News Update no 106, December 20th 2022

In this newsletter there is a good deal of new information that is well worth reading.
Apart from the Christmas festivity announcements I draw your attention to the consultation taking place as part of the process to move the village to a 20mph speed zone.
Additionally, please read the separate email regarding the community fund that is being offered by JBM, the developer of the proposed Padbury Brook Solar Farm.

Christmas Eve Trail around the Village
Please join in the fun and take the trail of the properties in the village who have Christmas Advent windows or displays in their gardens. In order to make this flexible, a map for you to follow will be placed in the bus shelter on the Stoke Lyne Road for collection from 5pm on Christmas Eve. This is the starting point. The end of the trail is the Red Lion  where from 6.30pm you will be able to enjoy a mulled wine and mince pies (light refreshments for the kiddies) courtesy of the Parish Council. As mentioned elsewhere, Dillie has volunteered to bring her keyboard so we can have a sing along to some carols and Christmas songs.

What’s on at The Red Lion
The Following is from Dillie:
“Come along to our Christmas Quiz on 22nd followed by Play Your Cards Right.  We have a new quizmaster… he’s apparently brilliant.
It’s Christmas and our staff need a break.  So we are not doing food on Christmas Eve or on 30th January.
On Christmas Eve, however, the parish council are kindly providing mince pies and mulled wine at 6.30, followed by a singalong of carols and Christmas songs at 7pm.
On Christmas morning, we are offering a free drink to our lovely village friends from 12-2.  However, as I hinted in the last parish newsletter, if the last time you came for a drink was Christmas morning 2021, we’ll still be delighted to see you but do bring some method of payment.
Finally, there’s a large green pig on the counter in the pub.  It says STAFF XMAS TIPS.  Our staff are FANTASTIC and if you were minded to put something in there this week, it will be greatly appreciated. (None of it comes to me, btw.)
And we will be open Boxing Day from 12-9pm”
.

Stratton Audley Church

The Following is from Beckie Adams:
“We do hope you can join us in church to celebrate the Christmas season. Our services will be:
Friday 23rd December (7pm) Carol Service in Godington
Christmas Eve (4pm) Crib Service – bringing the Christmas story to life for young children and providing a magical start to Christmas for all ages. Your children are invited to come in costume if they would like to. The collection taken at the service will be shared between the local church and the Children’s Society to help children and young people in distress. 
Christmas Morning (10.45am) Holy Communion – All welcome, of any denomination or none.

Perhaps you might like to donate some items to the Foodbank Collection Point in the church porch as one way of thinking of others at this time of year.
Please check the Shelswell Benefice website for details of Midnight Communion and other services in the various parishes within our the benefice http://www.shelswellparishes.info/services.php
A Very Happy Christmas!”

Stratton Audley Barn

The following is from Richard, Sara and the team:
“there are still a few hours left  to pop on down and enjoy a warming hot choccie, tasty light lunch, grab a Christmas tree & maybe a chance to add a few festive treats to your basket too! We have a 30% off sale on selected Christmas item.
We are open 10am-4pm daily with lunches served 12-2pm (give us a call to book for lunch, it’s been a busy few weeks).
We close our doors for the Christmas break at 4pm this Thursday 22nd December and will re-open on Tuesday 10th January with a spring in our step for 2023! We’d like to take this opportunity to thank you all for your support this year and wish you and your families a very Merry Christmas and very good wishes for 2023!”

Two New Vehicle Speed Signs for the Village
As previously reported two new Vehicle Activated Signs have been purchased for the village, one near the Mill Road entrance and the other on the Launton Road.
I am delighted to report that they are being installed on Wednesday in time for the Christmas craziness.
When we carried out the village survey earlier in the year, 55% of respondents said they were in favour of these devices and evidence increasingly suggests that they do help to reduce speed by reminding everyone to slow down.

Cancelled Road Sweep
Apologies for being unable to tell you that the scheduled road sweep for last Thursday was cancelled at the last minute but I was away. This was due to the vehicle breaking down and the excessive ice and snow on the roads. It is being re-scheduled for sometime in January and you will be informed in advance.

Christmas Garden Waste collections
There will be no changes to our general waste, recycling and food caddy collections over the festive period, however our brown bin collection scheduled for Tuesday January 3rd is being skipped and there will be no collection.
Christmas Tree Collections will take place on Tuesday 17th January. The good news is that you do not need a Garden Waste subscription in order for your Christmas tree to be collected. Residents leaving large trees out for composting are asked to cut them into pieces that are four feet tall or smaller. This makes it safe to load them into the recycling trucks. The pieces of Christmas tree should  then be left next to the blue recycling bin on collection day.
All this information is available on the Cherwell District Council website in case you want to double-check for yourself.

20 mph Consultation
As previously mentioned, one of the points emerging from the village survey earlier in the year, was that 70% of respondents were in favour of  reducing the speed limit in the village to 20mph. At the time, the cost of such a programme was prohibitive but upon further investigation we discovered that Oxfordshire County Council was setting up a scheme for towns and villages to offer free conversion to those that qualified. The Parish Council went through an application process and Stratton Audley was selected to be amongst the first to be adopted.
They have now started a consultation process and are asking for your views on the proposal to replace the existing 30mph speed limit in its entirety.
Details of the proposed Traffic Regulation Order can be viewed on the Councils consultation portal at the address below:
https://letstalk.oxfordshire.gov.uk/strattonaudley_20mph2022
As stated on the notice, any objections or other representations on the proposal should be submitted by Friday 20th January 2023.
With regard to the speed limit on the approach roads to the village, for the timing being there are no plans to reduce these from the national speed limit of 60mph, but this is something that has been raised on number of occasions and will be pursued given sufficient interest.

Children’s Safety Posters
It has been decided that the children’s road safety posters around the village should be taken down. Any that are still intact will be placed in the bus shelter on the Stoke Lyne Road. Original artists are welcome to come and collect their own work of art before they are disposed of.

Bicester Heritage January Scramble
Tickets are still available for the Scramble on 8th January (9am to 2pm) The special local residents discount code, which  gets you 50% off is: BristolBoxKite
I have also just been told that tickets will go live for the 8th April Scramble event, on the 9th January at 10am.

The Coffee morning Christmas Lunch
The Red Lion coffee morning regulars participated in a Xmas Lunch at the Red Lion this week and had a scrumptious roast turkey lunch followed by Xmas pud and trifle. All agreed it was a truly lovely meal prepared and cooked by the staff  and Dilly who made the trifle. The coffee morning gang would like to thank Dilly and staff for a lovely festive meal, and to Maggie Woodward who organises the coffee mornings.
Annie organised a raffle the proceeds of which (£48) is to be given to the village church, hopefully to pay for the brown bin yearly fee.
Thanks to all that took part in raffle and helped on the day
Coffee mornings are Weds mornings at 11.00 join us everyone welcome.

Village Improvement 
An enquiry was made recently as to whether there was anything left in the village improvement fund that was created out of the Street Festivals in 2016 and 2018. When the last analysis was made available in 2019 there was some £1600 remaining, although this figure was depleted further and as a result the Parish Council agreed to allocate a further £5000 to this fund. Please see the latest PC Minutes for further information.
At every Annual Meeting of the Parish, people are reminded to come forward with ideas, hopefully ones that they can help implement, whether it is for something physical to improve the look of the village, organising an event  or the setting up of a service for residents. All you have to do is attend a Parish Council meeting and put forward your idea.

The 100 Club
The winners in the 100 club draw for the month of December 2022 were:
£60                               Hook Family (110)
£40                               Michael McCabe (156)
£20                               Zoe Timmers (55)
£20                              Maxine Ling (9)

Digital Connectivity Survey
Our local MP, Victoria Prentis has recently launched a Digital Connectivity Survey to help her build a comprehensive picture of where mobile and broadband coverage is weak in North Oxfordshire.
Broadband signal is still an issue for many of us and mobile signals are non existent in some locations. So this is very relevant for us and only takes a few minutes to complete on-line.
She hopes as many people as possible will respond to the survey, the results of which will then be shared with service providers so that they can all work together to improve connectivity across this area. You can access the survey here.
Garden Waste Subscription 
I have received the following communication from Cherwell District Council and I daresay other have received similar letters:
“The subscription to this service is due to expire on 28th February 2023. Please renew before 28th February 2023 to continue your garden waste collections. If you renew after this date we will be unable to collect your garden waste until you have a valid subscription.
The charge for each garden waste subscription for 1st March 2023 to 29th February 2024 is shown below:

  • Subscribe between 1st December 2022 and 28th February 2023 and the first subscription costs £39, and additional subscriptions cost £33 each
  • Subscribe after 1st March 2023 and the first subscription costs £43, and additional subscriptions cost £33 each.

The easiest way to renew your garden waste subscription is by visiting our website: https://www.cherwell.gov.uk/payable-garden-waste-collection
Alternatively, if you can’t renew online, please call our Customer Service Team on 01295 227003. If you are calling us to renew your subscription, please ensure that you have read our Terms and Conditions before calling us”.

And a few previous items that are still relevant:

Don’t Forget – Fresh Fish every Thursday 
Jack from Grimsby continues to come to the village on Thursday’s between 6.30-7pm and parks his van outside the Red Lion. He has a wide selection of fresh fish and shellfish. You can just turn up or place orders in advance by text and his mobile number is 07535 935119.

Fish & Chips Van in the village on Saturdays
For those new in the community, a Howe’s Fish and Chip van comes to the village every Saturday lunchtime from 1.30pm to 2pm. You will hear a bell (like a school bell) and his first stop is in Cherry Street. He then drives along Cavendish Place and stops again at the junction with Mill Road.
Howe & Co was established in 1930 and now has over 100 vans serving villages. You can track each van by going to their website and you need to look for van no 4:
https://howeandcofishandchips.co.uk/#findvan
They also have a general number you can call 07809 901761.

Historical Village Information on Display in the Church
The following information has been kindly provided by Dorothy Howarth:
“The Shelswell History Festival in July took as its theme Trade and Transport and, although this seemed to have little to do with this village, the Local History Group produced information about the blacksmiths which were in Cherry Street (named after the blacksmith’s family) the start of the postal service in this area (which was down to the Stevens family) and the existence of 33 lacemakers in the village in 1851, at a time when there were “12 Paupers receiving Parish Relief” – which is probably not unrelated.
In terms of “Transport”, Stratton Audley is somewhat unique in being shown on a map of England of around 1690, amidst mainly large towns and cities, and it is believed that this may have been due to the existence of the Manor House where there could have been accommodation.   This map is the first of the whole country and is based on the strip-maps of John Ogilby and, without a map such as this, it would be difficult to think in terms of “transport”, hence a tenuous link to the festival’s theme.
More information on these topics and the amazing life of John Ogilby are to be seen on the display boards which were used for the Festival and are still on display in the Church.   It had been intended to take them down and put them into storage but the Church Warden is of the opinion that many people have taken an interest in them and suggested that they should be left on display for a little longer.   If you know of someone who would be interested please let them know before they are put back into storage.”

Advanced News of likely Boundary Changes 
You may be aware that the geography of parliamentary constituencies is currently under review. The Boundary Commission for England launched a nationwide review in January 2021 which is now nearing its completion.
One of the aims of this review is to equalise the number of voters in each constituency. At the 2019 General Election the Banbury constituency was the 16th largest constituency in the country in respect of its population. The publication of the Boundary Commission’s revised proposals a few weeks ago has all but confirmed the new geography.
A new constituency is set to be created around Bicester – the Bicester and Woodstock constituency.This new constituency will comprise the District Council Wards of Bicester East, Bicester North & Caversfield, Bicester South & Ambrosden, Bicester West and Fringford & Heyfords from the current constituency, the Wards of Kidlington East and Kidlington West which will transfer from the Oxford West and Abingdon constituency and the Wards of Eynsham and Cassington, Freeland and Hanborough, North Leigh, Stonesfield and Tackley and Woodstock and Bladon which will transfer from Witney constituency. All of the Launton and Otmoor Ward will also move into the new constituency including those villages currently in the Henley constituency.
A map of the Bicester and Woodstock constituency can be accessed here.
The Banbury constituency will remain as Banbury town plus the Wards of Adderbury, Bloxham and Bodicote, Cropredy, Sibfords and Wroxton and Deddington. It will also take in the Wards of Chadlington and Churchill, Charlbury and Finstock, Chipping Norton, Kingham, Rollright and Enstone and the Bartons from the Witney constituency.
These changes are expected to be introduced in time for the next General Election, provided it is called after July 2023.

Local Police Bicester and Kidlington Rural Team News
To report a crime or contact the police there are now three options:
·       Call 999 if you see a crime being committed or in an emergency
·       Call 101 to report anything else to the police – or go online to do so
·       And now police are partnering with CrimeStoppers to remind everyone of ‘The 3rd Number – 0800 555 111’ that enables you to report your information totally anonymously if you prefer.
Finally for the latest crime statistics there is a useful national site into which you can put your post code. Click on this link  Bicester Rural | Police.uk (www.police.uk)