Alex Charlesworth

As most people know, the current 250 bus service ends on 31^st December 2022, but Diamond and the County Council had arranged what was to have been a 3-months’ continuation. However, due to problems recruiting and retaining driving staff, Diamond has been unable to complete this period but the Council has worked closely with Diamond to secure continuity of service beyond the end of the current contract until new arrangements commence on Sunday 12^th February 2023. 

A revised timetable, starting on 3^rd January 2023 until 11^th February 2023, is shown in the attached and below. The main changes are: 

• The off-peak and Saturday service is reduced to every two hours; and
• The first journeys will be later and the last journeys will be earlier.

There will be no Sunday services from Sunday 1^st January, and no service on Monday 2^nd January 2023.

The County Council regrets these temporary reductions in service but they expect these arrangements should secure a reliable operation over the first six weeks of the new year. Meanwhile, the County Council is currently inviting tenders for a new service starting from 12^th February 2023, further details should be available shortly.

We are writing to seek your views on the proposal to introduce a 20mph speed limit within Kirtlington. The proposals have been put forward following road safety concerns raised by the Parish Council and will see a reduction of the existing 30mph speed limit throughout the village roads in its entirety to 20mph. Additionally, accompanying the proposed 20mph limit new 40mph ‘buffer’ speed limits will be introduced on the approaches to the village – i.e. the A4095 Heyford Road/Portway and Bletchingdon Road. In light of this, please find the following consultation documents attached:

• Public Notice,
• Statement of Reasons,
• Consultation Plans, and
• Draft Traffic Regulation Order.

The proposed Traffic Regulation Order is scheduled to be advertised in the Oxford Times today, Thursday 06th January 2022, and details are also available to view on the Councils new consultation portal at the address below:

https://letstalk.oxfordshire.gov.uk/kirtlington_20mph40mph_2022

As stated on the notice, any objections or other representations on the proposal should be submitted by Friday 04th February 2022.

Useful Documents;

Kirtlington 20mph Consultantion

Kirtlington 20mph Public Notice

Kirtlington 20mph Statement

Kirtlington A4095 Consultantion Plan

Kirtlington Bletchingdon Road 40mph Consultation Plan

Bletchingdon Speed Limits Draft Order

Please read the full CDC determination here

Deadlines for Comments on the Applications;

21/03350/TEL                 Friday 29^th October – Proposed 5G Telecommunications installation

21/03452/TEL56              Weds 3^rd November – Proposed 15.0m Phase 8 Monopole C/W wrapround Cabinet at base and associated ancillary works.

An update on the telecommunications mast application, to note that this was discussed at this evening’s KPC and it was resolved to submit an objection to the application – while it is fully appreciated that an improved mobile phone signal would be beneficial and very welcome to many, this installation is simply in the wrong location, for many reasons.

As before, we would strongly encourage all to submit comments (either for or against) via the Cherwell planning portal at the links below; the key thing to note is that there are in fact two applications for one and the same installation at this stage, and that parishioners should send in the same comments for both.  

The original application 21/03350/TEL https://planningregister.cherwell.gov.uk/Planning/Display/21/03350/TEL is submitted under a process that does not need Prior Approval and as such if it qualified/passed various checks, it could proceed. The subsequent submission 21/03452/TEL56 (https://planningregister.cherwell.gov.uk/Planning/Display/21/03452/TEL56) is a completely new application for the mast installation, and may likely have been submitted because the applicant thinks that Prior Approval may not be granted.

For those wishing to submit a comment for objection, it should be noted that Material Planning Considerations only will be accepted by CDC as sufficient grounds for objection, with concerns such as medical implications largely unsubstantiated for telecoms installations being ‘non-material’ – of greater relevance in this instance would be the location as sited within the Conservation Area, for example.

Given the time constraints before the comment submission deadline giving limited opportunity to widely publicise this amongst the village, please do ensure those unlikely to use Facebook (or not members of this group) are advised of the importance of adding their voices to the discussion.

Kirtlington Parish Council

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It is with disappointment that we write to say that the Inspector has allowed the building of the Great Wolf Resort. Notwithstanding the objection of a significant section of the Cherwell area including 35 villages and the unanimous objection of the Cherwell Planning Committee, it has been deemed that the development will be good for us in the long run. 

Can we thank you for your support, encouragement and financial support during the campaign against Great Wolf. The volunteers who raised over £90,000. for our campaign worked tirelessly and did absolutely everything they could to raise money. 

Regards

Weston on the Green Parish Council

Kirtlington Parish Council shares the dismay that all will feel about this result.

Following the announcement of the death of the Duke of Edinburgh:  Kirtlington Parish Council would like to pass on this message from Yvonne Rees, Chief Executive Of Oxfordshire County Council, which has been circulated to the County’s local authorities;

It is with great sadness that today we hear of the death of His Royal Highness the Duke of Edinburgh. This sadness, I am sure, is shared by many of you who will want to remember and recognise the service of Prince Philip.

During the pandemic, we cannot host and open physical books of condolence as it is not safe to do so. We would encourage those who would like to share a message to sign Buckingham Palace’s online book of condolence at www.royal.uk This will close at 5pm on the day after the funeral. It is not live yet.  

Outside of COVID-19, we would, at this time, be working to identify suitable locations around the county for the laying of flowers, should anyone wish to do that. Unfortunately, we need to discourage this. Alternative donation arrangements may be announced by the government or Buckingham Palace in the coming days.

During the period before the funeral, a period of national mourning will be observed. As part of this, councils are now reviewing our meetings schedule and civic functions in the days ahead and there are likely to be some changes. Our websites will be updated to reflect any changes.

Yvonne Rees

Chief Executive, Oxfordshire County Council

In terms of next steps, as per the protocol, we advise of the following issues that local councils may wish to give specific consideration:

• Flags

Where arrangements exist to ensure that only essential staff are going to their place of work it is suggested that no one should be required specifically to travel to various buildings to lower flags to half-mast. If staff are resident on the premises where a flag is being flown and can lower it to half-mast then by all means do so, but the health of the wider community outweighs the need ask staff to leave their homes and travel around to lower flags at other sites.

• Organisation of Local Events

The idea of bringing people together within their local communities is no longer possible. Councils may wish to postpone any plans that they have to hold events (including civic church services).  You may wish to use social media to explain the events that you had planned and to say that arrangements will be made for this to happen when all movement restrictions are lifted and it is safe to do so.

It is hoped that television broadcasters will step in to fill gaps should the need arise. 

• Books of condolence and flower laying

For the duration of the current emergency it is not appropriate to open physical books of condolence.  The only safe option is to use the online books of condolence where these are available, we anticipate an official Book of Condolence on www.royal.uk however this is not yet live. Clearly it is very difficult for members of the public to lay flowers and Councils may wish to actively discourage people from doing so.  An alternative might be to suggest that people should make donations if they so wish, with details expected through the official Buckingham Palace website in due course www.royal.uk It needs to be made very clear that Councils do understand the enormous financial pressures that the current situation is placing on some people and that nobody should feel obliged to donate. 

• Organisation of Local Events

The idea of bringing people together within their local communities is no longer possible.  Councils may wish to postpone any plans that they have to hold events (including civic church services).  You may wish to use social media to explain the events that you had planned and to say that arrangements will be made for this to happen when all movement restrictions are lifted and it is safe to do so.

It is hoped that television broadcasters will step in to fill gaps should the need arise. 

After our hopeful article in the last Village News and further consultation with some specialist advisers on potential profitability, with the utmost reluctance, the shop action group has come to the conclusion that it is simply too risky to go ahead. The main issues are:

• The space is too small to stock a large enough range of products to generate sales (it would need to be at least twice as big).
• Projected running costs are higher than we could afford, to be really comfortable we would need free premises. 
• We would need to run the operation with no paid staff, and we know that to be successful we probably need a manager for at least 20 hours per week.
• We are lacking sufficient personnel for several key areas in the ‘management’ team (accounts/stock taker/buyer) and volunteers from the village to fill these slots have not been forthcoming.
• The opening hours of other profitable shops are 2 – 3 times longer than we can sustain with volunteers.
• There is a lot of risk with retail operations due to the opening hours, need for reliable staffing and risks of products going out of date. 

The team has had the benefit of invaluable advice from the Plunkett Foundation that supports community businesses all over the UK and helpful meetings with neighbouring community shops. We have spent a year thoroughly investigating the project’s potential, with the support of Scott Patterson at the Dashwood, whose business has naturally been thrown off course by the pandemic. We are acutely aware of the importance of a shop for the village, as shown by the willingness of many households to commit to regular purchases and to support our farmers’ markets despite atrocious weather, so this has been a very difficult decision for us all.

We would like to thank everyone for the support that you’ve shown for the project and hope you understand our reasons for not being able to proceed.  

We intend to continue to create community events throughout the year, such as the Farmer’s markets which have proved popular.

From – Friends of Kirtlington village shop (Caroline Cater, Celia Hawkesworth, Chris Brett, Louise Goodman, Steve Rice) with additional help from Richard Sadler, Scott Patterson & Tony Summerfield.

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A small steering group is exploring the possibility of opening a community shop in Kirtlington which, if it goes ahead, would provide a part-time PAID role for a shop manager (approx. 30 hrs per week including some weekend work).  We’re currently looking for expressions of interest from potential candidates and would love to hear from you if you think you’re the person for the job.  

Retail experience would be beneficial, but not essential.  However, good organisational and people skills, a bit of IT know-how, basic accounting abilities and a cheerful disposition are a must!  

If you think this could be the role for you and you’d like to join us in this new venture for the village please use the form below giving your contact details and attach a brief CV.

We’ll be distributing leaflets around Kirtlington in the next week with more information about the new community shop so do look out for that.