COUNTY COUNCIL¹.

All responses will be collated and reviewed once the engagement has closed, and a draft plan of improvements will be created and shared for public feedback later this year. A final plan developed from this will then be recommended for formal adoption as council policy and used to help bid for funding to deliver the improvements.

Notes to editor

• ¹Residents who wish to write to the council should address their envelope with Freepost OXFORDSHIRE COUNTY COUNCIL as one line in the middle with ‘Eynsham 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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People living or travelling in Chipping Norton are being asked to help shape a draft plan to make walking, wheeling, and cycling easier, safer, and more enjoyable for everyone.

Oxfordshire County Council has worked with Chipping Norton Town Council and local residents, businesses and community organisations to draft the active travel plan for Chipping Norton. The plan will set out how to improve the town’s walking and cycling network over the next 10 years, identifying where things like cycleways and pedestrian crossings should be added or improved.

People can view the draft plan and area maps, and have their say at: letstalk.oxfordshire.gov.uk/chipping-norton-lcwip until 27 February 2025.

Councillor Andrew Gant, Oxfordshire County Council’s Cabinet Member for Transport Management, said: “Getting around our local neighbourhoods should be simple and enjoyable and there should be multiple options for making safe journeys to where we want to get to.

“We want to improve the travel network to help people have better opportunities for walking, wheeling, or cycling. It brings great benefits for health and wellbeing while helping to improve air quality in the county.

“I’m looking forward to feedback to help us understand where things work, where there are challenges and tailor the plan so that is the best fit for residents. We also realise that walking or cycling is not necessarily an option for everyone and would like to hear from people who find it more difficult to move around the area.”

The plan’s vision for Chipping Norton is a thriving town with good air quality, where walking for local trips is the norm for everyone, where possible. This is supported by safe, accessible, and connected walking and cycling routes between residential areas, the historic town centre, schools, public open spaces and local services and facilities.

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

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

• 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.
• The active travel plan for Chipping Norton is a Local Cycling and Walking Infrastructure Plan (LCWIP). LCWIPs 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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^{Artist's impression of proposed improvements for Witney High St. with new crossings, trees, seats and planting.}

Residents and visitors to Witney are being asked for their feedback on design proposals to improve the town’s High Street and Market Square.

Oxfordshire County Council has today (11 September 2024) launched a four week survey to hear people’s views on the draft designs.

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

The project is funded by a £1.98 million grant from Active Travel England.

Councillor Judy Roberts, Cabinet Member for Infrastructure and Development Strategy, said: “It was wonderful to receive 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 complement an historic and beautiful town centre.”

“I am very much looking forward to hearing how people find the design and seeing how the final plans take shape and come into being in the new year.”

People can take part in an online survey on the county council’s digital engagement and consultation platform, Let’s talk Oxfordshire. The survey closes at 11.59pm on Wednesday 9 October 2024.

The online survey will be supported by two drop-in events for members of the public to view the draft designs for the proposals and speak to the team in person:

• Saturday 14 September, 10am - 4pm 
  Witney Methodist Church, 40 High Street, Witney OX28 6HG
• Thursday 19 September, 4pm - 8pm 
  Witney Methodist Church, 40 High Street, Witney OX28 6HG

Feedback will help to identify any possible amendments that should be incorporated into the final design, which would then be subject to approval at a county council cabinet member decision meeting later this year. Construction work would then be expected to begin early in 2025.

Notes to editors

• Supporting information, the survey and interactive map, as well as details of how to obtain printed copies of the survey or any information in an alternative format can be found at: https://letstalk.oxfordshire.gov.uk/witney-high-street-2
• Feedback can also be emailed to witneyhighstreet@oxfordshire.gov.uk
• Project webpage: oxfordshire.gov.uk/witney-high-street

• Printed copies of the survey will also be available to fill in from the following locations:
  • Witney Library, Welch Way, OX28 6JH
  •  Witney Town Hall, Market Square, OX28 6AG
  • Oxfordshire County Council, County Hall, New Road, OX1 1ND

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

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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.

Oxfordshire County Council is carrying out the trial in North Street, Middle Barton, with its contractor Milestone Infrastructure and their partner Aggregate Industries to develop the use of Gipave – a Graphene Plus-enhanced asphalt.

North Street is the third Oxfordshire site to trial the innovative material. A 725-metre stretch of the road will be laid with Gipave, while an adjacent length of road will be resurfaced using conventional high performance asphalt, so that the two surfaces can be compared accurately.

It follows a successful pilot scheme in Curbridge in 2019 – the first use of the product in the UK – and a trial on Oxford’s Marsh Lane in March 2022.

Councillor Andrew Gant, Oxfordshire County Council’s Cabinet Member for Highway Management, said: “We know how important the quality of our roads is to our residents. That is why we’re delighted to be involved in this latest trial to see how we can make our residents’ money go further and make our road surfaces stay in good condition for longer.

“Innovation is at the heart of what our highway teams do, as we have shown with previous Gipave trials and our recent event in Steventon where Milestone tested seven different pothole repair methods on the same road. Increasing the lifespan of road surfaces will reduce the need for resurfacing work, ease the burden on highways budgets, and cut carbon emissions for the life cycle of a stretch of road.”

Phil Raven, Head of Technical Design for Milestone on the Oxfordshire Contract, said: “This is another significant step to test the benefits that this innovative material can bring. As we look for new ways to reduce carbon emissions within highways maintenance, developing materials that last longer is an important part of Milestone’s plan towards achieving net zero by 2040.

“Not only can this lead to longer term carbon reduction, it has the potential to reduce disruption to road users and achieve long term savings for highway authorities. This trial project demonstrates the benefits of international industry collaboration with a highway authority that is committed to trialling new innovations.”

Gipave, which has been developed by Iterchimica, also uses waste plastics which would not normally be recycled. Meanwhile the asphalt containing Gipave can itself be entirely recycled – promoting the ‘circular economy’ which reduces waste and the need for new materials.

Recent in-service testing and analysis of the original 2019 trial site showed the new asphalt material is forecast to increase the lifespan of the asphalt pavement by approximately 165 per cent compared to conventional resurfacing methods, with a corresponding carbon saving of 40 per cent over 20 years.

The Middle Barton scheme is a £450,000 resurfacing project which also includes kerb and drainage repairs. The scheme started on 17 July and is planned to last for four weeks.

The surfacing works are being carried out under full overnight road closures to reduce the disruption to road users and local businesses and residents.

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Air pollution is a mix of particles and gases of both natural and human origin. These can come from a range of sources including transport, industry, agriculture, domestic heating and events from further afield like fires.

Long-term exposure to air pollution is attributable for an estimated 38,000 deaths per year in England, according to the Chief Medical Officer’s 2022 annual report . In Oxfordshire in 2021, it was estimated that air pollution’s effect on mortality was equivalent to 320 early deaths.

Councillor Liz Leffman, Leader of Oxfordshire County Council, said: “Air quality has been improving across Oxfordshire in recent decades. However, levels remain above the World Health Organisation (WHO) standards in many places. It is critical that we work to improve air quality to deliver the council’s priorities, particularly prioritising the health and wellbeing of residents.

“We want to do everything within our power to clean up the air in Oxfordshire. Our vision is to accelerate the improvement in Oxfordshire’s air quality to reduce the health and environmental impacts of dirty air, so ensuring that all residents can breathe safely.

“By burning less fuel through changing how we travel, heat our homes and the things we buy, we can create environments that are better for our mental wellbeing, health, nature and our climate too.”

The average person will take more than 600 million breaths in their lifetime. People who breathe polluted air are more likely to develop long term lung and heart disease as well as mental health and brain conditions such as dementia.

The air quality strategy will prioritise three approaches:

• reducing emissions of outdoor and indoor air pollution
• extending the distance from pollution sources
• protecting those people most at risk.

Councillor Michael O’Connor, Oxfordshire County Council’s Cabinet Member for Public Health and Inequalities, said: “There is no safe level of air pollution according to the WHO. It damages our health at any level and its effects are often lethal: up to 40,000 deaths are attributable to air pollution in the UK every year.

“Although air pollution affects all of us, the burden doesn’t fall evenly. Children, older people, and those with health conditions are more likely to be harmed by it. Areas that are less well-off are often home to higher levels of pollution and those living in them suffer more severely from its health impacts.

“This document is a big leap forward. The next step is to create a strategy that brings together partners across the county behind the common goal of reducing pollution. Together, we will create healthy lives for all.”

The strategy is supported by a route map that sets out what work the council is already doing and the actions it will take in the short-term. The actions are all related to functions directly within the council’s control.

The air quality strategy will help to build on and be supported by the council’s climate action framework. Air quality and climate action are closely linked due to the relationship between fossil fuels and air pollution.

Transport is also a key driver of air pollution and so delivery of the council’s local transport and connectivity plan – which includes targets to reduce car journeys by a third by 2040 and increase the number of cycling trips from 600,000 to one million by 2031 – will be key to improving air quality.

Also vital to the success of the strategy will be partnership work with Oxfordshire’s district and city councils to support their efforts to monitor and improve air quality in hot spots.

Councillor Anna Railton, Cabinet Member for Zero Carbon Oxford and Climate Justice at Oxford City Council, said: “We welcome Oxfordshire County Council’s new strategy to address pollution across the county. There is no such thing as a 'safe' level of air pollution, and we all need to take action today. Oxford City Council will work closely with the county council to support their vision, working alongside our own existing citywide action plan and targets.

“Air pollution affects everyone, though not equally, and it is everyone's responsibility to help tackle it. Only by working together at every level can we ensure that everyone is able to breathe clean air.”

West Oxfordshire District Council’s Executive Member for Environment, Councillor Lidia Arciszewska, said: “Air quality in West Oxfordshire is generally good, with the vast majority of the district complying with the UK government objectives. However, in both Witney and Chipping Norton, the concentrations of nitrogen dioxide have exceeded the government objectives and, as a consequence, air quality management areas have been declared in both towns.

“It is a priority for us to create better environments, which enable a good quality of life for communities, and we are asking residents to give us their views by taking part in an air quality survey to help us to understand if our approach to managing of air quality is on the right track. The survey will run until 14 July.”

Councillor Andrew McHugh, Cherwell District Council’s Portfolio Holder for Cleaner and Greener Communities, said: “The health risks of poor air quality should not be underestimated. We are responsible for monitoring air pollution in north Oxfordshire but it’s only right that local authorities should work together to agree objectives and deliver against them for our residents.

“The announcement of a countywide strategy is a welcome one and one which we will be working to support.”

South Oxfordshire and Vale of White Horse district councils have devised a joint Air Quality Action Plan for the two districts and have launched a survey to get residents’ views, which opens on 15 June.

Councillor Mark Coleman, Vale of White Horse District Council Cabinet Member for Environmental Services and Waste, said: “Air pollution causes so many health issues, which is why both councils have made improving air quality a corporate priority.”

Councillor Sue Cooper, South Oxfordshire District Council Cabinet Member for the Environment, said: “We now have a new joint air quality action plan aiming to tackle air pollution and this includes proposals promoting more active travel, increased use of public transport and of low emission vehicles. We look forward to hearing what residents think of the proposals.”

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Oxfordshire County Council has adopted the Witney 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: “We want walking and cycling to become the everyday choice for short journeys or as part of longer journeys combined with using public transport in Witney and beyond.

“The LCWIP will help achieve a culture of walking and cycling. This can create a thriving, healthy, inclusive and climate sensitive community, where improvements enhance the environment that makes Witney a great place to live, work and visit.”

The council’s vision is that by 2041 Witney will have safe, convenient and well-connected walking (including wheeling) and cycling networks that are accessible for people of all abilities, ages and backgrounds. These networks will connect people to where they want to go, including excellent routes to access public transport.

More than 100 specific improvements are proposed in the LCWIP, including pedestrian and toucan crossings, footpath links, segregated cycle tracks, resurfacing and lighting.

The plan will be reviewed approximately every two years to ensure that it reflects local needs. The level of change in cycling and walking numbers will be monitored and modifications made if necessary.

Approval was given on 23 March by Cllr Gant at a delegated decisions meeting for the cabinet member for highways management.

The Witney LCWIP follows the implementation of town-wide 20mph limits last year, and comes ahead of aspirations to make Witney High Street a more accessible and pleasant environment for people to walk, cycle and spend time in. These will complement the measures to reduce through traffic on High Street and Market Square delivered in 2021 as part of the Active Travel Fund.

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

As a result of rising costs and reduced passenger numbers arising from the pandemic, West Oxfordshire Community Transport (WOCT) told the council it was no longer able to continue operating service 210 between Milton-under-Wychwood and Witney, which serves a string of villages that have limited alternative provision.

The council has now agreed to provide funds to maintain the existing level of service until August 2024, protecting continued access to Witney for employment and education as well as retail and leisure activities.

Andrew Lyon, Head of Operations at WOCT, said: “Like many community transport providers we have seen a reduction in passenger numbers together with a significant increase in costs. We had been encouraged by the growth of service 210 following its introduction and we are grateful to the county council for working with us to maintain the service whilst we rebuild patronage after the pandemic.”

Councillor Andrew Gant, Oxfordshire County Council’s Cabinet Member for Highway Management, said: “Bus services that people can rely on are a vital part of our transport strategy. That is why we have acted quickly here – as we have done in other parts of the county – to ensure that this important route is not lost.

“We are proud that our commitment to public transport is resulting in positive action for the people who need it the most.”

The new contract will begin on 3 April and there will be no changes to the timetable. Further information on the service, and the work WOCT do to provide community transport services across the district, can be found on its website at woct.org.uk

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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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Organisations that work closely with residents were among those joining Oxfordshire’s six councils at the roundtable, which sought to identify gaps in current support, share information between partners, and build on the collaboration over recent years, particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic.  

On top of ongoing national-level support, local support will be crucial in helping the most vulnerable in communities.

Councillor Mark Lygo, Oxfordshire County Council’s Cabinet Member for Public Health and Equalities, said: “We’re all looking with increasing concern at the financial pressures many of our residents face as we head towards the winter. We know too well the impact that poverty can have on physical and mental well-being. Evidence shows a direct link between deprivation and health outcomes, including life expectancy.

“We wanted to take this opportunity to bring organisations across the county together to share information about our respective responses to the cost of living crisis and reinforce our common purpose.”

On 20 September, Oxfordshire County Council’s cabinet agreed to a list of proposals to assist local people – particularly the vulnerable - over the coming months. More than £2 million of funding will be provided in 2022/23 to support the proposals with further funding in future years. Find out more about what was agreed by reading the county council’s news story.

Councillor Susan Brown, Leader of Oxford City Council, said: “This winter we are only too aware that more people will struggle with the cost of living crisis, and that means more demand on support services across the county. In Oxford, we’ve been working with services and community groups since the spring and throughout the summer on our cost of living events and advice. Sadly, we know that now we need to reach even more people. This was a valuable meeting of public sector and community organisations to share what we’re doing and the challenges in the community.

“The pandemic showed how powerful we can be when communities and individuals, supported by their local city council, come together to look after each other.”

Councillor Emily Smith, Leader of Vale of White Horse District Council, said: “From processing council tax energy rebates, and advising on where to go for help and funding, to continuing our homeless prevention work, are some of the ways we’re supporting people in our district. We’ve requested urgent action from the government to relieve this crisis for families and individuals through providing immediate financial support.

“However, there is much more to do, and we know the power of partnership work which is why we fully support this concerted effort across the councils alongside voluntary sector partners to work together on additional measures to support people.”

Councillor David Rouane, Leader of South Oxfordshire District Council, said: “We’re doing all we can to help those in need whilst at the same time also imploring HM Government to take the necessary steps to ease the financial pressures being faced by our communities. 

“Locally, our actions included calling for this cost of living emergency event with our partners. This is an important step to work on a coordinated community response to bring help to those who desperately need it.”

Councillor Phil Chapman, Cherwell District Council’s Portfolio Holder for Healthy Communities, said: “At Cherwell District Council we’re allocating additional funding to give the households in the greatest hardship two £50 food vouchers in time for Christmas. Qualifying households will hear from us in the coming weeks, and we’re also creating a warm spaces network to provide venues where people can drop in, enjoy the warmth, and meet people.

“As we head into winter, I am determined to make the best use of our community networks and local partnerships to benefit our residents. North Oxfordshire includes some of the most economically deprived wards in the county and our attendance at this roundtable event reflects our commitment to working across the Oxfordshire system to make sure the help given to all our residents reflects their level of need.”

Councillor Duncan Enright, Deputy Leader for West Oxfordshire District Council, said: “The cost of living crisis affects all of us across society as the prices of everyday essentials are rising. We understand that many across West Oxfordshire are finding it hard to make ends meet so we are keen to work across the county to see what support we can provide as local councils.

“We are working with local communities across West Oxfordshire to provide additional support to those who will be struggling this winter and also working hard to let residents know about all the support already available to them. I would encourage anyone who is struggling to reach out for help whether that be contacting your energy provider, speaking to citizens advice or looking at what financial support is available from the government.”

More information about support available for Oxfordshire’s residents struggling with rising costs can be found at oxfordshire.gov.uk/council/help-rising-living-costs

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FCC Environment, which runs Oxfordshire County Council’s Dix Pit Household Waste Recycling Centre, will be opening its first pop-up reuse shop for the day, from 8am - 1pm.

Located in the car park of the site in Linch Hill, Stanton Harcourt OX29 5BB, the pop-up shop will sell good quality preloved items at bargain prices.

With the school summer holidays almost upon us, visitors can expect to find a range of children’s toys and games including electronic games, board games and books, and sporting goods ranging from bicycles and golf clubs to exercise equipment, rackets and bats.

There will also be garden tools, pots and planters, and a selection of furniture – including items which will be perfect for upcycling.

Councillor Pete Sudbury, Oxfordshire County Council’s Cabinet Member for Climate Change Delivery and Environment, said: “Keeping items in use for as long as possible, donating what we no longer need and purchasing preloved goods wherever possible is something we can all do to reduce our impact on the environment and keep our carbon footprint as low as possible.

“Residents often comment that they have spotted something that they can make use of at our sites, and we are hoping that this trial event is a great success and helps us plan more reuse from our sites in the future.”

Steve Longdon, FCC Environment’s Operations Director, said: “As we all strive to do our bit, reducing and reusing waste has got to be our ultimate goal and this trial event will give us insight into how we can make use of preloved goods brought into the site to avoid waste in the first place. We are really interested to see how this trial works as we look to create more reuse and recycling opportunities for our site users.”

Rob Harris, FCC Environment’s Contract Operations Manager, said: “Every day at Dix Pit we receive amazing items that have lots of life left in them. We understand that it’s easy to bring everything to us in one go for recycling or disposal, but we wanted to provide residents with an alternative, so we are trialling a pop-up reuse shop this weekend to see what people think of the concept.

“We have been putting great items from bikes and golf clubs to books and electronic devices to one side for some time and these will be available for sale to residents who can put them to good use.”

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Oxfordshire County Council has worked with Woodstock Town Council and local councillors to draw up the proposals, with the aim of improving the management of parking in the town centre. It follows informal consultations in November 2019 into parking usage and demand.

The proposals are aimed at improving the situation for residents, increasing the turnover of parking for shoppers, encouraging more short journeys by foot and improving action against inconsiderate parkers, while generating revenue to fund the scheme and provide effective enforcement.

Off street car parks are controlled by West Oxfordshire District Council and will be unaffected by these proposals.

Councillor Tim Bearder, Oxfordshire County Council’s Cabinet Member for Highways Management, said: “Local problems need local solutions and the people of Woodstock have been calling for action on the parking problem for years. We have drawn up measures – following input from residents, businesses, and councillors – and are putting forward an on-street parking plan that addresses enforcement and residents and business parking.

“It is now the time for residents and businesses to have their say as part of this consultation. We want to hear from as many people as possible so that we get the widest cross-section of views.

"West Oxfordshire District Council will remain in control of the off-street parking that it owns, including any change to charges. The county council only looks after on-street parking and we will only alter the current arrangements if local communities ask us to.”

The consultation comes two days after Cabinet voted to allow Oxfordshire County Council to take over responsibility from West Oxfordshire District Council for penalising motorists who break the rules in West Oxfordshire. When the agreement is formally ended in spring 2023, after a 12 month notice period, the county council will manage on-street infringements, such as yellow lines, loading bays and bus lanes, as it already does in Oxford City, Cherwell, South Oxfordshire, and the Vale of White Horse districts.

Cllr Bearder added: “Residents in West Oxfordshire have repeatedly reached out to us with concerns about enforcement in key locations. So, as well as these measures in Woodstock, we will also manage on-street parking in the district and we are confident that this will improve the situation for our residents.”

The Woodstock proposals include:

• The introduction of pay and display bays in the central area with exemptions for permit holders. The first 30 minutes in any 24 hour period would be free.
• The introduction of some ultra-short stay parking areas.
• New permit holder only parking areas to manage displacement. The fee for a resident’s permit is currently £65 a year per vehicle and includes 25 annual scratch cards for visitor parking.
• Additional two-hour parking bays on some roads.
• New cycle parking areas.

Oxfordshire County Council will be running two exhibitions to answer questions:

• Saturday 19 March, 9.30am – 12 noon at Woodstock Community Centre, New Road
• Monday 21 March, 6.30pm - 8pm at Woodstock Town Hall, Market Place.

Plans and documents will also be available to view in person at: Woodstock Library, The Oxfordshire Museum, Fletcher's House, Park Street, Woodstock, OX20 1SN, 10am - 1pm and 2pm - 5pm Tuesday to Friday, 10am - 12.30pm and 1pm - 4.30pm Saturday, and 2pm - 5pm on Sunday, and also at County Hall, New Street, Oxford, OX1 1ND,  9am - 4pm Monday to Friday.

The public consultation opened on 17 March on Let’s Talk Oxfordshire and the closing date for comments is 15 April.

Oxfordshire County Council will review the responses and prepare a report to be presented to the Cabinet member for highways management at a meeting scheduled for 26 May 2022, where a decision is due to be made.

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West Oxfordshire District Council currently carries out parking enforcement on behalf of the county council in the area. However, the county council is proposing to end the agreement and carry out enforcement itself, following its successful adoption of powers for the rest of Oxfordshire last year.

Under the proposals, West Oxfordshire District Council would continue to manage and enforce its off-street car parks. Oxfordshire County Council would manage on-street infringements, such as yellow-lines, loading bays, and bus lanes, as it already does in Oxford City, Cherwell, South Oxfordshire, and the Vale of White Horse districts.

Councillor Tim Bearder, Oxfordshire County Council’s Cabinet Member for Highways Management, said: “We were delighted by the positive reaction people had when we began enforcing parking regulations elsewhere last year. Many people got in touch with our officers to tell them where the problem areas were so that we could tackle them. People have benefitted from the expertise of our enforcement officers in keeping the roads clearer and safer for all users.

“This proposed change would also improve consistency and reduce confusion for all road users in the way on-street parking regulations are enforced in Oxfordshire, and provide greater levels of efficiency, resilience, and technology when it comes to enforcing the rules. We believe it would be sensible for the public to have one single organisation to contact about highway parking matters throughout the whole of Oxfordshire.”

Under the proposals, the county council would continue to work with West Oxfordshire District Council and the town and parish councils to ensure that the parking management regimes and enforcement services meet the needs of the local community, that the right restrictions are in the right places, and that access to on-street parking creates the right mix of needs for residents, shoppers, and commuters. 

Any future parking proposals, such as residential parking permits or pay and display schemes, would need to be consulted upon and determined in their own right.

Oxfordshire County Council’s Cabinet is expected to be asked to consider the recommendation to end the existing agreement in March. If agreed, there is a 12-month notice period for ending the agreement, and so the proposed new arrangements would come into effect from spring 2023.

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Oxfordshire County Council is carrying out a consultation about whether to make the current temporary traffic restrictions permanent. They were brought in as part of COVID-19 regulations to encourage social distancing and will expire on 3 January 2022.

Councillor Tim Bearder, Oxfordshire County Council’s Cabinet Member for Highway Management, said: “This proposal potentially impacts on everyone in Witney and the surrounding villages, businesses and visitors, so we are keen to receive consultation responses from as many people as possible. That way whatever decision is made will be informed by the widest range of opinion.”

The proposals are being put forward to:

• help reduce the level of through traffic in Witney High Street and Market Square
• aid pedestrian accessibility and increase safety
• aid cycling accessibility and safety
• improve bus access and bus journey time reliability
• improve air quality and environment within the conservation area.

Exemptions to the traffic ban would include buses, taxis, vehicles loading/unloading, and those displaying a valid blue badge. Additionally, the existing 30 minute short-stay parking bays along the western side of Market Square would be converted to three hour disabled persons parking places.

There is growing evidence to suggest that cycle and pedestrian-friendly streets can boost footfall and retail sales, helping to revive traditional high streets and town centres by creating more pleasant conditions.

People can take part in the consultation by visiting the council’s digital consultation and engagement platform, Let’s Talk Oxfordshire. The closing date for contributions is 3 December 2021.

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In March 2021, Oxford City Council was awarded £162,500 to develop an air quality community website to help raise awareness of air pollution across Oxfordshire.

The website - which is being created in partnership between Oxford City, Oxfordshire County Council, Cherwell, West Oxfordshire, South Oxfordshire and Vale of White Horse - aims to integrate all relevant air quality related information from all district councils in Oxfordshire under one single site.

Now, residents across Oxfordshire are encouraged to take part in the consultation and share their views on what information they want to see on the future website.

The consultation hosted on Oxford City Council’s consultation portal aims to identify what information residents across the county want to see on the new website to help them find more about air quality.

The information presented on the website will span a wide range of air quality subjects and will be tailored to and for different age groups and levels of expertise. This consultation aims to identify the key issues and best ways to present this information which can at times be complex.

The consultation is asking residents for their thoughts on how they currently engage with air quality related messages, as well as their views on the website including information such as data on current air pollution levels in their area, specific types of air pollutants, and regular news about air quality projects across the county.

 Oxford has been historically subject to poor air quality. It was declared an air quality management area in September 2010 due to high levels of NO₂.

The European Union has set a legal limit for the average limit of toxic nitrogen dioxide (NO2) levels in towns and cities of 40µg/m3 or below– however, recent studies seem to indicate that there is no safe limit for NO₂.

Air pollution contributes to an increased chance of developing lung cancer, increased risk of heart disease and increases in asthma, coughs and bronchitis.

It is thought that air pollution is responsible for 64,000 deaths in Britain each year – just 18% less than the 78,000 deaths annually caused by tobacco (European Heart Journal, March 2019).

A January 2020, a study from Centre for Cities also found out that at least one in 17 deaths in Oxford is related to air pollution. 

Health experts have warned that there is no safe level of air pollution.

Councillor Pete Sudbury, Cabinet Member for Climate Change Delivery and Environment, Oxfordshire County Council said: “Tackling air pollution and climate change is a huge priority for Oxfordshire County Council. We are now set to implement a series of bold plans to address these, for example by giving people real choices around walking, cycling or using public transport rather than private cars and accelerating the shift to electric vehicles. We are keen to offer residents an easy-to-use source of information on air pollution in their area. We’d like to hear your views about how you’d like to see the data so please offer your comments in this consultation by 5 September.” 

The consultation is open until midnight on 5 September 2021.

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Oxfordshire County Council has started a consultation process to find out the views of residents, businesses and other organisations on the service that is provided now and what they might like to see in the future. People can have their say by visiting Let’s Talk Oxfordshire, the council’s new digital consultation and engagement platform.

The council currently provides seven HWRCs for residents to bring household waste for disposal and recycling. The service accounts for 15 per cent of the county’s total household waste.

However, some of the sites are already nearing capacity and, as the county’s population grows, the council wants to ensure that its HWRCs remain affordable and help residents manage their waste in the most environmentally friendly way. The council wants to know people’s views on Oxfordshire’s HWRCs, how people currently use the service and their opinions on ideas for the future.

Councillor Dr Pete Sudbury, Oxfordshire County Council’s Cabinet Member for Climate and Environment, said: “We want as many people as possible to get in touch with us to tell us what we’re doing well and what we could do better when it comes to our HWRCs. The feedback we get will be invaluable in helping us move the service forward to meet the future needs of the county.

“Even if you don’t use our HWRCs at the moment, we would still love you to get involved and tell us if there is anything we could do to encourage you to use them in the future.”

The consultation is aimed at finding out what people value about the service and how they use it so that the council can ensure that it prioritises that going forward.

Views are sought on issues including the distance people travel to the HWRCs, what materials they take to dispose of, opening hours, permits, booking systems and vehicle restrictions. Comments and suggestions are also welcome.

The council’s seven HWRCs are based in:

• Alkerton, near Banbury
• Ardley, near Bicester
• Dix Pit, near Witney
• Drayton, near Abingdon
• Oakley Wood, near Wallingford
• Redbridge, in Oxford
• Stanford-in-the-Vale, near Faringdon

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Oxfordshire County Council is planning a phased approach to the re-opening of libraries and will be maintaining safety measures including track and trace, use of face coverings and social distancing.

Lesli Good, Interim Assistant Director for Cultural Services, said: “Our libraries and registration staff have missed serving the Oxfordshire public in person and being the heartbeat of their communities. It’s a moment we have been anticipating hugely for many weeks and now it is very close.

“Our excitement is being blended with a safety-first approach. Each building is different and they are all being fully assessed to make sure they are as safe as they can be.

“We will keep everyone up to date on our website and through social media whenever a new re-opening is due and also on the safety arrangements that have been put in place.”

As a result of the safety precautions required, library opening hours are also temporarily limited. Visitors are advised to check times on the library pages of the county council’s website.

Since the November lockdown, all loans have been extended on a rolling basis. This will end on 10 May, at which point all loans will be due for return or renewal. You can safely return items by dropping them off in the returns boxes at the doors of any library during opening hours.

No library customers will be penalised as a result of having to self-isolate or being unable to travel to return library loans. If there are exceptional circumstances that prevent you from returning or renewing your loans, please contact your nearest open library.

In addition, the Oxfordshire History Centre will be re-opening to visitors on 13 April. All visits must be booked online in advance via Eventbrite. The centre has also now re-started its remote enquiry service.

Dates for libraries

The following libraries will reopen on the week beginning 12 April:

• Oxfordshire County Library
• Abingdon
• Banbury
• Berinsfield
• Bicester
• Blackbird Leys
• Botley
• Carterton
• Charlbury
• Chinnor
• Chipping Norton
• Cowley
• Didcot
• Eynsham
• Faringdon
• Goring
• Headington
• Henley
• Kennington
• Kidlington
• Sonning Common
• Summertown
• Thame
• Wallingford
• Wantage
• Watlington
• Wheatley
• Witney
• Woodcote
• Wychwood

The following libraries will reopen on the week beginning 19 April:

• Adderbury
• Benson
• Deddington
• Grove
• Littlemore
• North Leigh
• Stonesfield

Old Marston and Burford will reopen with a click and collect service only due to the difficulties of social distancing in small spaces.

The following libraries are closed until further notice:

• Bampton and Hook Norton – closed pending ongoing building work
• Barton – closed pending the reopening of the Neighbourhood Centre
• Woodgreen - closed pending reopening of the leisure centre
• Woodstock – closed pending reopening of the Oxfordshire Museum

Click and collect will continue to operate at our larger libraries, in addition to Burford and Old Marston.

For further details of library opening hours, re-openings and safety measures for visitors, please visit the county council’s libraries’ webpage.

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.

The experimental measure was brought in on 5 August 2020. It prevents goods vehicles weighing more than 7.5 tonnes passing through Burford town on the following roads:

• The A361 (The Hill and High Street) from the A40 Burford roundabout to the A424/A361 Fulbrook mini-roundabout.
• Barns Lane from its junction at Burford roundabout.
• Tanners Lane from the A40.

Councillor Eddie Reeves, Oxfordshire County Council Cabinet Member for Highways Delivery and Operations, said: “We would urge anyone who wants to have their say on this important issue, whether they are for or against the measures, to get their thoughts to us by Friday. We want as wide a range of opinions as possible before any final decision is made.”

The scheme was proposed to promote road safety, reduce damage to roads and buildings, cut congestion, and improve the environment of the area. The order is primarily intended to protect the historic centre of the town, its infrastructure, residential streets, and its community.

The temporary weight limit still has a maximum of 12 more months to operate, and it is being monitored by Burford Town Council and Oxfordshire County Council. The county council will consider, in due course, whether the provisions of the experimental order should be continued indefinitely.

The six-month time limit for people to comment on the scheme ends at 11.59pm on Friday 5 February 2021. Anyone wishing to have their say should visit the Oxfordshire County Council consultation page, where they will also find more information on the scheme, including exemptions and alternative routes.

Oxfordshire County Council, in partnership with the county’s district councils and Citizens Advice services, is offering support to vulnerable residents through a Winter Support Grant. Oxfordshire was awarded £400,000 by the government in December to fund the cost of food, electricity, heating and other essential items, and the financial help is available for households to claim by 31 March, 2021.

Teresa Archer, of Citizens Advice Oxfordshire, said: “The Winter Support Grant is a lifeline to people across Oxfordshire that are struggling to cope with so many changes. We are seeing people that have lost jobs, are juggling working from home with home-schooling, facing reduced incomes and greater expenses with having family at home. And, of course, some have lost loved ones.

“The grant is providing essential food and fuel support that can help families cope during these life changes imposed on them by the pandemic. People who might be eligible can be referred by any local agency that is already working with them, or they can get in touch with their local Citizens Advice for more information.”

What help is available

Households with children can claim up to £350, while those without children can receive up to £175. The support teams provide the funding through supermarket vouchers, cover costs for pre-payment meters, or make sure that a heating or water bill is paid.

If a resident has received a food voucher from a previous scheme, they may also be eligible to have one from the Winter Support Grant.

How to apply

• If you live in the Cherwell District Council area, visit www.cherwell.gov.uk/wintergrant
• If you live in the Oxford City Council area, visit oxford.gov.uk/wsg
• If you live in the Vale of White Horse District Council area, visit whitehorsedc.gov.uk/winter-grant
• If you live in the West Oxfordshire District Council area, visit www.westoxon.gov.uk/wintergrant
• If you live in the South Oxfordshire District Council area, visit southoxon.gov.uk/winter-grant

The teams will then carry out the appropriate checks to see if you are eligible for financial help. Grants are available until the end of March.

Councillor Ian Hudspeth, Leader of Oxfordshire County Council, said: “The pandemic and the lockdown are continuing to affect so many people, not least financially, in an unprecedented way. That is why these Winter Support Grants are so vital. No-one likes asking for help, but please, if you are struggling to pay for the essentials, then get in touch with your local authority and see if you are eligible for some financial help. We’re here to help you.”

The proposals for the scheme in Witney result from an active travel investment from the Oxfordshire Local Enterprise Partnership (OxLEP) to increase cycle journeys and improve the wellbeing of the community.

Councillor Yvonne Constance, Cabinet Member for Environment said: “This is great news for Witney. The funding from OxLEP recognises the ambition of our active travel plans and enables us to build on our existing commitment to accelerate our bold plans for transforming how people travel and how communities are connected. As the Witney area grows, it is vital that this growth is made sustainably so we minimise emissions and car journeys and help the growth be geared to connected and healthy, active communities.”

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

Nigel Tipple, Chief Executive of OxLEP, said: “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. We would encourage residents and businesses in Witney to take part in this upcoming process, as this new cycle scheme continues to evolve.”

This scheme will improve sustainable cycle routes across a central corridor in Witney and allow safer pedestrian and cycle journeys, while encouraging a shift away from car use. It will also have far reaching benefits beyond the immediate corridor. It will combine proposed improvements with secured walking and cycling measures in western Witney that together provide a continuous east-west route across the whole town.

A number of supporting measures to slow vehicle traffic and prioritise cyclists and pedestrians will include upgrading crossings to toucan crossings. Proposals also include an eastbound bus and cycle only lane at Corn Street, where general traffic will only be allowed westbound and closure of Holloway Road to through traffic to prevent rat-running. Paths will also be widened to create a safer environment to cycle and walk.

The county council is seeking the opinions of residents, visitors and local businesses before the scheme is implemented. The council is running this pre-statutory consultation survey to understand resident expectations and concerns so the output from the consultation will be carefully examined as the scheme progresses to the next stage.

The consultation opens on 21 January and closes at 23.59 on 11 February.

You can learn more about the plans for the scheme in Witney and examine some frequently asked questions and take part in the consultation on the county council’s website.

The skeleton is one of at least 35 men and boys believed to be victims of Oxford’s St Brice’s Day Massacre of AD 1002, in which dozens of Danish raiders, settlers and their offspring were thought to have been executed on the orders of the King Aethelred II of England. The skeleton is held at Oxfordshire County Council’s Museum Resource Centre in Standlake, West Oxfordshire.

Now DNA evidence has shown that a male skeleton, discovered during an excavation in Denmark, is closely related to one of the Oxfordshire victims – known as SK1756.

Next year, SK1756 will be taken ‘home’ to Denmark to be included in a Viking exhibition alongside the latest Danish discovery – believed to be a close relative such as an uncle, nephew, grandfather, grandson or half-brother.

In the meantime, SK1756 is set to be featured in a Danish TV documentary about the Vikings. The Director of the National Museum of Denmark, Dr Rane Willerslev, visited Standlake with a television crew on Thursday, September 24, where he interviewed Oxfordshire’s Curator of Archaeology, Angie Bolton, for the documentary.

Dr Willerslev said: “It was very interesting and very revealing.

“It was strange to see this skeleton – one of your ancestors – which had been hit eight to 10 times in the head and stabbed several times in the spine, just lying there in front of you.”

Some of the work in establishing the link between the two skeletons was carried out by Dr Willerslev’s twin brother Eske, an expert in DNA.

“We thought it was exciting when we made the link,” said Rane. “We thought that Vikings had left Denmark to live in Britain, but we were not certain. Now we had the evidence that they were kin.”

The mass grave was discovered in 2008 when archaeological excavations took place ahead of a development in the grounds of Oxford University’s St John’s College. Research shows that they had all been massacred at the same time, probably in AD 1002.

While 33 of them were tall, robust adult males – two were adolescents who had met a violent death but did not necessarily lead a violent life. Isotopic analysis suggests that some of the victims originated from within the UK, Denmark and Germany.

The massacre was prompted by King Aethelred’s frustration at his inability to stop Viking invaders from raiding England.

Towards the end of the 10^th century there was a resurgence in raids, despite Aethelred paying the Vikings large sums of money as a ransom to stop. This was becoming costly and ineffective so, in AD 1002, he issued a decree ordering the killing of all Danes on St Brice’s Day. This included the Danes who carried out the raiding, plus those who had settled, and their offspring. The timing, historical and archaeological evidence suggests that the remains found in Oxford were probably killed as part of this decree.

The St Brice’s Day Massacre is not well-known among the general Danish population, but Dr Willerslev is not expecting a backlash when his documentary reveals the gory details of Oxford’s very own horrible history.

“I don’t think there will be any hard feelings towards the Brits,” he joked. “People always think the Vikings went overseas and killed and plundered, but here the situation is turned around. It’s payback!”

Ms Bolton, who talked the Danish visitors through how the skeletons were found, how they are looked after, and how they are believed to have met their brutal end, said: “The fact that the director of a National Museum came to take an interest in our resource centre is just brilliant.

“The DNA link to the Danish skeleton is amazing and it’s quite a privilege for our collection to be recognised in this way.”

The documentary and the exhibition, due to open at the Danish National Museum in Copenhagen in 2021 and run in various forms until 2024, show that the Danes still embrace their Viking heritage.

“Vikings are very popular at the moment, added Dr Willerslev. “Denmark is regularly reinventing its relationship with the Vikings – the depictions are very different throughout the years – but they remain one of the most popular themes you can exhibit. Why is this?

“Well, there are adventures and a glorious time in Scandinavian history, when Christian beliefs met Pagan Europe. Scandinavia is very peaceful now so it’s intriguing and challenging to look at the past and see what motivated them.”

SK1756 will be making the journey to Copenhagen next Spring, and there are plans to carry out more tests on the 1,000-year-old bones – either in Durham or Denmark – to try to unearth more secrets from beyond the grave.

And if Ms Bolton has her way, SK1756’s Danish relative will travel in the opposite direction at some point in the future.

“I would love to borrow the Danish skeleton and put on an exhibition in Oxfordshire, showing this example of ethnic cleansing, and shatter a few myths about us and the Vikings,” she said.

Oxfordshire County Council's Museums Resource Centre is the principal store for all archaeological sites excavated or studied in Oxfordshire. Collections include sites and objects from every period of human history - prehistoric, Roman, Saxon, medieval and post-medieval.

The key route carries up to 32,000 vehicles a day on the section between Witney and Oxford and is single carriageway in some sections.

The development is great news for the people of Oxfordshire, allowing the council to improve sustainable travel for residents, communities and business whilst supporting thousands of new homes and jobs.

The sum of £102 million will deliver the Housing Infrastructure Fund 2 A40 Smart Corridor which comprises:

• An extension of the dual carriageway from Witney to the proposed Eynsham park and ride, including improving cycling facilities along the route
• An extension of the A40 westbound bus lane from west of Duke’s Cut canal and railway bridges close Oxford near to the proposed Eynsham park and ride
• A40 capacity and connectivity improvements to widen access at Duke’s Cut canal and railway bridges, extending the eastbound and westbound bus priority lane, prioritising bus rapid transit at this pinch point

The work will increase A40 capacity for all users of the route between Witney and Eynsham, while providing a high-quality, congestion-free public transport, cycling and walking link for travel between Witney, Eynsham and Oxford to encourage residents and travellers to adopt active travel to slash emissions and improve air quality.

The HIF 2 scheme will also deliver capacity and connectivity improvements at the Duke’s Cut canal and railway bridges. This will include an eastbound bus route over the bridges on the approach to Wolvercote and improved cycling facilities, including a link joining the A40 cycle route to the National Cycle Network route 5, along the Oxford Canal.

Users will also benefit from interchange at the planned Eynsham Park & Ride, allowing them to use a bus to and from the site, part of the A40 Science Transit 2 Scheme.

Cllr Ian Hudspeth, Leader of Oxfordshire County Council said:

“The signing of this funding agreement for more than £102m from Homes England is pivotal and will help ease congestion on the A40 giving it a much-needed upgrade to support sustainable growth in West Oxfordshire.

"The A40 is already above capacity severely affecting residents and businesses. The massive improvements we can now deliver with this funding will reduce congestion, improve public transport, making journeys more reliable and shorter and linking this route to the future Eynsham park and ride.”

Cllr James Mills, Leader of West Oxfordshire District Council, said:

“The importance of this funding cannot be underestimated. The A40 has been beyond its capacity for many years and this will help relieve congestion on a key route from Witney to Oxford and beyond.

“It will also form part of an integrated transport strategy involving the planned Eynsham Park and Ride and Hanborough Station which is designed to help with housing and population growth in the future, particularly around Eynsham and the Salt Cross garden village site.”

The investments will enable the development of essential transport links to make sure sustainable infrastructure is built where it is needed to support the development of much needed new homes and jobs in Oxfordshire.

In a development covering the Didcot Garden Town Housing Infrastructure Fund programme or HIF1, the Cabinet took a key decision to accept the preferred alignment of the routes of the four parts of the scheme put forward by its officers.

A sum of £218m from government agency Homes England (HE) (towards infrastructure costs of £234m) will deliver:

• Widening the A4130 from A34 Milton Interchange towards Didcot from single to dual carriageway;
• A new Science Bridge over the A4130, Great Western Railway Line and Milton Road into the former Didcot A Power Station site;
• A new Didcot to Culham bridge between the A4130 and A415 including a new crossing of the River Thames River; and
• A Clifton Hampden bypass

In doing so, the council will also consider the views of local people who submitted views over two consultations to hear residents’ views on plans to support sustainable growth around Didcot. These were held in late 2018 and a second round in March-April this year which yielded almost 700 responses.

In the case of the Housing Infrastructure 2 (HIF 2) scheme, the cabinet agreement means that the council will move ahead with the three parts of the HIF 2 scheme to access Homes England funding agreed in November 2019 worth £102 million to develop:

• An extension of the A40 dual carriageway from Witney to the proposed Eynsham park and ride, including improving cycling infrastructure along the route.
• An extension of the A40 westbound bus lane from west of Duke’s Cut canal and railway bridges close Oxford near to the proposed Eynsham park and ride.
• A40 capacity and connectivity improvements to widen access at Duke’s Cut canal and railway bridges, extending the eastbound and westbound bus priority lane, prioritising bus rapid transit at this pinch point.

In both HIF schemes, the priority is the development of additional highway space, connectivity and infrastructure to encourage more sustainable forms of travel to meet the council’s zero carbon transport network ambitions such as public transport, walking and cycling connectivity. It will also support the delivery of wider health and place-shaping benefits in line with the council’s core policy objectives.

The Deputy Leader of Oxfordshire County Council Cllr Judith Heathcoat said:

“Oxfordshire County Council recognises an urgent need for new homes for its people and that these homes require us to get the right infrastructure in to support them first. We are committed to working with our communities to develop the right infrastructure in the right places to allow them to grow in a sustainable way.

Indeed, sustainability is at the very heart of what we intend to develop for the Didcot Garden Town area. A great boost to the work has now advanced with the award of £218m from homes England in June to allow us to work to get the infrastructure right.”

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.

The Government has confirmed the Housing Infrastructure Fund (HIF) money is to be invested in major improvements to the key route.

The news comes as a result of a successful bid by Oxfordshire County Council which was put together in close partnership with West Oxfordshire District Council.

Oxfordshire County Council Wins £102m to Make Major Improvements to the A40

Funding that will see one of Oxfordshire’s busiest and most important transport routes improved has been announced today.

The Government has confirmed £102 million of Housing Infrastructure Fund (HIF) money is to be invested in major improvements to the A40.

The news comes as a result of a successful bid by Oxfordshire County Council which was put together in close partnership with West Oxfordshire District Council.

The announcement means that the county council can deliver:

• An extension of the A40 dual carriageway from Witney to the proposed Eynsham park and ride, including improving cycling facilities along the route.
• An extension of the A40 westbound bus lane from west of Duke’s Cut Canal and railway bridges close Oxford near to the proposed Eynsham park and ride.
• A40 capacity and connectivity improvements to widen access at Duke’s Cut Canal and railway bridges, extending the eastbound and westbound bus priority lane, prioritising bus rapid transit at this pinch point.

The county council will develop a single preferred option so that preliminary design can begin for each of the three elements of the scheme.

Making the A40 fit for purpose

The overall scheme aims at creating substantial benefits for existing and future users of the A40.

This main artery is a single carriageway road and – on the section between Witney and Oxford – up to 32,000 vehicles currently use it each day.

Congestion causes daily problems for road users and has been described by business leaders as one of the biggest barriers to economic growth and prosperity in West Oxfordshire.

All modes of transport are affected by congestion, which encourages traffic to seek other routes. Bus services are suffering from increasing journey times and are unable to reliably run to timetable. Demand for travel and transport will only increase over time.

The proposals seek to increase A40 capacity for all users of the route between Witney and Eynsham, while providing a high-quality, congestion-free public transport, cycling and walking for travel between Eynsham and Oxford. Users will also benefit from interchange at the planned Eynsham Park & Ride, allowing them to use a bus to and from the site, part of the A40 Science Transit 2 Scheme.

Yvonne Rees, Chief Executive of Oxfordshire County Council, said: “This is fantastic news and I am really pleased that the needs of our residents and the people who use this vital route have been recognised.

“I would like to thank everyone who have worked so hard on this successful bid. It shows how working together in partnership can really get results for our communities and that together we really can achieve so much and provide what people have been asking for.”

Giles Hughes, Head of Paid Service at West Oxfordshire District Council, said: “This bid will help ease the daily misery commuters have to endure on the A40 every day and will bring major benefits to the district’s economy in terms of attracting businesses and tourists to the area.”

Chris Coleman, Managing Director for Stagecoach in Oxford added: "We strongly supported the HIF bid submitted by Oxfordshire County Council and believe that this second phase of improvements to the A40 west of Eynsham and around Dukes Cut is necessary to secure the full benefits arising from the initial bus lanes scheme east of Eynsham.

“Together, these will transform journey times and reliability for the thousands of customers using our services each week between West Oxfordshire and the City. This scheme creates a comprehensive solution necessary to deliver an attractive public transport offer on the A40 that is essential to serve the needs of planned residential and employment sites in the future.”

 If successful, the bid will deliver:

• Extension of the A40 dual carriageway from Witney to the proposed Eynsham park and ride, including improving cycling facilities along the route.

• Extension of A40 westbound bus lane from west of Duke’s Cut canal and railway bridges to the proposed Eynsham park and ride.

• A40 Capacity and Connectivity Improvements at Duke’s Cut Canal and Railway Bridges -

Oxfordshire County Council’s original proposals included the B4044 Community Path, which we took the difficult decision of removing as part of this package, due to the specific criteria for HIFs. Oxfordshire County Council remains committed to this scheme and will seek alternative funding. Please read our statement here.

Making the A40 fit for purpose

The overall scheme aims at creating substantial benefits for existing and future users the A40. This main artery is a single carriageway road and – on the section between Witney and Oxford – up to 32,000 vehicles currently use it each day. Congestion causes daily problems for road users and has been described by business leaders as one of the biggest barriers to economic growth and prosperity in West Oxfordshire. All modes of transport are impacted by congestion, which encourages traffic to seek other routes. Bus services are suffering from increasing journey times and are unable to reliably run to timetable. Demand for travel and transport will only increase over time.

The proposals seek to increase A40 highway capacity for all users of the route between Witney and Eynsham, while providing a high-quality, congestion-free public transport alternative for travel between Eynsham and Oxford. Interchange would be made possible at Eynsham Park & Ride, part of the A40 Science Transit 2 Scheme.

Ian Hudspeth, Leader of Oxfordshire County Council said:

“This bid will help us make the A40 fit for purpose giving it a much-needed upgrade to support sustainable growth in West Oxfordshire. The A40 is already above capacity severely affecting residents and businesses. The massive improvements we are proposing will alleviate congestion, improve public transport, making journeys more reliable and shorter and linking this route to the future Eynsham park and ride.”

Giles Hughes, Head of Paid Service at West Oxfordshire District Council, said: “This bid will help ease the daily misery commuters have to endure on the A40 every day and will bring major benefits to the District’s economy in terms of attracting businesses and tourists to the area.

“A very strong case has been made to Government for this funding and we look forward to a positive outcome later in the year.”

Chris Coleman, Managing Director for Stagecoach in Oxford added: "We strongly support the HIF bid submitted by Oxfordshire County Council and believe that this second phase of improvements to the A40 west of Eynsham and around Dukes Cut is necessary to secure the full benefits arising from the initial bus lanes scheme east of Eynsham. Together, these will transform journey times and reliability for the thousands of customers using our services each week between West Oxfordshire and the City. This scheme creates a comprehensive solution necessary to deliver an attractive public transport offer on the A40 that is essential to serve the needs of planned residential and employment sites in the future.”

Oxfordshire County Council held a consultation to collect residents’ feedback on the plans for improving the A40 Corridor in late 2018 and expects to hear the outcome of the funding bid by late summer 2019.

A stage of the high-profile British cycling event has been secured for Oxfordshire by the county council and five districts in a three-year deal with the race organisers SweetSpot. They expect cycling fans to visit Oxfordshire to watch the race, generating additional business for restaurants, bars, hotels, B&Bs and shops.

In a comparable stage in last year’s race in Warwickshire, additional local expenditure linked directly to the event totalled £2m by around 100,000 spectators. Nearly two-thirds (63%) came from outside the county and 67% of spectators said they were inspired to cycle more often.

(Picture: Tour director Mick Bennett celebrates on a vintage bicycle at the Blenheim Palace launch)

The race will start in South Oxfordshire and end at one of the county’s most iconic locations, Blenheim Palace, with large crowds expected to cheer the winner over the line. Details of the exact route, which will pass through the Vale of White Horse and West Oxfordshire, will be revealed in coming weeks.

About 100 professional riders will weave their way through towns, villages and rural areas, inspiring local schools to organise themed sport and fitness lessons. Highlights of the race will also be screened on ITV4.

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.

'Enormous economic boost to our thriving communities'

Councillor Ian Hudspeth, Leader of Oxfordshire County Council, said: “We’re delighted to welcome the Women’s Tour to Oxfordshire because it will bring an enormous economic boost to our thriving communities, inspiring more people to get their bikes out of the shed. Oxfordshire is the perfect backdrop for this race and we look forward to showing off the county at its best.”

Councillor Jane Murphy, Leader of South Oxfordshire District Council, said: “This is wonderful news for residents and businesses in South Oxfordshire – the economic benefits will be huge. It will hopefully inspire lots of people to take part in healthy activities like cycling, but just as importantly it is going to be a lot of fun. I’m looking forward to watching it.”

(Pictured, Councillor Ian Hudspeth waves local cyclists on their way for a tour around the grounds of Blenheim during the Palace launch event. He's waving the Oxfordshire county flag)

Councillor Barry Wood, Leader of Cherwell District Council, said: “The Women’s Tour is going to be a thrilling display of endeavour and endurance by some of the world’s best athletes. The whole county will be there to cheer them on, as an inspiration to all of us to increase our activity levels. Lots of work will be ongoing between Oxfordshire councils and their partners in the coming years to make these three events a massive success and secure the benefits they will bring for the whole county.”

Councillor Louise Upton, Board Member for Healthy Oxford, Oxford City Council, said: “We have huge numbers of cycling fans and cycling clubs in Oxfordshire who will be thrilled to have elite cyclists racing through the county. When I contacted the Women’s Tour of Britain a year ago it was beyond even my most optimistic dreams that Oxfordshire would sign a three-year deal with them.

“I hope that this will also be an opportunity to get people, especially women and girls, to think about having a go on a bike and using them to go longer distances. It’s the best way to get round Oxford; but on a good bike, commuting in to Oxford from Kidlington and Abingdon is also possible – and with an electric bike it is easy!”

'It's the perfect package'

Councillor Jeanette Baker, Cabinet Member for Health, Leisure & Communities, West Oxfordshire District Council, said: “As a West Oxfordshire District Councillor and cabinet member with the portfolio for health, leisure and communities, this exciting OVO Energy Women's Tour Race is welcome on many levels.

“Promoting activity for women either competitively or leisure that culminates in good health and wellbeing, equality, creative community spirit to involve schools, various organisations and a boost to the tourism of the districts, is the perfect package. All this, wrapped in the enjoyment of watching the competitors travel through the counties, makes for a great family day out.”

Councillor Roger Cox, Leader of the Vale of White Horse District Council, said: “We’re all very pleased the Women’s Tour will be racing through the Vale – it’s a great way to promote the qualities of our district to a national and worldwide audience, and it is also a great event for us all to look forward to. You never know, it might inspire a young person from the Vale to become the next Victoria Pendleton or Bradley Wiggins.”

'The most incredible backdrop'

The OVO Energy Women’s Tour is Britain’s longest-running professional women’s race and part of the prestigious UCI Women’s World Tour series.

Thanks to title sponsor OVO Energy, the award-winning independent energy supplier, the event will once again back a prize fund equal to that of the men’s Tour of Britain for the second year running.

Commenting on the announcement, OVO Energy Women’s Tour Race Director Mick Bennett, said: “Oxfordshire is a historic and world-famous county; therefore, I am looking forward to the Tour visiting there over the coming years. To have our 2019 stage – the first ever to take place in Oxfordshire – finish in the grounds of the stunning Blenheim Palace will provide the most incredible backdrop; and leave our world-class field with a truly unforgettable memory and reinforce the prestige of the event."

The 2019 OVO Energy Women’s Tour will begin in Suffolk with Stage One from Beccles to Stowmarket on Monday, June 10. Further details of this year’s OVO Energy Women’s Tour, including the full race route and competing teams, will be released in the coming weeks.

Read more, including FAQs

And it was all made possible thanks to the sensory impairment team at Oxfordshire County Council.

Julie, 57, is totally blind in her right eye and has just 2% vision in her left eye. When she moved to Carterton four years ago she had lost confidence to venture outside alone.

A meeting with one of the council’s visual impairment workers reintroduced her to the benefits of a long cane which has since ‘transformed her life’.

And so it was that two years ago she ventured to her nearby Aldi store. She wanted to buy blueberries but had inadvertently picked up black grapes.

Fortunately a man called Dennis came to her aid. After swapping the fruit he offered to give her a lift home. The pair clicked instantly and last year they were married.

“I was literally swept off my feet alongside a packet of blueberries,” joked Julie.

Sensory impairment comes under the umbrella of the council’s adult social care team. They support 2,500 visually impaired people, 1,400 hearing impaired and 600 people with dual sensory loss.

That support is all part of the council’s commitment to thriving communities – helping people live safe, healthy lives and play an active part in their community.

Julie has a hereditary condition called Stickler syndrome. She lost the sight in her left at the age of nine and the sight in her right eye at 17.

More than 30 operations since have resulted in the 2% vision she has now.

‘It has transformed my life’

Julie contacted the sensory impairment team after moving from Bromsgrove. She wanted to improve the lighting in her Carterton home and following a specialist assessment, the visual impairment worker arranged for a council-approved electrician to replace lights in her kitchen, bedroom and living room.

Then visual impairment worker Beverley Downs reintroduced her to the long cane she had learned to use while growing up in Merseyside.

Julie explained: “For one reason or another I’d got out of the habit of using the long cane and I’d only been using a short symbol cane, which doesn’t really help in any way except as a visual aid to others that I have a visual impairment.

“It has transformed my life and given me so much more confidence. If there’s an obstacle in the way when I’m walking the cane finds it before I do.

“Then it was a case of learning new routes, like going from home to the supermarket, the post office or the chemist.

“Beverley helped me to establish a mental map which is vital for your confidence. If something happens on your route and you get distracted it’s easy to lose your bearings.

“Part of the problem that you’re encountering every day is the unforeseen. It might be a car on the pavement or roadworks. If I’ve got a mental map in my mind it makes things easier.

“Having Beverley and the team has really broadened my horizons and given me more confidence.”

‘Swept off my feet by the blueberries’

Julie admits life has got a lot easier since that chance encounter with Dennis, 81, in the fruit aisle at Aldi.

“This one morning I went to Aldi’s to buy blueberries but it’s difficult because they are all in rigid packaging. I couldn’t differentiate and looked round for somebody to ask.

“A gentleman told me I’d picked up black grapes and went to swap them for me. We chatted, he offered to give me a lift home and actually took me right up to the doorstep.

“That was two years ago and last year we were married. He literally swept me off my feet by the blueberries!”

Dennis’ first wife Betty suffered from dementia for seven years and he nursed her until she passed away in June 2014.

He said: “I had been married 46 years. When I lost my wife I felt completely on my own. When I met Julie I had a new lease of life.”

Now the pair are full-time carers for Julie’s mum Wynn, 87, who has vascular dementia. They have also bought a house nearby, which means learning a whole new set of routes.

Julie said: “I’m not the sort of person who sits in a chair and feels sorry for myself. I was brought up to do what I can. I’ve got a cross-trainer, I go to keep-fit, I enjoy knitting and go to a group called Knit and Natter.

“Obviously there are limitations being registered blind. But you work within those limitations and try to push those barriers back.”

Julie recently moved house and contacted the sensory impairment team again – this time for new routes as Julie needed to learn how to access the places she was accessing prior to her move.

Beverley is now in the process of helping Julie to learn those new routes and has helped her to access new appliances such as a washing machine, microwave and television by providing special tactile markers.

Beverley said: “For Julie, as anyone with a visual impairment, buying or moving to a new home will present a number of challenges. The role of a visual impairment specialist is to work alongside a person to maximise their independence – this is achieved collaboratively by understating what the presenting issues are and together providing a rehabilitation programme to address their needs. Julie’s determination to be independent made this possible.”

‘It’s massively rewarding’

John Fearn-Webster is manager of the council’s sensory impairment team. Eight staff including Beverley work in visual impairment and seven in hearing impairment.

He said: “We’re unique in that we’re one of the few internal services within adult social care who work across all ages, so we work from the cradle to the grave.

“That’s good so when they come to that transitional stage, that tricky period from 16 to 18, there’s no transition to be made. They will continue with our teams as they progress through.

“A lot of the time when we meet visually impaired or hearing impaired people, they’re not really sure what we’re here for. They don’t know what questions to ask. That’s part of the skill of the specialist workers to try to tease out what they want.

“Most of the work is done at a person’s home. It needs to be. We can see what they’ve got around them. We’ll make their environment as safe as possible and we work with the person to jointly agree how we can best meet their needs.

“When we can start to address what is most important to them it’s massively rewarding. We do see and hear some heartbreaking stories, especially if it’s related to sudden onset or if it’s related to a particularly young person.

“We are here to provide the best practical and emotional support we can.”

Cllr Lawrie Stratford, cabinet member for adult social care, said: “It’s hard to imagine how difficult it must be living with a sight defect or hearing loss.

“I always have such admiration for those dealing with a sensory impairment and I’m proud of the work done by our sensory impairment team to support these people and help them engage fully within their communities.”

Residents are being given the chance to talk rubbish and recycling and tell Oxfordshire’s county, city and district councils how they can help them recycle more and create less waste.

This consultation will inform the review of the joint countywide waste strategy. This sets out shared priorities across Oxfordshire for waste and recycling until 2030, that will be approved by the Oxfordshire Environment Partnership over the summer. Then, each council partner will adopt changes later in the year.

We want to do better at recycling and the new joint countywide waste strategy is critical to this. We know that on average over half of the items put in the general waste bin could have been recycled by placing them in the other bins available.

Through this consultation residents are being asked what would help them to reduce their overall waste consumption and recycle more. This includes expanding the range of materials that can be recycled at the kerbside and tips and advice on left-over food, upcycling clothing or donating or buying second hand goods. The councils are also seeking views on more radical schemes that have been implemented elsewhere in the country, such as changing bin sizes and collection frequency.

Councillor Yvonne Constance, Cabinet Member for Environment at Oxfordshire County Council said: “We want to help residents to increase the amount they recycle and have looked around at what other councils are doing. This is a long-term strategy and we will not be making any immediate changes however we are interested in which of these the residents of Oxfordshire think may work for them as we seek to minimise the overall amount of residual waste produced in the county.”

Do you want to recycle and reduce waste, so help us by taking part in the online survey at www.recycleforoxfordshire.org.uk. The survey is open and will close on 18th February.

The draft Infrastructure Strategy is an independent report commissioned by Oxfordshire’s six councils who make up the Oxfordshire Growth Board. Developed in partnership, it sets out the investment in transport, schools, hospitals and other infrastructure needed to support the predicted growth in population, and meet the future needs of Oxfordshire families, their children and grandchildren in terms of jobs and homes across the county to 2040 and beyond.

Major investment projects include:

• Improvements to the A34
• Rapid bus routes linking key locations
• East-West Rail connecting Oxford to Cambridge
• A long term strategy to address congestion on the A40
• Redevelopment of Oxford Station
• A new Garden Town for Didcot
• Incentives to encourage businesses to locate and expand within the Science Vale.

Once adopted, the Oxfordshire Infrastructure Strategy will provide an agreed template for planning and directing around £9 billion of mainly central government investment to support Oxfordshire’s growth to 2040 and beyond. The Oxfordshire Growth Board will consider the final report on 26 September 2017.

That investment is linked to number of key national decisions expected over the next few months. These include the publication of the Government’s Industrial Strategy and the second report from the National Infrastructure Commission; allocations from the Housing Investment Fund and the autumn Budget.

There is still time for residents and businesses to have their say on the emerging infrastructure strategy for Oxfordshire before 10 September 2017 by visiting: www.oxfordshire.gov.uk/growthboard.

Councillor Bob Price, Chair of the Growth Board and Leader of Oxford City Council, said: “Across the county, people need places to live, with a great environment, transport and other vital infrastructure to support them. Oxfordshire sits at the centre of the UK’s knowledge economy and must play a key role in the nation’s future growth story. This is only possible by attracting significant investment to the region, and the Infrastructure Strategy shows Government and other infrastructure funding partners the investment Oxfordshire needs in a clear and co-ordinated way. It helps set Oxfordshire’s course for the future.”

Councillor Ian Hudspeth, Leader of Oxfordshire County Council and Growth Board member, said: “As the lead for transport and highways in the county; improved, new and appropriate infrastructure is key to how we see Oxfordshire growing and developing in the coming years. We want to see benefits for both new and existing residents. To achieve this we are working closely with partners including OxLEP, our Local Enterprise Partnership, and all of our local planning authorities. This joined-up approach in Oxfordshire is vital if we are to achieve our ambitions through this strategy.”

Nigel Tipple, Chief Executive of OxLEP (Oxfordshire Local Enterprise Partnership), said: “The need to ensure Oxfordshire benefits from an infrastructure that is fit for purpose and one that doesn’t hold back dynamic economic growth – whilst being sensitive to the environment – is a key priority.

“As a county, we need to maintain growth but – similarly – ensure that our future infrastructure fully-supports our desire to grow.”

The Oxfordshire Growth Board is a joint committee of the six councils, formed to provide strategic planning for all the challenges that the growth agenda for Oxfordshire brings.

The six councils represented on the Oxfordshire Growth Board are Cherwell District Council, Oxford City Council, Oxfordshire County Council, South Oxfordshire District Council, Vale of White Horse District Council and West Oxfordshire District Council.

This release is issued on behalf of the Oxfordshire Growth Board.

Local roads are also set to benefit from Oxfordshire County Council being given a share from a national roads fund but details of the exact proportion of money to be allocated to Oxfordshire and other councils in England have yet to be confirmed as well as the type of road which would eligible for funding.

Bev Hindle, Strategic Director for Communities at Oxfordshire County Council said: “We welcome today’s announcement from the Government, confirming their support and commitment to invest in the A34 (M4-M40), East West Rail and the Oxford to Cambridge Expressway. We will continue to talk to Government and partners about the county’s transport infrastructure strategy to ensure the needs of future generations who live, work or travel through Oxfordshire can be met and planned for.

He continued:  “As the Transport Secretary said, getting transport spending right is absolutely crucial which is why the county council and members of the Oxfordshire Growth Board are working on a the development of an Oxfordshire Infrastructure Strategy which will identify, prioritise and cost Oxfordshire’s future infrastructure to 2040. We already know that existing funding will not deliver the scale of infrastructure investment required which is why we will work together to explore alternative sources of funding.

He concluded by saying:  “I am delighted the Government has highlighted England’s Economic Heartland as one of a number of partnerships in England that have been created between local authorities with the aim of becoming a Strategic Transport Authority. As a co-founder of England’s Economic Heartland, the county council is working hard with eight local authorities (Northamptonshire, Buckinghamshire, Milton Keynes, Bedford, Central Bedfordshire, Luton, Cambridgeshire and Peterborough) to improve physical connectivity between larger urban centres, with a particular emphasis on east-west connectivity, and improved access into and within larger urban centres.”

More than £6.8million has been invested in flood prevention work in Oxfordshire thanks to Oxfordshire County Council over the last ten years, with more to come according to the Leader of Oxfordshire County Council.

The county council is the Lead Flood Authority for the area and each year contributes in the region of £600,000 towards work that protects properties from flooding.

Protecting residents

County Councillor Ian Hudspeth, Leader of Oxfordshire County Council, said: “I am proud of the work that the county council has funded which has helped tackle and prevent the devastation that flooding can cause to our communities.

“Oxfordshire has suffered a number of floods in recent years, with the really big one in 2007 that everyone remembers.

“What people may not realise is that Oxfordshire County Council has been contributing hundreds of thousands of pounds every year to protecting homes that could otherwise face disaster should there be extreme weather in the future.

“The physical work that we have helped to pay for goes a long way to protecting our residents while the county council’s fire and rescue service has a proud history of stepping in to provide hands on help and things like pumping in emergency situations.

“On top of this the county council’s drainage teams work all year round to keep drains and ditches – that can make a big difference – clear. As an example, in West Oxfordshire, we have spent £2.8m on drainage work alone in the last decade.”

Commitment to flood prevention

Cllr Rodney Rose, co-chair of the Oxfordshire Flood Alleviation Scheme Sponsoring Group and member of the Thames Regional Flood and Coastal Committee, said: “The county council’s commitment to reducing flood risk is unquestionable.

“The county council has helped make the Oxford Flood Alleviation Scheme a reality by agreeing to contribute a further £5m when the scheme goes ahead. This takes our total contribution to £6.5m.

“This is a crucial piece of work for Oxfordshire as we saw only a couple of years ago how flooding in Oxford has wide-reaching impacts for the whole county.

“We have also led on the development of the Oxfordshire Flood Toolkit which provides all the information residents and businesses need to become more resilient.

“All this illustrates the great efforts and strides that we have made towards tackling flooding, and I am keen to see this work continue.”

Next steps

In next year’s program further drainage improvement schemes are planned as well as money set aside for re-active work for drainage problems which arise during the year.

Where the money has gone

Over the last 10 years the money has been spent by the county council on:

• Flood bunds

• Replacement culverts

• Additional culverts

• Upsizing highway drains

• New highway drainage systems

• Flood storage areas

• Ditch maintenance

• Maintenance of the highway drainage system

• Jetting and investigating existing drainage systems

The county council has spent the money in the following district council boundary areas:

• £1,264,000.00 in the West Oxfordshire area

• £1,433,000.00 in the South Oxfordshire area

• £1,066,000.00 in the Vale area

• £205,414.00 in the Cherwell area

• £2,901,650.00 in the Oxford city area

Firefighters and Police Community Support Officers in West Oxfordshire recently took part in a joint training exercise at Witney Fire Station to share their knowledge so they can offer home visits that will provide fire safety, home security, healthy living and crime prevention advice in a single visit.

The expansion of this pioneering initiative by Oxfordshire County Council Fire and Rescue Service and Thames Valley Police will mean that when Police Community Support Officers visit homes in West Oxfordshire, they will be trained to spot fire-related risks and offer fire safety or public health advice on the spot instead of referring people to the fire service to arrange a second visit. Equally, when firefighters visit homes they will be trained to look for signs of when someone is vulnerable to crime and offer advice to residents about how to protect their homes and avoid being a victim of door-step crime for example.

Kerry Blair, Group Manager at Oxfordshire County Council Fire and Rescue Service said: “This is a fantastic example of the collaborative work taking place between ourselves and Thames Valley Police to better serve the community by focusing on the needs of residents through a multi-agency approach. Home visits can cover anything from fire safety, home security safety and awareness of doorstep crime as well as health advice.”

On-call firefighters are people that will go about their daily everyday life until they are alerted to an emergency incident in their area; then they have five minutes to get to their local fire station and respond as a professional firefighter. The role requires a reasonable level of fitness and suits people that enjoy being challenged and thrive in a team orientated environment.

The recruitment drive has started now so that Oxfordshire Fire and Rescue Service has fully trained staff to take on the role once the station becomes operational.

As well as being used by Oxfordshire Fire and Rescue Service, the building will provide other blue light services and providers of local community services with a location in the heart of the community from where they can provide response, prevention and protection services.

Simon Furlong, Deputy Chief Fire Officer of Oxfordshire County Council’s Fire and Rescue Service said: “By increasing our presence in West Oxfordshire, we believe this facility will significantly improve our emergency response capability in this area and increase our capacity to target and deliver our community safety resources in the areas of most need.”

Councillor Rodney Rose, Oxfordshire County Council’s cabinet member for Fire and Rescue said: “There has been a high level of community interest in this project and the facility will be a real asset for local people.”

Find out more

Applications are now open for the training course starting June 2017 and anyone interested is encouraged to find out more by visiting www.oxfordshire.gov.uk/oncallfirefighters

Cllr Ian Hudspeth, Leader of Oxfordshire County Council and Chair of the Oxfordshire Growth Board, said: “The recommendations made to the Growth Board on housing apportionment was the result of years of hard work by all six councils in the county who have worked in partnership to develop a sustainable approach to meet the county’s future housing needs.

“I am disappointed that South Oxfordshire District Council was not in a position to support the recommendation. However, I am pleased that all other councils voted in support of the recommendations.”

The Memorandum of Co-operation was expanded to reiterate that the programme does not “identify, propose, recommend or seek to identify, propose or recommend any site or sites for additional housing within any district. Each Local Planning Authority will remain responsible for the allocation of housing sites within its own district and through its own Local Plan process.”

What is the Oxfordshire Growth Board?

The Oxfordshire Growth Board is a joint committee of the six councils of Oxfordshire, set up to facilitate and enable joint working on economic development, strategic planning and growth. It does this by:

• advising on matters of collective interest, to seek agreement on local priorities and influence relevant local, regional and national bodies

• overseeing the delivery of projects that the councils of Oxfordshire are seeking to deliver collaboratively in the fields of economic development and strategic planning and those agreed in the City Deal and Local Growth Deals that fall to the councils, working collaboratively, to deliver and has an overall responsibility to manage these programmes of work alongside the Oxfordshire Local Enterprise Partnership (OxLEP).

The meetings are administered and hosted on a rota basis and currently Oxfordshire County Council is the hosting authority.

The leaders of all six councils sit on the Growth Board.

ENDS

Notes to editors

The following recommendations presented to the Growth Board at its meeting on September 26^th have been agreed by five of Oxfordshire’s six councils (Cherwell, City, County Council, Vale of White Horse, West Oxfordshire). South Oxfordshire District Council has yet to agree its figure.

1. Approve the apportionment of the agreed working figure for the unmet housing need for Oxford, in the interest of complying with the Duty to Co-operate.

2. Approve the attached Memorandum of Co-operation setting out the apportionment and timetable for delivery of the unmet housing need for Oxford, subject to the following addition as a new 3.6 to Section 3: 

3.6 The Programme does not identify, propose, recommend or seek to identify, propose or recommend any site or sites for additional housing within any district. Each Local Planning Authority (LPA) will remain responsible for the allocation of housing sites within its own district and through its own Local Plan process.

N.B In light of the vote, officers were authorised to make such minor editing changes to reflect that South Oxfordshire District Council will not be signing the Memorandum of Understanding.

3. Formally recommend the approved apportionment to each of the Oxfordshire Local Planning Authorities for consideration in the preparation of their Local Plans, in the interest of meeting the objectively assessed housing needs for Oxfordshire.

The recommended apportionment discussed today (September 26) was as follows:

The Oxfordshire Growth Board is a joint committee of the six councils of Oxfordshire, set up to facilitate and enable joint working on economic development, strategic planning and growth. It does this by:

• advising on matters of collective interest, to seek agreement on local priorities and influence relevant local, regional and national bodies

• overseeing the delivery of projects that the councils of Oxfordshire are seeking to deliver collaboratively in the fields of economic development and strategic planning and those agreed in the City Deal and Local Growth Deals that fall to the councils, working collaboratively, to deliver and has an overall responsibility to manage these programmes of work alongside the Oxfordshire Local Enterprise Partnership (OxLEP).

The meetings are administered and hosted on a rota basis and currently Oxfordshire County Council is the hosting authority.

The Oxfordshire Strategic Housing Market Assessment (SHMA) was commissioned jointly by all the Oxfordshire district councils supported by Oxfordshire County Council and published in 2014. It was a technical study intended to help the Oxfordshire local planning authorities understand how many homes will be needed in the period 2011 – 2031. It also considers the housing needs of specific groups such as older people, minority groups and people with disabilities and what housing growth will be needed to support the economy.

A special commemorative baton has been carried by 16 people in a relay covering over 200 miles from source to sea over the last 16 days.

The Leader of Oxfordshire County Council, Cllr Ian Hudspeth brought the baton back to Steve Good, Chairman of The Thames Path National Trail Partnership, at the end of the 20^th anniversary baton relay source to sea.

The baton was returned to Eynsham Lock where Oxfordshire County Council host the trail team.

Hundreds of people took part in the walking, some booking on just for one day others coming in groups representing The Ramblers, the River Thames Society and our very own Thames Path National Trail Volunteers.

For more information visit http://www.nationaltrail.co.uk/thames-path, follow @ntthames and hastag #thamespath20.