Didcot Diary Summer 2019
Picture by Vanessa Churchward 1
Didcot Town Council
Didcot Diary— Spring 2019 NEWS As we head into Summer we have lots of events coming up and had lots of events (see below). There have, of course, been elections with new and returning Councillors. We also have welcomed a new Town Clerk. Here’s to a lovely Summer for all our residents in Didcot. Past Events Outgoing Mayors Charity Ball, Saturday 23rd March 2019 Outgoing Mayors Civic Service, Sunday 24th March 2019 Litter pick, Saturday 30th March 2019 New Mayor Making—Monday 13th May 2019 Open Air Cinema—Saturday 1st June 2019 Upcoming Events Didcot Culture & Community Day—Saturday 27th July 2019 Didcot Town Fayre—Saturday 3rd August 2019
Council Offices, Britwell Road Didcot Oxon OX11 7HN
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Phone: 01235 812637 Fax: 01235 512837 E-mail: council@didcot.gov.uk www.didcot.gov.uk
Didcot Town Council New Town Clerk On Monday 3rd June 2019 we welcomed Janet Wheeler as our new Town Clerk. Janet joins us from Henley Town Council where she was the Town Clerk for several years. Her experience will be greatly appreciated at the Town Council and we wish her well in her new role at Didcot. Some getting to know you questions: What’s your favourite film? All the Bridget Jones films The Holiday Notting Hill Confessions of a Shopaholic Who’s your favourite actor? Colin Firth; Hugh Grant; Hugh Jackman; Pierce Brosnan What kind of music do you like? I listen to Kiss & Kisstory when I am dining. But I also like the oldies—Genesis, Queen, Michael Jackson, Billy Joel—so many! What do you like to do in your spare time? I sing badly for fun on Saturday morning, play one note badly on a ukulele, try to walk my 15 year old Labrador and love my garden. Cooking, drinking and entertaining are also key.
Council Offices, Britwell Road Didcot Oxon OX11 7HN
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Phone: 01235 812637 Fax: 01235 512837 E-mail: council@didcot.gov.uk www.didcot.gov.uk
Didcot Town Council
Outgoing Mayor’s Charity Dinner On Saturday 23rd March 2019 the outgoing Mayor, Cllr Bill Service held a Charity Masquerade Ball. The event was attended by approx. 100 people. Some people came in fancy dress, whilst some came in dinner suits and ball dresses. During dinner the guests were entertained by Bernadine Soul School of Dance, then after dinner everybody partied away to the disco. The food was provided by Creative Catering. The event was to raise money for the Mayor’s Charities: Didcot Volunteer Centre and SSAFA. We hope those who attended enjoyed the evening and thank you for your support.
Council Offices, Britwell Road Didcot Oxon OX11 7HN
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Phone: 01235 812637 Fax: 01235 512837 E-mail: council@didcot.gov.uk www.didcot.gov.uk
Didcot Town Council Litter pick On Saturday 30th March 2019 the Council held its annual Litter pick. The two locations were Didcot Civic Hall lead by Lucy Blake, Information Manager, and Ladygrove Park lead by Deputy Clerk Tom Hudson. We were lucky to have a lovely sunny Spring morning for the Litter pick. All the volunteers gathered at the Didcot Civic Hall or on the Yellow Brick Road to collect their litter picks, gloves and bags. After a short safety talk we split up into groups and went about collecting all the litter. The turn out this year was brilliant, with members of the public with their children to teenagers from TRAIN, and members of Didcot Rugby Club. In total there were over 100 people, which was great to see. We would like to say a huge thank Tesco Didcot for suppling the lovely doughnuts for the volunteers. One volunteer said “I enjoyed doing my bit for the community, please contact me when there is another one� - yes we will do. Well done and thank you to all those who took part.
Council Offices, Britwell Road Didcot Oxon OX11 7HN
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Phone: 01235 812637 Fax: 01235 512837 E-mail: council@didcot.gov.uk www.didcot.gov.uk
Didcot Town Council Open Air Cinema Night—Saturday 1st June 2019 On Saturday 1st June 2019 Didcot Civic Hall held an Open Air Cinema Experience. Approximately 100 people attended the sing-along, with their blankets, fold up chairs and picnics to watch and sing a long to The Greatest Showman. The weather was lovely and sunny. There was hot food and cold food available to purchase for people who didn’t bring a picnic. Alcoholic drinks were available to buy from the Civic Hall’s newly built outdoor bar. We hope everybody who attended the event enjoyed it and look forward to hosting another one for Halloween later on in the year. Keep a lot out on our facebook page.
Council Offices, Britwell Road Didcot Oxon OX11 7HN
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Phone: 01235 812637 Fax: 01235 512837 E-mail: council@didcot.gov.uk www.didcot.gov.uk
Didcot Town Council Grant Aid Reports Each year Didcot Town Council makes grants available to local organisations who support people in Didcot. These are recent reports of how they have used that money. If you would like to apply for grant funding from the Town Council please visit www.didcot.gov.uk/Grant-Aid for more details.
Didcot Library Grant Aid report 2018 Every summer at Didcot Library we look forward to a packed summer schedule with activities, story times and crafts to coincide with the Summer Reading Challenge, and 2018 was no exception. This year (2018) the theme was Mischief Makers, and was launched to coincide with the 50th anniversary of the first copy of the Beano. To encourage children to visit the library to sign up for a library plus read 6 books during the summer, we once again held plenty of events during the Summer Holidays. To be able to hold the number of activities we did, and to call on the help of some local entertainers to stage larger events, we were once again hugely indebted to Didcot Town Council and their kind Grand Aid donations which went towards funding these. We started off strongly by hosting a magic show which was so popular it took over our entire first floor library space! The Simon Says Magic Show saw some of his very own mischief making puppets and characters performing some magic tricks with the children, and keeping both them and parents equally engrossed! It was very encouraging for me at the start to see practically every child’s hand raised when I asked who was taking part in the challenge this year. We also welcomed back local group Animal Edutainment, who brought along some weird and wonderful creatures that the children we able to interact and hold or stroke, and plenty of them had clearly been reading animal stories long before this event as their knowledge of books that contained the animals they were interacting with was high! Once again, a hugely successful and well attended event. We were able to organise many events featuring a story followed by theme crafts, with some of the themes including Jokey Journals, Animal Antics, Daredevil Racing and Fiendishly Funny amongst others. We saw plenty of excellent crafts being taken away with vibrant paper planes, mini joke books, puzzle makers and masks aplenty.
Council Offices, Britwell Road Didcot Oxon OX11 7HN
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Phone: 01235 812637 Fax: 01235 512837 E-mail: council@didcot.gov.uk www.didcot.gov.uk
Didcot Town Council We then concluded with a Medal Ceremony day on the last Saturday of the challenge, which saw children coming to the library to collect their certificate and medal for reading all six books, and while they were here taking part in a scavenger hunt around the library – using Dennis the Menace themed clues to look for the lost items from his rucksack and using the items found around the library and the letter attached to make up a mystery code word with a prize for one lucky winner! Didcot Library always prides itself in the success of the Summer Reading Challenge and the part it plays in promoting reading amongst children in the town and surrounding areas. It cements our strength in providing an important community facility to support parents and schools in supporting literacy and learning, and the continued success of these events during the Reading Challenge is in no small part down to your Grant Aid donations, to which we are most thankful. I have attached some photographs of the stand out events to show some of the things we were able to host because of the Grant Aid donation from you. We look forward to hopefully once again following this up for the 2019 Summer Reading Challenge next year! Richard Pratt Didcot Library Manager
Council Offices, Britwell Road Didcot Oxon OX11 7HN
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Phone: 01235 812637 Fax: 01235 512837 E-mail: council@didcot.gov.uk www.didcot.gov.uk
Didcot Town Council Report from 12th Didcot Scouts The group invested 1/3 of the grant on some much needed event shelters, these are especially useful for running events as well as during camps to allow scouters to enjoy their meals while staying cool / dry The two event shelters allows us to pitch them either in a tunnel formation (pictured) meaning it fits nicely along our mess tent meaning serving food is so much easier, we could also pith them side by side creating a large area to work in. Another large part of the grant was spent on buying shelving units for our storage container. The growth of the group means we have to buy new kits and keeping the kit organised, dry and clean requires loads of shelving. We rent two storage containers on Milton park and the grant allowed us to purchase some metal shelving to safely store our kit We also spent a large part of the grant to service our group trailer – the trailer is a vital part of our kit and buying 4 new tyres is certainly not cheap but is a necessity to travel safely when transporting our kit from location to location. The remaining grant funds was spent on items required for setting up the new sections. This includes things like:
first aid kits,
locks and lock boxes to keep kit safe,
food warmers used during camps to keep food warm,
2x pop-up banners and one table banner to help promote the group during events and camps to continue our growth Additional billy cans to allow all members to opportunity to try-out cooking activities On behalf of 12th Dicot Scouts I would like to take this opportunity to thank the council for their support of the groups growth project, and that without this support the growth we have seen as a group would not have been possible. Please let me know if you require any additional information to accompany this report. Kind regards, Jaco Mare, Group Scout Leader, Thames Ridge We prepare young people with skills for life
Council Offices, Britwell Road Didcot Oxon OX11 7HN
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Phone: 01235 812637 Fax: 01235 512837 E-mail: council@didcot.gov.uk www.didcot.gov.uk
Didcot Town Council Changes at Didcot Town Council Election Results On Thursday 2nd May 2019 the local elections were held for the Didcot area. The results of the election of new members, by Ward, of Didcot Town Council is available on the next page. More details of the election results can be found on the South Oxfordshire District Council website using the link below: http://www.southoxon.gov.uk/ccm/support/Main.jsp? MODULE=ElectionSubParish&NAME=Didcot&TYPE=RESULTSLIST
New Mayor and Deputy Mayor Following the election the new Mayor and Deputy Mayor were elected. The new Mayor is Cllr Anthony Dearlove and the Deputy Mayor is Cllr Eleanor Hards. The Mayor has chosen as the charities for which he will be fundraising as Secret Santa 365, and the Make a Wish Foundation. The leader of the Council is Cllr Mocky Khan and Deputy Leader Cllr Denise MacDonald. Good luck to all in your new roles and good luck to all our new Councillors.
Council Offices, Britwell Road Didcot Oxon OX11 7HN
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Phone: 01235 812637 Fax: 01235 512837 E-mail: council@didcot.gov.uk www.didcot.gov.uk
Didcot Town Council List of Councillors by Parish Ward 2019
All Saints Ward (2) Cllr Denise MacDonald - Labour Cllr Alan Thompson - Conservative Cllr Amanda Sandiford - Labour Cllr Pam Siggers - Labour Cllr Anthony Dearlove - Conservative Ladygrove Ward (1) Cllr Neville Harris – Independent Cllr Simon Hewerdine – Independent Cllr Phil Davies – Independent Cllr Victoria Haval – Liberal Cllr Mark McNeill – Independent Cllr Paul Giesberg – Liberal Cllr David Rouane – Liberal Millbrook Ward (6) Cllr Angela Bell – Independent Northbourne Ward (5) Cllr Mocky Khan – Labour Cllr Eleanor Hards – Labour Cllr Axel MacDonald – Labour Cllr Marie Walsh – Labour Orchard Ward (3) Cllr Celia Wilson – Labour Park Ward (4) Cllr Melissa Mallows – Independent Cllr Anthony Hudson – Independent Picture of new mayor Cllr John Moody – Labour
Council Offices, Britwell Road Didcot Oxon OX11 7HN
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Phone: 01235 812637 Fax: 01235 512837 E-mail: council@didcot.gov.uk www.didcot.gov.uk
Didcot Town Council Parish Ward 2019
Council Offices, Britwell Road Didcot Oxon OX11 7HN
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Phone: 01235 812637 Fax: 01235 512837 E-mail: council@didcot.gov.uk www.didcot.gov.uk
Didcot Town Council Outgoing Mayors Civic Service On Sunday 24th March 2019 the outgoing Mayor of Didcot, Cllr Bill Service held his Civic Service. The Service took place at All Saints Church, Lydalls Road, Didcot. A collection was made for the Mayors charities: Didcot Volunteer Centre and SSAFA.
New Bus Shelter In March we had a new bus shelter erected on the Broadway by the New Coronet bingo hall. Overlooking the Civic Hall we have been able to see a lot of people using it already, and with the ‘summer’ weather we have been enjoying it looks like it is proving to be a big asset.
Council Offices, Britwell Road Didcot Oxon OX11 7HN
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Phone: 01235 812637 Fax: 01235 512837 E-mail: council@didcot.gov.uk www.didcot.gov.uk
Didcot Town Council Word from the allotments The Town Council provides over 400 allotments across five sites in the town. In what will be a regular feature, we have asked allotment holders to share what is happening on the allotments. Contributing to this edition we have: Wantage Road I remember learning the dates of the start of Spring, Summer, Autumn and Winter when I was at primary school. Now, it seems, things are not quite so straightforward. When does Spring start? 1st March is the meteorological start of Spring and this year 20th March is the start of astronomical Spring. Recently we have enjoyed some very fine weather and as I took a walk around RHS Wisley in the glorious sunshine at the end of February, the flowering camellias, magnolias, daffodils and crocuses convinced me that Spring had started already. I was interested to note in a recent find from a second-hand bookstall about growing and eating seasonally that the writer divides the gardening year into eight seasons, with early and late Spring, early and late Summer, early and late Autumn and early and late Winter. Each season has its mix of preparation, sowing, planting and harvesting tasks. The balance of these changes throughout the year but all are happening to some degree in each of the seasons. I was curious to see just how much this was reflected in what was happening at the Wantage Road Allotments site and when I went to ick some vegetables, I made time to look around all the allotments for signs of early Spring. Preparation is a key task for early Spring and it is well underway at Wantage Road. I saw evidence of digging, edging and spreading compost and manure. Some allotment holders are warming the soil for early sowing with cloches and fleece. Supports have gone up for climbing beans and peas. Sowing, planting and harvesting are also in hand. Sticks and labels mark out newly sown rows of seeds. There may be some early crops for the fortunate few if the weather stays kind. I guess more sowing is happening on window ledges and in greenhouses at home. I cannot be the only one creeping into the spare room in the morning looking for those first green shoots to appear. Broad beans and early onions, planted in Autumn, are growing well, not yet flattened by any snow. Late Winter and early Spring’s harvest is still in full swing. I noticed chard, sprouting broccoli, Brussels sprouts, kale, leeks and beetroot all around the site. A few golden daffodils and bright early tulips provided
Council Offices, Britwell Road Didcot Oxon OX11 7HN
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Phone: 01235 812637 Fax: 01235 512837 E-mail: council@didcot.gov.uk www.didcot.gov.uk
Didcot Town Council and beetroot all around the site. A few golden daffodils and bright early tulips provided welcome splashes of colour, together with the fresh green of newly emerging leaves on fruit bushes and canes. Whether Spring has arrived or is still waiting in the wings, a visit to the allotment raised my spirits and inspired me to get on with a few more gardening jobs. Weather permitting, of course, we look well set for the year ahead. The seasons, all four or eight of them, will unfold. However, for a moment I wonder how the seasons and seasonal tasks will undergo further change in the future if weather patterns bring more extremes and surprises. What kind of year is ahead of us? Alas it will probably not bring the perfect mix of rain and sun at all the right times. I am sure, however, that it will give us something to talk about with our allotments neighbours.
Council Offices, Britwell Road Didcot Oxon OX11 7HN
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Phone: 01235 812637 Fax: 01235 512837 E-mail: council@didcot.gov.uk www.didcot.gov.uk
Didcot Town Council Annual Charges 2019-2020
Council Offices, Britwell Road Didcot Oxon OX11 7HN
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Phone: 01235 812637 Fax: 01235 512837 E-mail: council@didcot.gov.uk www.didcot.gov.uk
Didcot Town Council News from South Oxfordshire District Council Sixth best place to live in the UK Since last year, South Oxfordshire has moved up five places to become the sixth best place to live in the UK. According to the Halifax Quality of Life survey, our area has gone from eleventh to sixth over the past twelve months with continuous improvement of local people's health and well-being, employment and earnings, education and access to housing and broadband. Here's hoping we can move up even further next year! Work starts on community centre Work has begun on the largest of three new community facilities at Great Western Park, in Didcot/Harwell. The centre will include two large multi-use rooms suitable for exercise classes, theatrical performances, community group meetings and parties, plus a number of smaller meeting rooms. A secure area for toddler groups and a cafe will also be incorporated into the building, with plenty of room for storage throughout and a dedicated room for the local policing team completing the layout. The building is due to open its doors this autumn and, once complete, will be gifted to the Vale of White Horse District Council to operate the building. Empty homes council tax rise To reduce the number of empty properties and encourage owners to bring the properties back into use, we've increased our charges for the long-term empty homes in the district. Owners will have to pay more council tax on homes that have been left empty for more than two years, with an even greater premium added to their bill after five years and ten years unoccupied. Currently, there are 183 long-term empty properties across the district, many of which have been left that way for several years. More details here.
Council Offices, Britwell Road Didcot Oxon OX11 7HN
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Phone: 01235 812637 Fax: 01235 512837 E-mail: council@didcot.gov.uk www.didcot.gov.uk
Didcot Town Council District Council May Bank Holiday Refuse Collections Normal collection day
Revised collection day
Which bin
Friday 30th August 2019
Saturday 31st August 2019 Green Food Garden Waste
Bulky Household Waste If you have a large item that you need removing and can’t get to the tip yourself you could book at bulky household collection. Examples of items that can be collected are:
Furniture (i.e. sofas, tables etc.) Televisions Washing machines Mattresses Fridge and freezers (please empty of all food before collection)
The minimum charge is £38 for 3 items, additional items are charged at £7.50 for each extra item. To arrange the collection of any of the above please call 01235 422406. The removal of any type of commercial waste and fixtures and fittings such as bathroom suites, doors, boilers or DIY waste is not included. For more information on commercial waste see the Environment Agency's website. Garden Waste Garden waste i.e. grass cuttings, leaves, small branches etc. can be put in the brown garden waste bin. These cost £43 per year and are available by calling 01749 341247. For more information on Recyling, rubbish and waste in South Oxfordshire District go to http://www.southoxon.gov.uk/services-and-advice/recycling-rubbishand-waste Council Offices, Britwell Road Didcot Oxon OX11 7HN
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Phone: 01235 812637 Fax: 01235 512837 E-mail: council@didcot.gov.uk www.didcot.gov.uk
Didcot Town Council Didcot Citizens Advice Centre Address: ‘Dales’ 9-15 High Street Didcot Oxon OX11 8EQ Advice Session Times: Monday
10.00am—1.00pm 1.30pm—4.30pm
Drop in session—all clients are offered an initial short assessment interview
Tuesday
10.00am—1.00pm
Drop in session—all clients are offered an initial short assessment interview
Wednesday
10.00am—1.00pm
Drop in session—all clients are offered an initial short assessment interview
Thursday
1.00pmam—6.30pm
Drop in session—all clients are offered an initial short assessment interview
Friday
10.00am—1.00pm 1.00pm—4.00pm
Drop in session—all clients are offered an initial short assessment interview
Telephone Advice Times: Monday
10.00am—6.00pm
Tuesday
10.00am—6.00pm
Wednesday
10.00am—6.00pm
Thursday
10.00am—6.30pm
Friday
10.00am– 6.00pm
Council Offices, Britwell Road Didcot Oxon OX11 7HN
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Phone: 01235 812637 Fax: 01235 512837 E-mail: council@didcot.gov.uk www.didcot.gov.uk
Didcot Town Council
Council Offices, Britwell Road Didcot Oxon OX11 7HN
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Phone: 01235 812637 Fax: 01235 512837 E-mail: council@didcot.gov.uk www.didcot.gov.uk
Didcot Town Council Didcot Summer Fayre 2019 On Saturday 3rd August 2019 the Didcot Summer Fayre will take place. The event will commence at 12.00 noon with displays by various local community groups, i.e. dance, karate etc. until 5pm. During the day there will be bouncy castles, fair rides along with various food stalls, craft stalls and charity stalls. At 5pm local bands, singers etc. will entertain the audience till 11.00pm. We look forward to seeing you all there.
Council Offices, Britwell Road Didcot Oxon OX11 7HN
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Phone: 01235 812637 Fax: 01235 512837 E-mail: council@didcot.gov.uk www.didcot.gov.uk
Didcot Town Council
Council Offices, Britwell Road Didcot Oxon OX11 7HN
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Phone: 01235 812637 Fax: 01235 512837 E-mail: council@didcot.gov.uk www.didcot.gov.uk
Didcot Town Council
Council Offices, Britwell Road Didcot Oxon OX11 7HN
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Phone: 01235 812637 Fax: 01235 512837 E-mail: council@didcot.gov.uk www.didcot.gov.uk
Didcot Town Council
Council Offices, Britwell Road Didcot Oxon OX11 7HN
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Phone: 01235 812637 Fax: 01235 512837 E-mail: council@didcot.gov.uk www.didcot.gov.uk