WANTED – NEW COUNCILLOR

PARISH COUNCIL OF STRATTON AUDLEY

There is a vacancy on the above Council caused by the resignation of Councillor Cathryn Lloyd.

We have now received confirmation from Cherwell District Council that we may fill the vacancy by co-option. Expressions of interest should be put in writing to the Parish Clerk

Interested parties should send a letter or email detailing their interest and experience to strattonaudley.parishclerk@gmail.com

 Signed Anne Davies

Clerk, 6 Greystones Court, Kidlington Oxon, OX51AR

OXFORDSHIRE HISTORIC CHURCHES TRUST RIDE AND STRIDE

September 9th

This year’s Ride and Stride will be on September 9th .   This is an ideal opportunity for people who are cyclists and horse riders, etc, to visit Churches in the region which will all be open on the day in order to raise monies for OHCT.   Anyone in this parish who is interested in enjoying this challenge and who would be prepared to raise funds for this worthy cause through sponsorship can obtain an entry form from Roni Howarth at 12 Cavendish Place or on 01869 277694.   The OHCT have frequently provided financial support for maintenance and rebuilding projects in Stratton Church.

In order to welcome visiting riders and walkers to the Church we would be grateful for people to volunteer to sit in the Church for 1-hour periods, between 10am and 6pm in order to authorise visitor’s sponsorship forms and to offer refreshments.   Anyone able to help should contact Roni as shown above.

Defibrillator & First Aid awareness sessions in the Church

Cllr Stewart Hopkins has completed a First Aid training course and is now a qualified and insured First Aider, able to provide refresher First Aid awareness to interested residents on an annual basis and saving the cost of employing an outside trainer.   Some 12 people have previously undertaken some basic instruction.   Last year the Parish Council invested in a potentially life-saving defibrillator which is located in the church porch and permanently accessible in the event of an emergency.   If you would like to learn how to use it, Stewart is planning a couple of two hour sessions in the next month – provisionally Thurs evening 14th Sept and Sat morning 16th Sept.   Please contact him on stewarthopkins1812@btinternet.com

Sweeping Success in Village

Another sweeping success  in the village was undertaken by Cherwell District Council on Wednesday 22nd August. Thanks to our coordinated efforts,  more or less everyone managed to move their cars off the streets, so as to give Harry in his sweeper lorry an easy ride.

Thanks to everyone. The next sweep will be the big one in late November after the majority of the leaves have fallen.

    

Approval to increase Councillors from 5 to 7

NOTICE ISSUED BY CHERWELL DISTRICT COUNCIL 31 July 2017

Cherwell District Council Community Governance Review 2017 re possible change in the number of Parish Councillors in some parishes

Cherwell District Council is carrying out a Community Governance Review. This is the process that allows the Council to make changes to parishes, such as parish boundaries and numbers of parish councillors.

Five parish councils contacted Cherwell District Council, to ask for a review of their number of parish councillors. A working group of district councillors considered the requests, and made recommendations to full Council on 17 July 2017.

Councillors agreed all of the recommendations and this is your opportunity to comment on the proposed change for Stratton Audley.

Stratton Audley Parish Council contacted Cherwell District Council in 2016 and requested that consideration be given to increasing the number of councillors for the parish from five to seven.

The reason for the request is the opportunity to attract a broader cross section of the community, reduce the amount of work each councillor undertakes by spreading the load and the fact that a larger council would also provide resilience in the event of holidays or sickness.

The last parish election for Stratton Audley was held in 2014, and there were five candidates for the five seats.

The electorate for Stratton Audley on 1 December 2016 was 349. Guidance from NALC recommends a parish council of seven where the electorate is up to 900.

On this basis, the recommendation is that the number of parish councillors be increased by two, so there would be seven parish councillors from the next scheduled election in Stratton Audley in 2018.

What happens next?

People now have the opportunity to tell the Council what they think of these recommendations.

You can send an email to democracy@Cherwellandsouthnorthants.gov.uk, or visit our webpage www.cherwell.gov.uk/communitygovernance and click on the survey monkey link to reply electronically.

All written or emailed responses should reach us by Friday 8 September 2017 to be taken into consideration. The online survey will close at 11:59pm on the same date.

Responses received will be considered by the working group of District Councillors, who will make a final set of recommendations that will be considered at the meeting of Full Council on Monday 16 October 2017.