Happy St Georges Day for Friday 23rd!
A packed newsletter this week with five new announcements.
Exclusive New FREE Bus Service for the village
Delighted to confirm that the new Comet mini bus will now start running from this coming Tuesday 27th April and provide a free service to and from Bicester, two times a week, allowing for two hours in town!
The service is being provided by the Community Transport Hub at Oxford County Council and initially is being run in line with Government guidelines in respect of Covid. As a result the bus capacity is limited to 6 people who must all wear face coverings. Because the bus is being introduced exclusively for residents of the village, all should be fine since numbers using the service in the past can be counted on one hand. This is a trial and an initial review of the service will be carried out at the end of July which will report on the number of passengers who have travelled.
If we want to keep the service it is important that it is used regularly so please spread the word particularly to your neighbours who may not receive this newsletter.
Tuesday and Thursday
Pick up
10:46 – Bus Stop Adjacent to Glen Close
10:49 – Bus Stop Bicester Road
Drop off
11:00 – Sainsburys, Bicester
Pick Up
1:00 – Sainsburys, Bicester
Drop Off
1:10 – Opposite Bus Stop Bicester Road
1:14 – Opposite Bus Stop Adjacent to Glen Close
This is an important service that the Parish Council has been working on behind the scenes for a long time, so please use it or we will lose it!
Road Sweep Wednesday 28th April
This coming Wednesday the road sweeper will be in the village from about 8am and as usual everyone is asked to park their cars off the street if possible or move them when you hear the hum of the sweeper vehicle, which will come past your home several times during the morning from about 8am.
There probably won’t be a road team this time so if you are able to help, you should sweep or blow any debris off the pavements outside your home, into the road/gutter.
This is a service provided to the village three times a year by Cherwell District Council and as residents we are fortunate to have such a dedicated refuse team of people serving our community, so please show your appreciation to the driver.
Service in the Church This Sunday 27th April
The church is once again open during the day for private prayer and reflection.
The next service in Stratton Audley will be 9.30am Holy Communion this Sunday 25th April. It is no longer necessary to book for services, though masks and hand sanitising will still be required and social distancing will be strictly observed.
Also this Sunday there is ‘Muddy Church’ for families with children of all ages in Stoke Lyne. Meet at the Stoke Lyne Road churchyard at 3pm and have some fun getting dirty. For more information email Becky Adams at admin@shelswellparishes.info .
Resurfacing of Launton Road
The major resurfacing works that were postponed last year have now been scheduled in for August (provisionally 9/8/21). The works to Launton Road & Church Street will result in the closure of the roads except for access and this will be done in sections.
We are being told that the delay is due to other more critical areas taking precedence. The roads will be patched & resurfaced more than originally planned and it will make the area up to the bridge a whole lot better with the aim that potentially in a few years after patching the surface can be dressed to lengthen the life.
Meanwhile, Anthony Flack recently took on the role as a Volunteer Super User (pothole spotter) and is doing a sterling job identifying potholes and marking them up with a kit that has been provided to him by County. OCC are very aware of the dangerous state of parts of the Launton Road and interim interventions will be required before August. Fixmystreet is still the best way for all of us to report any matter (not just potholes) to do with Highways https://fixmystreet.oxfordshire.gov.uk
The Red Lion
A Message from Dillie regarding plans for the Red Lion.
“I haven’t got a great deal more to tell the village about our dear old pub, except to say that we are scurrying around like beavers trying to make it work. We hope – hope! – to open on 17th May along with the other pubs and in the meantime, all sorts of things are being done to make the pub safe and secure. Chimney swept, fire extinguishers renewed, fire detectors replaced, etc. We’ll keep you posted”.
A message from Carolyn Goss, Goss Farm, Mill Road
A walkie talkie has been found on the footpath in the back field behind Goss Farm. If it is yours, please contact Carolyn gossbros@btconnect.com or myself.
When using the public right of way path in the same field, please be aware that cows are now back eating the grass.
Carolyn has also noted a number of cars which appear to be accelerating up and down Mill Road past their farm exceeding the speed limit and making quite a racket. Yesterday she saw a red Renault and also a blue old style Range Rover speeding heading up the hill not having reached the 30mph boundary.
Has anyone else noticed this type of activity on Mill Road? If so do get in touch.
East West Rail Local Update
Station Road (from the crossroads with Launton Road) that leads to Launton is now closed and will remain so for about a year.
We are still waiting for a revised date when the safety improvements will be made at the junction of Stratton Audley Park Road and the A4421. EWR are regularly contacted by residents in SA and Godington about the danger to public safety and also have asked to see the full safety report carried out by EWR.
Thames Water
If you noticed the Thames Water guys in the village today they were carrying out the long overdue camera survey of the sewage drains in the village. This fulfils a restated commitment by Thames Water when we had the flood problems back in January. A report will be compiled and hopefully it will lead to repairs being carried out over the summer months, in order to stop ingress of rain water and identify any illegal surfaces drains feeding into the system.
And some reminders from previous notices:
Calling All “Baby Lambs”
For those who are new to the village and have a baby who isn’t yet mobile, Little Lambs has started up again with “Baby Lambs”.
Although for the moment restrictions limit what can be done, the organiser’s would love to see you. It is every Wednesday in the Stratton Audley Church from 10am – 10.45am (Term Time) and the first meeting was earlier this week.
Contact Jen Iddon via jeniddoncfw@gmail.com
Jen who organises it says:
- We need to stay in our own bubbles
- Bring our own drinks and snacks
- Bring your own baby mat / toys
- Any toys must be kept in our own bubbles
- We cannot mix (hence babies not toddlers)
- Max 15 people, but just turn up as we’re not expecting many to start with
- Story, Chats and Prayers.
Mitra Monday with Persian Food
Mitra will be in the village again on Monday to serve up her delicious Persian food, at the junction in the centre of the village. She’ll be serving from about 4pm until dusk.
Just turn up or text her in advance if you have a large order on 07444 364789.
If you want to bring your own container or pot to save on plastic waste, please do so.
Stratton Audley Barn
Now serving take-away home-made ice cream, Friday to Sunday 10am-4pm. Grab a cuppa and cake to enjoy while out for a walk.
East West Rail 2nd Non Statutory Consultation
EWR have just launched the next stage of public consultation. They are inviting
comments from all interested parties including the public.
Two of the key areas of focus for the consultation in our area are:
- How to improve Oxford Station and its supporting infrastructure - including Oxford Parkway and Bicester Village stations
- Options for avoiding lengthy periods of delays at the London Road level crossing, Bicester (there are six options for this crossing all of which propose tunnels or bridges).
You can share your views using the online feedback form available on their website at www.eastwestrail.co.uk, by emailing your comments to them at consultation@eastwestrail.co.uk or writing via FREEPOST East West Rail.
Alternatively, you can request a paper copy of the feedback form to be sent to you online at www.eastwestrail.co.uk, by emailing them at contact@eastwestrail.co.uk or by calling on 0330 134 0067.
The closing date for the consultation is 9 June 2021.
Scramble at Bicester Heritage – Discount Resident Vouchers
The next Scramble is to be held on 5th/6th of June and neighbourhood discounted tickets are still available for Sunday 6th June. When purchasing you will need to put FlyingBrevets into the promo code box which will immediately allocate a 50% discount. You will be required to input your OX27 or OX26 postcode and this will be checked.
https://bicesterheritage.co.uk/tickets/october-scramble-tickets/
Passes previously purchased for the January and April scrambles are still valid.
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
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