Please click here for details of March concerts at St Giles.

Best wishes,
Lynette

The following documents have been add to these pages:

Finance
Governance and Policies

Asset Register, Standing Orders, Website Accessibility Statement
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Applications are invited for the post of Clerk and Responsible Financial Officer, to start 1st April 2025.

Details in the attached.

Do you want to carve out some time each week to make some art? Would you like to make art in a friendly, welcoming environment? Are you looking for some inspiration to get your creative juices flowing?
 
If so, Great Coxwell Art Club could be for you! 
 
Great Coxwell Art Club is a relaxed, non-judgemental space for people to play, have fun and explore their creativity by making art. All abilities are welcome - the emphasis is very much on having fun and enjoying the process of making something, no matter the outcome. 
 
Sessions start with a fun/thought provoking art warm up exercise with lots of time after to work on your own art project. It’s a space to share ideas, get inspiration from others and build a regular art practice to improve our art-making skills. Paper, pencils, charcoal, inks, paints, brushes and palette knives are all supplied but you can also bring your own materials/sketchbooks etc along that you'd like to use/work on.

Details are as follows:
Where: Reading Room, Great Coxwell.
When: 7-9pm, Wednesday evenings, term time only, next term starts Wednesday 26th February.
Cost: £36 (£6 per session) payable up front.
What’s included: tea, coffee, biscuits and art materials as above.
 
Current members have described the group as: creative, inspiring, friendly, relaxing, engaging, fun, liberating, supportive, energising - what’s not to like?!
 
I currently have 2 spaces available so if you’d like to know more please email me at [email protected] or text/call on 07748 963177.
 
Best wishes,
Sarah
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In recent years the village has suffered a number of power outages which are both frustrating and disruptive. The Parish Council has been liaising with Scottish and Southern Electricity Network (SSEN) to seek reassurance over the stability of the electric supply to the village. The response from SSEN is summarised below, and the PC will continue to monitor this.
 
1) Confirmation of the outages and their duration over the past 3 years from SSEN records
There has been 11 faults in the past 3 years

2) Summary of any upgrades to the network supply to the village completed in the last 3 years
Tree cutting was completed in spans every year throughout the local area. Any faults that are located and then repaired, we are then fitting newer joints and cables with these.

3) Explanation of any compensation schemes for customers who suffer outages, including any eligibility criteria such as duration and frequency
if any customer is off supply for 12 hours of continuous supply loss, then the customer would be entitled to £95 compensation as per OFGEM. 
 
If a customer suffers 4 power cuts lasting over 3 hours each time from April to April, then we would also offer £95 as a compensation scheme. 
For more details please have a look on our website. www.ssen.co.uk/about-ssen/performance-standards/

4) Details of your plans to mitigate the future risks of outages
There is more tree cutting planned to further help cut back any additional tree issues. SSEN have investment programme which will see an undergrounding of approximately 4 spans of 11kV lines. This is due to start and be completed over the next 2 years.

5) Clarification of what support is available for vulnerable customers.
For customers registered on our Priority Service Register (PSR), we can offer additional support such as suitcase generators and support packs for our most vulnerable. These include things like torches during storms, blankets, small generators to help with running small electrical goods. 
 
Our Priority Service Register (PSR) is for customers who may require extra support during a power cut, whether the power was to be interrupted either as an emergency fault or a future Planned Supply Interruption (PSI); for example, customers who have medical conditions, over 60 years old, young children, poor mobility, stairlifts etc. This is a free service and has a priority 24 hour helpline customers can call. Should you wish to provide up to date information, you can either do so by telephone on 0800 294 3259 (PSR number) or alternatively via our website https://www.ssen.co.uk/PriorityServices/
 
Please note however, this does not ensure your power will be restored quicker. With the extra requirements you have detailed, we would respectfully suggest discussing a contingency plan, such as battery backup with solar charging facilities with your medical professionals, hospital, local GP surgery or care package providers; as although our network does comply with present specifications and we do carry out regular maintenance, due to several factors, electricity companies are unable to guarantee a continual supply at all times. This is recognised by the Electricity Regulator and under the appropriate legislation which governs the electricity industry.
 
If you would like more information on how we use your personal data, you can find our privacy notice on our webpage Privacy Notice (Distribution) - SSEN
To view our Complaints Handling Process, please follow this link https://www.ssen.co.uk/Complaints/
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Documents have been added to the following pages:

Parish Council Meetings and Minutes - Parish Council Meeting Agenda, Reading Room Meeting Agenda, District Councillors' Report
​Finance - Schedule of Expenditure
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Green fingered residents who use the garden waste service in South Oxfordshire and Vale of White Horse districts will have a change to their service subscriptions this year.

Each year, the two districts combined collect around a staggering 25,500 tonnes of garden waste – that’s the weight of over 5,000 mature oak trees or 3,000 large tractors!

A change to how the popular service is paid for is coming this spring to improve the efficiency of the subscription process for residents.

South Oxfordshire and Vale of White Horse District Councils are introducing a permit scheme from April 2025 that will involve customers receiving a sticker permit for their bins to identify them as fully paid-up garden waste customers. This kind of scheme is offered successfully by many other local authorities, including in neighbouring West Oxfordshire.

As this is a change to how the garden waste service is managed, there are actions subscribers will need to take to continue receiving garden waste collections. The new permit payment system opens towards the end of February.

When the new system goes live, all existing customers will be invited to subscribe to the service. Existing customers will be notified directly, with full information on the council websites and each house getting a bin hanger flagging the changes.

Customers will then need to make an annual payment for a permit – this replaces the existing direct debit scheme. Everyone’s payment year will run from 1 April to 31 March each year.

When customers sign-up they will be sent a garden waste permit sticker to put on the top of the lid of their brown bin. Each bin needs its own permit and all customers will receive a new sticker annually each time they renew.

The permits will help the waste collection crews identify which bins should be emptied. This will ensure that only households that have paid for the service have their garden waste bins emptied and the changes are part of the councils’ ongoing work to improve the efficiency and value of public services.

Benefits to customers include a new online system so they can manage their account and change their details much more easily. This will also mean the councils can contact people quickly if there are any major disruptions to the service, such as during adverse weather. When customers pay for a permit, there will be a link to sign up for an account and the account sign up is also available on the councils’ websites.

Cllr Sam James-Lawrie, South Oxfordshire District Council’s Cabinet Member for the Environment, said:  “The new permit scheme will help enhance our well used garden waste service. The option for an online account should be easier for customers and will mean that you no longer need to contact us if your bank account or any other details change. The new permit stickers will help us to make sure that only those who pay for the service, actually get collections, which we think is only fair, since this is an opt-in service.”

Cllr Mark Coleman, Vale of White Horse Cabinet Member for Environmental Services and Waste, said: “I’m confident the new permit scheme, combined with introducing online customer accounts, will make our popular, opt-in garden waste service even better for everyone.

“We do appreciate that any changes to a major service can initially be challenging so we will make sure all our customers are fully informed on all changes that are coming between now and 1 April 2025. There is also a frequently asked questions page on our website with further detailed information.”

An FAQ page covering all the changes is available on the garden waste section of the councils' websites: South FAQ / Vale FAQ. The councils’ customer services team will also be on hand to assist with any queries customers have. Garden waste sack customers can find out more information on how the new permits will work for them within the FAQ.