Another relatively short news update this week.
Covid-19 Update
The governments ‘COVID-19 Response – Spring 2021’, setting out the roadmap out of the current lockdown for England can be found via this link:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/covid-19-response-spring-2021/covid-19-response-spring-2021-summary
For those who are interested in more precise information on infections, area by area, the link below is useful:
https://coronavirus.data.gov.uk/details/interactive-map
East West Rail Local Update
The Bicester Road that leads to Marsh Gibbon from the crossroads at Billy Evans farm remains closed and the latest information is that the closure has been extended to close of business on Friday 26th March.
With this extension in mind, the works on Stratton Audley Road, Poundon have been revised. This closure will now be for Saturday 27th and Sunday 28th March.
Station Road to Launton will be closed from 12th April 2021 for more or less a year
The safety audit report from Oxford County Council on the new junction at Stratton Audley Park Road and the A4421 is still awaited.
Stratton Audley Barn
Stratton Audley Barn is now open for takeaway only, Friday to Sunday 10am-4pm. Grab a cuppa and cake and enjoy a walk, cycle or even a long overdue natter on a park bench….!
Thames Water
We have now received a fuller response from the Thames Water to our questions which are being studied by the PC and those residents directly affected by recent flooding issues.
Key points are:
They have made changes to the running system of the two pumps which means that both pumps run automatically when necessary, as opposed to one being on standby and as a result are pumping the maximum amount the rising main is designed to take;
The ammonia levels in the water that rose up into the road and some premises had a very low ammonia level, demonstrating that the flows were heavily diluted with ground water;
Some relining work of the foul water system has taken place and more is scheduled;
Network engineers have identified key points of interest and the camera survey has been scheduled to resume at the beginning of April when levels permit;
To maintain customer contact audits, they still need customers to report the issues they have via the call centre. The unit has alarms so the Waste Operations Control Centre will be alerted, the site will be checked and tankers will be deployed on a best endeavour’s basis and where resource is available;
They tell us that the village pumping station and network are working as they should be, but when severe storm events occur, all pumping stations are potentially capable of being overwhelmed and they aren’t able to design a sewer to cope with every weather eventuality;
On a wider basis, various initiatives are being put in place concerning the Bicester sewerage system;
The Sewage Treatment Works at Bicester is currently undergoing a project of upgrade to increase its capacity in order to safely treat the projected growth within the system;
More information on their future plans can be found here:
Better Broadband
The Digital Infrastructure team at OCC have just provided an update from the ‘Better Broadband for Oxfordshire’ programme, which confirms the completion of superfast broadband delivery across Oxfordshire.
For those who want to get into the detail, the attached pdf provides a tailored update with coverage statistics for Stratton Audley and also shares information relating to the significant achievements and background of ‘Better Broadband for Oxfordshire.
Village Allotment
No further news. A suitable plot of land is the key requirement.
Tree Planting
No further news.
Planting trees on verges may prove problematic and so it is felt that the best course of action is to find larger areas of land where groups of trees could be planted. Suitable areas should be identified and discussions held with land owners to explore opportunities of planting trees in corners of fields or other unproductive areas. Grants & funds are available to purchase trees and over a dozen volunteers are prepared to carry out the physical planting. We are targeting planting winter 20201/22
Did you see this?
Between Sunday 7th March and Monday 8th March approx 200 new trees were stolen from a location on the ring road in Bicester. The trees still had the root wraps on them. If you witnessed anything please update via 101 ref 43210096783.
Comet Bus Services
As previously reported OCC Communities have agreed a new minibus service to take residents to and from Bicester, which is likely to commence on Tuesday April 12th. They are prepared to provide this free of charge for the first six months to test how many people use it. A reminder will be issued closer to time.
It will operate on Tuesday and Thursdays with pick up times as shown here:
Pick Up
10:46 – Bus Stop Adjacent to Glen Close
10:49 – Bus Stop Bicester Road
Drop off
11:00 – Sainsburys, Bicester
Pick Up
1:15 – Sainsburys, Bicester
Drop Off
1:25 – Opposite Bus Stop Bicester Road
1:29 – Opposite Bus Stop Adjacent to Glen Close
In the meantime Comet operate a dial-a-ride service for those that require transport for medical or essential shopping reasons. There is a cost of 75p per mile which works out at under £5 for a round trip into Bicester. The service operates Monday to Friday between the hours of 10am and 2pm. Should anyone wish to make a booking please contact the Comet team on 01865 323201.
Shelswell Parishes Church Service
There will be the usual 10am service on Sunday morning which will be available on-line. Find it on Facebook Shelswell News Group or YouTube Shelswell Parishes channel. It will actually have been recorded (rather than livestream) to try and get round some of the technical issues they have been having with the signal needed for livestream.
Collection Point for Disposal of Ink Jet Cartridges
Please continue to pop your ink jet cartridges into the basket in the Glen Close bus shelter. Please don’t drop larger toner cartridges off as these are not recycled by the RSPB. If you are not sure if your cartridges are suitable for recycling, you can contact Rachel Dewhurst by email at treehouse0@sky.com
And finally…..
Happy Mothers Day for this Sunday.