3rd May – Village Tea Party, 8th May – a compelling talk about VE Day. 8th May – 6.30pm nationwide bell binging. 10th May, the Rock & Roll Choir. Click on this link for more details.
December 2024 Parish Council News Letter
I hope this newsletter finds you all in good health and high spirits as we approach the festive Christmas season. It is a pleasure to connect with you and share some updates and news about our lovely village.
Firstly, on behalf of the Parish Council, I extend warm wishes to everyone in our community. This time of year is a wonderful opportunity to reflect on our shared achievements, celebrate our traditions, and prepare for the joys of the holiday season.
New Councillor
We were delighted to formally sign up our new Parish Councillor Paul Fennemore at our November Meeting. Paul brings with him a wealth of experience from a career in business management and IT and we very much look forward to working with him on our future projects.
Indeed Paul has already made a start on our website improvements; we are working towards moving our site to a .gov domain, this offers us more security and is considered best practice.
There has been a considerable amount of work involved with this and we are very grateful for Paul’s management of the project.
New Website
The new website will be launched Today, information on our wonderful village in one place,
We welcome your feed back and contributions to the new website, which can be sent directly from this new site.
Speed Indicator Device and Section 106 funding update
With the assistance of resident David Spencer, we’ve been working on a new SID for Water Street. It has been purchased, and the logistics have been arranged—though I’ll spare you the details. Let’s just say it wasn’t without its challenges, but we’ve overcome them and hope to have it installed very soon.
The Parish Council has purchased the device using funds we’ve precepted over the past five years. Following the recent reorganisation at OCC Highways, we’ve reopened discussions, Deborah Critchley and I have been exploring practical options.
This includes what we can achieve now with the current budget of £15.5K and planning for four years ahead, when the larger funding allocation of £75K becomes available.
Broadband
The Village Hall has been successful in a bid for faster broadband, this is a scheme paid for by OCC for three years. There is some windfall benefit to a few residents who happen to share the same connection box as the Village Hall.
The additional premises, that have been provided with incidental coverage in Somerton are:
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Planning
Prior approval application under Schedule 2, Part 3, Class Q of the GPDO for conversion of an existing agricultural barn to a total of 10 no residential dwelling houses
Detail on this application can be found here click on “supporting documents” for more information.
Closing date for comments is 17 December However the Parish council have requested an extension which has been granted to 31 December.
Express your views on the council’s budget – Plus! A40 changes, dementia support and the future of the NHS
Click here OCC latest news
Free Hedging available this year
and applications being taken for next year
We received a message recently, Wild Oxfordshire have some left over funds for hedging: for new hedgerow creation or gapping or perhaps you would like to rejuvenate hedgerow by coppicing or laying this winter. The hedgerow will have to be on publicly accessible land or one you can view from a road/path. There is spare budget for this year’s Hedgerow Heroes project and they like to use as much of the budget otherwise it could be lost.
If you are interested, please contact Jessica Bouwer [email protected] if your requirement meets the following criteria:
- Is it new hedgerow creation, gapping, laying, or coppicing?
- Meters of hedging required or hedge to be laid or coppiced?
- If you have landowner permission.
- Please send photos of the site.
Wild Oxfordshire will also be putting in an application for next year’s Hedgerow Heroes project so please let Jessica know if you would to be included.
If you are interested in the 2025/26 HH, please contact Jessica directly.
More information can be found here Wild Oxfordshire
Defibrillator and CPR Training
As I’m sure you know, we have a defibrillator at the Village hall; paid for and maintained by the Parish Council.
In the first instance; you call 999 for help and they will give you the code for the box.
We plan to run a CPR training and familiarisation session some time in the new year so watch this space…
Stay Involved
We always welcome your suggestions and involvement in village matters. If you have any ideas, concerns, or would like to contribute to our initiatives, please do not hesitate to reach out. In 2025 we will be meeting monthly, normally the last Wednesday of the month. We absolutely welcome members of the public to join us at any of the meeting: should you wish for an item to be discussed, please email our clerk at least 5 working days before the meeting to allow time to add to the agenda.
Let’s continue to support one another and make our village a warm, welcoming, and vibrant place to live. I look forward to celebrating the season with you all and wish you a peaceful and joyous Christmas.
Warm regards,
Alison Smith Chair
on behalf of the Somerton Parish Council Team
Neil Clare, Deborah Critchley, Kay Bishop, Bryony Afferson Day, Paul Fennemore & Cathy Fleet (Clerk)