Date Event Venue Time
Friday 17th May Lintern- Smythe Trio Church 7.30 pm
Friday 5th July Ferret Racing at Stratton Hunt Paddock 6.00 pm
Saturday 14th Sept Last Night of the Proms Church 7.00 pm
Saturday 2nd Nov. Christmas Fayre Church 11.00 am
Saturday 7th Dec. Christmas Festive Feast Church 7.00 pm
The Parish Council carries out regular door drops as well as constantly updating the website and noticeboard plus Facebook page. We do this to encourage involvement in the community and appreciate your feed back. Please keep this sheet as a reminder. Additionally the Parish Council hold meetings usually on the first Wednesday of each month in the Red Lion at 7pm and you are welcome to attend.
Open this link to view the latest news sheet.
As you may have seen in the press, Bicester Heritage has created a new master brand -Bicester Motion and has unveiled outline plans for the next 10 years. Bicester Heritage will continue to be the lead brand but increasing the site will be promoted as a leisure, technology and business centre and historic motoring will be joined with current and future forms of motion. They expect to attract a million visitors a year which should provide a big boost to the local economy. Their plans involve some track and driving facilities utilising the existing site, together with cycle tracks extending into the newly acquired Elm Farm Quarry with the possibility of some holiday rental lodges located around the lakes.
The Parish Council wishes to see better cycle access to the village as well as some public use of the old quarry site and are engaging with the owners to that end. They in turn wish to be good neighbours and as previously mentioned have kindly accepted our offer to attend the Annual Open Meeting on 9th April to explain more about their proposals and listen to the views of the community.
Here is their outline plan which will also be on display at the Open Meeting
After all the hard work in October it is nice to see that the stream has filled up over winter and there is a stead clean flow.
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Report from October 2018
Preventative action has been taken by the Parish Council in an attempt to reduce flooding on and around Mill Road this winter, by clearing the stream that flows from the pond under Mill Road and out past a number houses into the countryside. It was a full days work and resulted in about 300m of bank and bed being cleared!
Organised by Cllr. Hopkins, a team of gentlemen spent a day with chain saws, hedge trimmers and other cutting-edge tools clearing the way for a mini digger to scoop out the debris and mud that has collected in the stream over many years. The Parish Council hired a mini digger which was skilfully operated by Simon Goss’ brother Nigel who travelled from Gloucestershire to help out. According to Simon and immediate neighbour Henry Pappenfus who also got stuck in, the stream has not been cleared out properly for at least 20 years!
While the pond and stream are so low at the moment, it is difficult to assess how effective it will be and the true benefit will only be realised in time. Nevertheless it was a job well done and is all part of the drive to improve the overall look of the village.
Scottish & Southern need to carry out essential works and to do this safely need to cut the power to the village and surrounding area on Thursday from 9am to 5pm. All houses affected should have received a hand delivered letter explaining what is happening.
If anyone is concerned about their own situation or that of others please contact John Honsinger 01869 278 000 or Stewart Hopkins 01869 277 937.
The PCC would like to thank all those who take their place on the many rotas which keep the Church in Stratton Audley and Goddington so well maintained and such a welcoming place to visit; the cleaners, flower arrangers, providers of refreshments for services, readers, organists, meeters and greeters and those helping to keep the Churchyards in such good order by taking part in the mowing. Many, many thanks.
But how can YOU help? In Stratton Audley we have a goodly number of people who are prepared to help on the rotas but, inevitably, numbers are reducing as people move away. If you would be able to assist – probably around once every 6-8 weeks – we would be very grateful. If you are not currently a member of the congregation then you might like to help with the flowers, cleaning or mowing of the Churchyard which helps to keep the Church such a vibrant feature of YOUR village, but if you are a member (or are likely to become a member) of the congregation then an offer of help with the additional elements of refreshments after the service or meeting and greeting before the start of the service (or even occasionally reading a lesson!!) would be much appreciated. If this appeals to you please contact Becky on 01869 277471.
In addition to the above, the PCC and the whole congregation, would like to thank the bell-ringers, who give up their time – usually twice a week – to rehearse and then ring for services. The pealing of bells is a uniquely English tradition and really helps to lift the spirit prior to a service.
The collection due on Tuesday, 25 December will be brought forward to Saturday, 22 December 2018. Make sure your bins are out from 7am on the day.
The collection due on New Year’s Day, Tuesday, 1 January 2019 will also be brought forward to Monday, 31 December 2018.
In the New Year residents will be able to recycle their real Christmas tree by placing it in or next to their brown garden and food waste bin. All decorations and lights must be removed.
Households in Cherwell can place as much recycling out for collection as they want next to their blue bin as long as it is bagged or tied up (no black bags).
But households that have the room and would like to permanently boost their recycling capacity can purchase an extra blue bin for £18, saving £12 on the normal price during a sale between Saturday, 1 December and Monday, 31 December.
Where on earth is this taken from?
The answer all depends on your point of view! In this particular case the photos here were taken from the top of the bell tower of the church in 2018. Quite a birds eye view!
Keeping you updated on what’s happening on the old Pound area in the village.
Click on these links to see the comparison photos from before, during and after the works.
Work by the Parish Council has begun on restoring the area of land known as the Pound, located on Launton Road by the entrance to the Bucks Way footpath. So called, because in the old days it was a small enclosed area in the village where any stray or lost sheep were put until collected by their owners. As a result of removing the undergrowth and lower branches of trees, an area twice the size has been created and with the ivy removed from the stone walls, there is now a delightful view of the field beyond which contains the outline foundations of the medieval castle.
Further ground works will be carried out in 2019 and the intention is to provide additional seating, and an information board to explain the importance of the site. The stone wall is in a poor condition and at some point will require rebuilding or at the very least some temporary repair to the structure. If the area is to be more fully used, then a wall to enclose it and make it safe will be an added requirement. Consideration will also be given to placing a replica set of Stocks on the site as records show this is where they were located in the 19th Century. Some money from the Village Improvement Fund will be used but much will depend on obtaining other funding.
The manual work was undertaken largely by Stewart Hopkins and John Honsinger over four days with support from others including removal of debris courtesy of Simon Goss and hedge trimming by Mike Gore.
