Firstly, I would like to thank all the volunteers who have come forward to help support the village through COVID 19.  It has made me realise Great Coxwell is such a caring village.

Also, a big thank you to Pauline and Mike Durham, and Lauren Gilmour and Peter Gale who have put a tremendous amount of work in to get the support system underway.

You Are Not Alone/ Daffodil Card - Every household should now have received their You Are Not Alone/Daffodil Card.   (Cards were delivered by hand by Pauline and Mike over the weekend) This should be kept near a prominent window, but only displayed should normal communications with designated volunteers fail.

Volunteer Support Card – All households should receive a Volunteer Card through the door in the next few days.  This will give details of the Volunteer allocated to keep any eye on your house and be your point of contact should you require help, necessary supplies or a medical prescription collected.  You may already have a relative, neighbour or friend assisting you and we do not wish to interfere with this.  If this is the case, keep the Volunteers information as back up should your normal support network be unavailable.

Prescriptions – I am currently working with the White Horse Medical Centre at Faringdon and the Elm Surgery at Shrivenham to organise centralised pickups.  Once this is in place, I will let everyone know how arrangements will work through the Newsletter and your Volunteer.

Best wishes everyone and stay safe.

Mandy

Stay at Home, Protect the NHS, Save Lives.
(Mandy Burns 01367 240142)
​

Dear all,

As you are aware many of you in the Community of the Faringdon Division have benefitted over the last few years from the County Councillor’s Priority Fund of an annual budgeted amount of £15,000 per County Councillor.  This year the amount was once again in the Council’s budget and we have been advised that we are able to use our councillor priority fund for community support activities related to Covid.   Officers will be working hard to expedite applications as councillors send them in and it is recognised that small pots of money can go a long way.

However, the process for handling applications is currently being updated as the administration for applications will require to be different this year.  Once I have the information I will of course contact you again.
 
Judy

Jane will have tomato plants for sale in May (in aid of St Giles) as well as some courgettes and beans and other plants.

Please get your order in by phoning Jane on 241367 or email sylvia.athawes@btinternet.com.

Residents have been warned to be on their guard against criminals and scammers exploiting the coronavirus situation.

In Oxfordshire, County Council’s Trading Standards has received reports of scams targeting people via emails, text messages, and on the doorstep.

Full details and advice from our Trading Standards team here:

https://news.oxfordshire.gov.uk/oxfordshire-residents-warned-against-coronavirus-scams/

Dear all, as you will be aware the Government has issued additional requirements and guidance for the most vulnerable in our communities. Those in this vulnerable group are; and will, be contacted centrally and will receive clear details on how to protect themselves, which includes strict self-isolation for 12 weeks. 

The Oxfordshire Local Government family, in partnership with our Health and Voluntary and Community sector partners have established a simple point of contact for those residents who will struggle during this period. The County Council has established a team of officers with a dedicated helpline number for our vulnerable residents to access and will link directly with the front doors of our City and Districts partners.  This engagement  / partnership is essential as there will be a growing demand for support from those in our communities beyond this specific vulnerable group. We need to work together to help our communities through this challenging period. 
 
For residents in South Oxfordshire, Vale of White Horse, West Oxfordshire and Cherwell District Councils  - they can call the dedicated team on 01865 89 78 20 or email shield@oxfordshire.gov.uk. This will be operational from 8:30am to 8:00pm Monday to Friday, and 9:00am - 5:00pm Saturday and Sunday.  This will not stand up until Friday the 27th March 

If you live in Oxford City the number to call is 01865 24 98 11 between 8am and 5pm or visit www.oxford.gov.uk/CommunityAssistance
  
More information will be available over the coming days but we wanted to provide you with some initial information asap 

Kind regards 

Yvonne Rees 
Mark Stone 
Giles Hughes
Gordon Mitchel 

It is with great sadness that following Government advice to reduce the spread of Coronavirus by avoiding unnecessary contact, we have cancelled all forthcoming films at The Regent Cinema in Faringdon Corn Exchange until further notice.

We look forward to sending you details of new cinema dates as soon as we re-open.   

We will also keep everyone updated on the Town Council website: www.faringdontowncouncil.gov.uk, the noticeboard outside the Corn Exchange on Gloucester Street and our Facebook page: Faringdon Regent Cinema.
​

My thoughts are with you all as we face this unseen menace.
 
I wish to especially acknowledge Mandy for the excellent work being done by her and “The Great Coxwell Support Group” in making sure that no one feels cut off; and the very valuable work by Jake and Gav in creating and maintaining the email platform (greatcoxwell@freelists.org) for keeping us all informed and able to so easily circulate requests and information.
 
The Village Calendar is now rather thin with the cancellation of the Sunday Teas, the Wednesday morning Open House and Art Weeks. However, when we finally emerge from this dreadful time, we will be able to reflect on how it brought us closer together in many ways.
 
Although your Council is not meeting, please be assured that it is business as usual for responding to issues within the confines of the current ‘stay at home’ restrictions. Please send any issues you may have to me and I’ll try my best to help.
 
I look forward to being able to meet up again as villagers of Great Coxwell.
 
With best wishes to you all,
Richard May
Chairman
Great Coxwell Parish Council
​

Due to the recent government guidelines regarding COVID-19 and with safety checks not being carried out.

Great Coxwell Parish Council has taken the decision to close the play area.

We thank you for understanding and helping us to keep our families safe.

Great Coxwell Parish Council

Following recent Government advice, we regret to announce that the Reading Room will close to the public with immediate effect.

This will be reviewed on 30th April 2020.

Our first priority is to protect the safety of our hirers, residents and staff.
​

Thames Valley Police is urging people to be vigilant against criminals attempting to use the publicity around COVID-19 as a chance to target them with fraudulent emails, phone calls, text messages or door to door services.
 
To stay safe residents should follow this advice on Covid-19 related scams, which you should read and understand too. Residents can also receive regular updates about potential scams in their area by signing up to Thames Valley Alert Community Messaging.

Please could we ask you to be extra-vigilant as you’re likely to hear about scams during your work with community groups. If you do hear of anything suspicious, contact the police on 111.

Supporting the vulnerable

If you have been shopping for neighbours or family members who are vulnerable, elderly or self-isolating, please continue to do so.  The government says you are allowed to leave your home to provide care or to help a vulnerable person.  Just be careful to follow the usual guidance about washing your hands and keeping a safe distance from others. Where possible, it is sensible to leave the shopping on the doorstep for them rather than handing it to them directly.

Support for shops and businesses that have now closed
Many of our shops and other businesses have either closed or will be closing following the announcement last night that all but essential businesses need to do this.  

If you know of or are contacted by anyone whose business or shop has been forced to shut, please remember to direct them to our South & Vale Business Support website.  We already have lots of helpful information on there and our staff are working hard to ensure it is up to date each time the government provides more detail about the help available.