The search is on to find Witney’s Outstanding Citizen of the Year. This prestigious annual award goes to someone who has given their time and energy to benefit their local community usually (but not always) on a voluntary basis.
Judges will be looking in particular for selfless service to a voluntary body or the community or someone whose service is acknowledged as making a real difference to the everyday lives of others. There is no age barrier, but nominees must live within Witney.
Friends, relatives, neighbours and colleagues have the chance to nominate a special person for the prestigious title or any of the other awards which include; a Certificate of Outstanding Merit, Outstanding Commitment to Public Service and Outstanding Contribution. Witney Town Council is looking for people who have
given exemplary service, which may be paid or unpaid, who make a real difference to Witney.
Residents who go that extra mile to help others will be recognised in the annual awards, presented by the Mayor at the Civic Reception in March next year.

ANYONE thinking about nominating a deserving individual as Witney’s Citizen of the Year or for any of the other awards has until 31st December 2021 to submit their details.

The agenda for Climate, Biodiversity & Planning, Tuesday, 23rd November, 2021, 6.00 pm has just been published.

To see the publicly available information, follow the link: Agenda details on public web site

Meeting venue: Gallery Room, The Corn Exchange, Witney

The following items are included in the agenda:

The agenda for Policy, Governance & Finance, Monday, 22nd November, 2021, 6.00 pm has just been published.

To see the publicly available information, follow the link: Agenda details on public web site
Meeting venue: Gallery Room, The Corn Exchange, Witney
The following items are included in the agenda:
No. Item
1 Apologies for Absence
2 Declarations of Interest
3 Minutes
4 Public Participation
Policy
5 20 MPH Speed Restrictions
6 Open Spaces Policies
Governance
7 Payment of Accounts
8 Bank Accounts & Mandate
9 Annual Investment Strategy 2021-22
10 Financial Report & Associated Matters
Finance
11 Annual Grant Requests
11a Volunteer Link Up
11b Citizens Advice West Oxfordshire
12 Revenue Budget
13 Schedule of Proposed Fees & Charges 2022/23
14 Capital & Special Revenue Projects Programme
15 Exclusion of Press and Public
16 Property & Legal Matters
16a Town Hall Window Repairs & External Building Decoration
17 Staffing Matters

Posted on behalf of Oxfordshire County Council:

TRAFFIC REGULATION NOTICE
ROAD TRAFFIC REGULATION ACT, 1984

Notice is hereby given pursuant to Section 14(2) of the Road Traffic Regulation Act, 1984, that the Oxfordshire County Council

TEMPORARILY PROHIBITS THE USE OF AND WAITING ON THE HIGHWAY BY ALL MOTOR VEHICLES

LOCATION: Woodstock, Oxford Road

REASON: To facilitate carriageway patching works

DURATION: Starting on 13 January 2022 @ 20:00
The anticipated completion date is 14 January 2022 @ 06:00 (date included) (Traffic Regulation Notices cover a maximum of 5 consecutive days.)

ACCESS: Limited access will be maintained for emergency service vehicles and for frontages within the closed section of road, subject to the progress of the works

The “No Waiting” restriction means that wherever there are in place yellow “No Waiting” cones, you will not be able to park vehicles on the highway.

SUGGESTED ALTERNATIVE ROUTE: via A4095 – B4047 – A40 – A361 – A44 and vice versa.

A copy of the drawing showing the extent of the closure and restriction and also the alternative route for traffic is shown below.

Further information regarding the works may be obtained by contacting Tim Belton, Milestone Infrastructure -Oxfordshire County Council on 0345 310 11 11.

T9666 / RAG

The agenda for Climate, Biodiversity & Planning, Tuesday, 23rd November, 2021, 6.00 pm has just been published.

To see the publicly available information, follow the link: Agenda details on public web site

Meeting venue: Gallery Room, The Corn Exchange, Witney

The following items are included in the agenda:

The agenda for Halls, Cemeteries & Allotments, Monday, 8th November, 2021, 6.00 pm has just been published.

To see the publicly available information, follow the link: Agenda details on public web site

Meeting venue: Gallery Room, The Corn Exchange, Witney
The following items are included in the agenda:
No. Item
1 Apologies for Absence
2 Declarations of Interest
3 Minutes
4 Public Participation
Cemeteries
5 Burial Times
6 Tower Hill Cemetery – DDI Audit Access Requirements
Allotments
7 Lakeside Allotments – Topographical Survey
8 Witney Allotment Association – Request for Gates at Hailey Road Allotments
Public Halls
9 Public Halls & 1863 Café Bar Report
Budget
10 Budget
11 Schedule of Proposed Fees & Charges 2022/23
12 Exclusion of Press and Public
13 1863 Cafe – Business Plan

You still have time to enter

The agenda for Climate, Biodiversity & Planning, Tuesday, 2nd November, 2021, 6.00 pm has just been published.

To see the publicly available information, follow the link: Agenda details on public web site

Meeting venue: Gallery Room, The Corn Exchange, Witney

The following items are included in the agenda:

The agenda for Parks & Recreation, Monday, 1st November, 2021, 6.00 pm has just been published.

To see the publicly available information, follow the link: Agenda details on public web site

Meeting venue: Gallery Room, The Corn Exchange, Witney

The following items are included in the agenda:

The Remembrance Sunday service at the War Memorial in Witney is to be made a little shorter, at the request of the Witney branch of The Royal British Legion.

A major change to the service is that there will be no parade this year. Instead, groups and organisations that wish to, can meet in their own groups and make their own way to the memorial following after the service, rather than as an official procession.

The wreath laying element of the ceremony has also been scaled back with just eleven wreaths being laid as part of the service. Previously up to 40+ wreaths have been laid which takes a considerable amount of time. This year members of the public that wish to lay wreaths and poppy tributes of their own following the service, will not have to wait so long to do so.

The changes were made out of respect for the ageing veterans who took part in the parade, and to limit the amount of standing time for them, and some of the very young that traditionally attend to pay their respects.

These are the only changes, The roads will be closed as usual to allow people to gather safely to take part in the service.
The Town Band and Witney clergy will attend the memorial to provide the music, readings and prayers for the service, which will include the readings by the RBL and the Two Minutes silence as always. The full Church Service of Remembrance will take place in St Mary’s church afterwards as in previous years.

A fully downloadable copy of the War Memorial service sheet is available on the Remembrance Day Page of the Town Council’s website. Some paper copies will also be available on the day but in keeping with the Town Council’s commitment to reducing its use of paper, there will be fewer this year and people are encouraged to access it on a mobile device where possible.
http://www.witney-tc.gov.uk/remembrance-day/

Posted on behalf of Oxfordshire County Council:

TRAFFIC REGULATION NOTICE
ROAD TRAFFIC REGULATION ACT, 1984

Notice is hereby given pursuant to Section 14(2) of the Road Traffic Regulation Act, 1984, that the Oxfordshire County Council
TEMPORARILY PROHIBITS THE USE OF THE HIGHWAY
BY ALL MOTOR VEHICLES

LOCATION: South Leigh, Station Road

REASON: Emergency closure to facilitate repairs to a water mains clamp in the carriageway

DURATION: Starting on 24 October 2021. The anticipated completion date is 27 October 2021 (date included) . This is a 24 hour per day closure . (Emergency Traffic Regulation Notices cover a maximum of 21 days)

ACCESS: Will be maintained for emergency service vehicles and for frontages within the closed section of road, subject to the progress of the works

SUGGESTED ALTERNATIVE ROUTE: via locally signed diversion route

Further information regarding the emergency works may be obtained by contacting Robert Buchan of Thames Water on email Robert.Buchan@thameswater.co.uk

The Buttercross clock face will once more be illuminated. The clock will light up between 5am to 8am and 4pm to 11pm over the autumn and winter months. Adjustments will be made to sync with British Summer Time when the clocks go forward again in spring.

We are hoping to be able to reinstate our very popular tea dance. Formerly, this ran for around two hours every Wednesday afternoon.

COVID 19 forced the event to be suspended and once we were able to open up the Corn Exchange again, our resident DJ had retired.

We have had enquiries from  dozens of disappointed dancers and would be waltzers, and would love to be able to bring the dance back for them, so if you can commit to a couple of hours every Wednesday afternoon  please let us know. We have all the sound equipment.

Please email info@witney-tc.gov.uk to find out more or to arrange a chat with Tom.

West Oxfordshire District Council is reviewing its provision of litterbins across the district to make it easier for residents and visitors to dispose of their rubbish responsibly, helping to keep communities litter free.

At the same time, the Council is investing in new litter bins so that older bins, which are reaching the end of their useful life, can be swapped out for bins that are easier to empty and more visually pleasing to help keep towns and villages looking their best.

Currently, the Council manages and empties over 1,200 litter and dog waste bins. A programme has now begun to check the condition of all existing bins and that they are located where they will provide most benefit. Litter bins will also be sited at new locations if a need is identified as part of the project.

In the future, this may mean:

• Where an existing litterbin is next to a dog waste bin, the dog waste bin may be removed as bagged dog waste is now accepted in with the general litter.
• Where two bins are in close proximity to each other and where usage of the bins is low, one of the bins may be moved to another location where there is clear evidence of litter and where no bin is currently provided.
• Residents will start to see a phasing out of separate litter and dog waste bins. These will be replaced by a brand new single bin, which reminds users to put both litter and dog waste into the bin. Over a hundred of these new style bins are already in use in the district and proving popular.

Residents interested in finding out more about the litterbin placement and renewal programme can visit West Oxfordshire District Council’s website for more information: https://meetings.westoxon.gov.uk/Data/Cabinet/20201216/Agenda/9%20Litter%20Bin%20Placement%20and%20Renewal%20Programme.pdf

Eight Witney schools entered the Witney Town Council 2021 Schools Challenge. Each school received a wheelbarrow and compost, supported by our contractor ‘Continental Landscapes’ and Witney Town Council provided vouchers for each school to choose seeds or plants to fill the barrows with a planted display.

Nationally, at their shows this year, the Royal Horticultural Society adopted the theme ‘Power of Flowers’. The theme reflects the positive impact of plants on our health and wellbeing and we invited school children to adopt this theme for their planting scheme. There was no obligation to follow a colour scheme, or theme – original, children led designs were encouraged.

We were hugely impressed by the beautiful entries and all of the barrows were looking wonderful, right on time  for judging day. Our Schools Challenge judges were Mayor of Witney – Joy Aitman, Senior Vice President of Witney Rotary Club – Coleen Hunter, and Thames and Chiltern region Royal Horticultural Society ‘In Bloom’ judges, Nigel Bishop and Paul Almond.

The judges had some very difficult decisions to make, with all of the barrows demonstrating lots of imagination, creativity and plant care. After much deliberation the overall winner was chosen as The Kings School entry, awarded with a £100 prize sponsored by Rotary Club of Witney.

Runners up were:
Mayors Special Award – Queen Emma’s Primary School
RHS Judges Choice – The Batt C of E Primary School

And the following schools are awarded certificates as category winners:
Power of Positivity – Tower Hill School
Most Inspiring – St Mary’s Infant School
Most Fragrant – Witney Community Primary School
Happiest Barrow – Madley Brook School
Most Ornamental – West Witney Primary School
Edible Oasis – The King’s School

The Thames and Chiltern In Bloom judges have made their awards.

Witney Town Council is  delighted that Tower Hill Cemetery which entered for the first time has got a very respectable Silver Gilt which is just one step below a Gold award.

At the same time the Leys retained its Gold status from when last judged 2 years ago. This is a great testament to all the work that continued throughout the Pandemic, to keep our parks and green spaces accessible and safe for users.

Our thanks go to staff on the teams responsible for looking after these areas and to our contractors. It’s a great result for the town which along with our town wide planting and community gardens, has provided Witney with another colourful summer.

Feedback from the judges for Tower Hill Cemetery included the following comments:

Feedback from the judges for The Leys included the following comments:

The agenda for Full Council, Monday, 11th October, 2021, 7pm has just been published.

To see the publicly available information, follow the link:
Agenda details on public web site

Meeting venue: Main Hall, The Corn Exchange, Witney

The following items are included in the agenda:

The agenda for Climate, Biodiversity & Planning, Tuesday, 12th October, 2021, 6.00 pm has just been published.

To see the publicly available information, follow the link:
Agenda details on public web site

Meeting venue: Main Hall, The Corn Exchange, Witney

The following items are included in the agenda: