Tag Archives: Vale of White Horse District Council

Faringdon joins the Neighbourhood Planning revolution

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Faringdon has been granted ‘front-runner’ status to produce a Neighbourhood Plan under new powers to be introduced through the Localism Act.

The Vale of White Horse District Council worked in partnership with Faringdon Town Council to bid for the grant of £20,000 that accompanies the award of front-runner status.

Neighbourhood planning is the government’s initiative to empower local communities to help make and take forward planning proposals at a local level.  The idea being that local people will be the driver to help shape how their local communities grow and develop.

The Faringdon Neighbourhood Plan will be driven by the Town Council, but the Vale will provide support in helping to ensure that the process conforms with the guidelines for neighbourhood planning.

Cllr Roger Cox, cabinet member for planning at the Vale of White Horse District Council, said: “This is a fantastic opportunity for the people of Faringdon to help develop a vision for the future of their town.  Being awarded front-runner status means that Faringdon is one of the early communities to benefit from the Localism Bill and it provides an exciting path forward for its residents, for the town council and for the Vale.”

Cllr Alan Hickmore, Chairman of Town Council’s Planning and Highways Committee, said  “Faringdon Town Council is delighted to be one of the “front runners” to produce a neighbourhood plan for our community. We look forward to working with the Vale of White Horse District Council and, most importantly, our townspeople in producing a plan that will benefit us all”.

Residents get the chance to win their 2012/13 council tax and help save thousands

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Residents in South Oxfordshire and the Vale of White Horse are being encouraged to sign up to receive their council tax bill by email to help save money, and those who do so will be entered in a draw to have their entire 2012/13 council tax paid for them.

It costs more than £64,000 each year forSouth Oxfordshireand Vale of White Horse District Councils to print and send out council tax bills and leaflets.  To save money the two councils are aiming to get as many people as possible signed up to receive their council tax bill by email before February next year.

When people sign up to receive bills by email, a system known as e-billing, it saves money through the reduced need for paper, printing and postage.

To encourage people to sign up for e-billing the councils have agreed to pay the entire 2012/13 council tax bill for two residents (one from each district) drawn randomly from the e-billing list, including the portions of the bill allocated to other service providers such as the police, county and town councils.

To enter the draw, council tax payers simply need to sign up to receive their bills by email by Tuesday 31 January.

Please note that e-billing is only suitable for those paying council tax by direct debit, credit or debit card.

Anyone who has already signed up will automatically be entered into the draw.

Council tax payers who wish to sign up for e-billing, and therefore be entered into the draw should go to either www.whitehorsedc.gov.uk or www.southoxon.gov.uk depending on which council they pay council tax to.

Cllr David Dodds, cabinet member for finance at South Oxfordshire District Council, said: “This is a fantastic chance for two council tax payers to win the opportunity to have their entire 2012/13 bill paid for them.  We are very keen to reduce the amount of money we spend each year on printing and postage, so hopefully anyone who hasn’t already done so should sign up.”

CllrMatthew Barber, cabinet member for finance at the Vale of White Horse District Council, said: “If every council tax payer who has access to email signs up to e-billing then we could put the money that we spend on sending out bills and council tax leaflets to much better use.”

Wallingford Women Net it for Charity

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Women from the Wallingford area took part in a Netball-a-thon for charity this weekend, playing for six hours straight to raise over £500.

 

More than 30 women fromWallingfordand the surrounding area  - Goring, Didcot and Benson – took part in the Netball-a-thon on Saturday 3 December, to raise much needed funds for Cancer ResearchUK.

 

Lil Roe, Active Women Co-ordinator forSouth Oxfordshireand Vale of White Horse District Councils said:  “The Netball-a-thon was for the Active Women project, which has just launched in Oxfordshire to try and increase sporting opportunities for women.   What better way to get fit and raise money for a worthy cause? Everybody had a great day.”

 

The women who took part in the event play for local netball clubs, and came together at Wallingford School to play netball for 6 hours to raise money for the charity, some teams wearing pink to raise awareness of breast cancer.  The women were of all ages and some brought their daughters to enjoy the day and play.

 

A netball taster session will be running in Crowmarsh Gifford on 26 January for women who would like to get back into the sport.  Open to all abilities, Active Women will be running the session at 7.15pm.  There will also be drop in sessions running in Didcot, Berinsfield, Henley and Thame.  For further information contact Lil Roe on Lil.Roe@southandvale.gov.uk.

Tennis club proposals to go on display

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Residents in Wantage will get the chance to check out what Wantage Tennis Club’s proposed new home could look like when provisional plans go on display in December.

Wantage Tennis Club approached the Vale of White Horse District Council to put forward a proposal to move from its current location inFoliat Driveto a new half acre site in Manor Road Recreation Ground.

The proposed new site is adjacent to the existing public tennis courts, which would receive a much needed refurbishment and upgrade as part of the proposal.  The new facility would also include a further four courts and a small pavilion, along with some additional parking spaces.

As part of the plans, it is proposed that the tennis club would be granted a long-term lease of the site, which is owned by Vale of White Horse District Council.  Under this agreement the tennis club would be responsible for all repairs, maintenance, renewals and outgoings.

The club would also be responsible for the public courts, which will still be available for the public to use at the same cost as present, with a strict control over any future increase in court fees.

Wantage Tennis Club aims to improve access and encourage wider community use of these public courts.  The Club will be able to use the courts for a limited amount of time for larger scale coaching sessions and tournaments.

Any proposals to build new facilities at the site, and the lease agreement itself, will be subject to planning permission being granted.

The proposals, including a model of the site, will be on display for the public to view at Wantage Civic Hall, Portway, Wantage, between Monday 12 December and Wednesday 14 December, from9amto2pmand6pm to 8pm, and on Saturday 17 December from9amtil 12noon.

Stephen Thompson of Wantage Tennis Club, said: “The new site would allow many more people in Wantage to enjoy a game of tennis, as well as providing a much needed upgrade to the existing public courts.”

Cllr Elaine Ware, cabinet member for economy, leisure and property at the Vale, said: “We encourage people to come along to the Civic Hall and have a look at the proposals.  We believe that a new site could provide a major boost in terms of improved tennis facilities for the local community, but are keen to provide an opportunity for residents to see what’s being proposed.”

 

Fantastic first year for Vale’s recycling revolution

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Residents in the Vale of White Horse are helping to set the standard in recycling after a fantastic first full year of the district’s new waste and recycling collection service.

 

The Vale now has one of the best recycling rates in the country, having seen a substantial rise in the amount of rubbish diverted from landfill over the last year, from 36.16 per cent before the new scheme started to an average of 69.85 per cent for the period October 2010 to the end of August 2011.  

 

In October 2010, the Vale launched its new service with waste and recycling contractor Biffa (formerly Verdant), offering increased kerbside recycling, weekly food waste collections and alternate rubbish and recycling collections for more than 51,000 properties throughout the district.

 

The increase in recycling options has been embraced by residents who have been able to recycle items such as cardboard, mixed plastics and Tetra Paks as part of their normal recycling collection for the first time.  Residents have also been taking advantage of new food waste collections which allow them to dispose of all food waste in an environmentally-friendly way on a weekly basis.

 

Between October 2010 and the end of August 2011, a total of 12,349 tonnes of dry recycling, 5,006 tonnes of food waste, and 5,758 tonnes of garden waste was collected by Biffa.  

 

Total waste going to landfill was just 10,091 tonnes for the year, compared with 25,898 for the previous 12 months.

 

The new service, which is being run jointly with South Oxfordshire District Council, has also helped to save more than £400,000 per year compared to the previous service in reduced costs and recycling income.

 

In terms of environmental benefits, new fuel-efficient waste trucks collect both food and fortnightly recycling or rubbish in one go, meaning there has been a substantial reduction in the amount of trips required for collections around the district and therefore a significant reduction in carbon emissions from collection vehicles.

 

Cllr Reg Waite, cabinet member for commercial services, said:  “Everyonein the Vale should feel delighted at what we have achieved with the new service.  Residents have really taken to the new collections and have embraced the new and different options for recycling and disposing of waste.

 

“In a very short space of time, we have seen recycling rates rocket and have saved a substantial amount of money in the process.  We are proud that the Vale of White Horse is helping to set the standard in terms of what communities can achieve with their waste and recycling collections.”

 

Biffa municipal director Roger Edwards, said: “ This is a really outstanding result, and every resident who supports the service must be congratulated for the valuable part they have played. Our experience in neighbouringSouth Oxfordshiregave us a lot of hope for success when Vale launched its new service – and our hopes have been more than realised.”