Did you know that the Oxfordshire Music Service offers a variety of lessons for young people in schools? They also offer instrument rentals and guidance on how to play them. Find out more
Get your child cycling confidently. Give them a life skill they will never forget and sign them up for Bikeability's free level one and two cycle training for ages nine and over. From basic skills to advanced journeys, we've got them covered. Please see OCC's Cycle Training for Children
Having a new year clear out this January? Wondering what to do with your old mattress, paint, or any other household item?
Use the OCC waste wizard!
Get almost unlimited bus travel across Oxfordshire with the MyBus ticket! With access to over 150 services from 12 operators, MyBus offers daily or weekly travel at fixed prices.
Prices are £3.50/day or £14.50/week for under-19s, and £6.50/day or £25/week for adults.
A group of residents and businesses are calling for a banking hub in Thame after an automatic LINK assessment determined the town should only be provided with an Automated Deposit Scheme (ADS) machine once the last bank (Lloyds) has closed.
ADS machines provide limited cash deposit facilities only, whereas a banking hub would provide regular counter services, with each of the major banks allocated a specific day in the hub.
Thame Town Council fully supports the need for a banking hub in Thame. To date, Thame has been assessed as an urban location with a 1-mile radius. This fails to account for the town’s rural hinterland, including large villages such as Haddenham and Chinnor, and smaller villages such as Towersey and Chearsley. These villages depend on Thame for many of their needs, including banking services.
In order to secure a banking hub, we need to show that Thame is a rural location with a 5-mile radius of people who depend on its services. If you support the campaign for a banking hub in Thame, complete the online survey by Friday 28th February.
Thame & Wheatley Ramblers have a programme of walks, details can be found at walking (ramblers-oxon.org.uk). At present there is no restriction on the number permitted on walks and for most walks there is no need to book. However, please check the website regularly as walks are subject to change.
Thanks to residents, South Oxfordshire and Vale of White Horse are two of the best recycling areas in England.
This is something we should all be proud of – but there is much more we can do to cut down on the amount of things we throw away, pollute less, reduce costs and tackle the climate emergency.
To help us all do more, SODC have developed a plan for how to Rethink Waste, and make the most of what we already have.
Love reading but unable to visit the library? Did you know that if you’re finding it difficult to get to a library, our home library service may be able to help? Find out more at www.oxfordshire.gov.uk/libraries
South Oxfordshire and Vale of White Horse District Councils are introducing a permit scheme from April 2025 that will involve customers receiving a sticker permit for their bins to identify them as fully paid-up garden waste customers.
As this is a change to how the garden waste service is managed, there are actions subscribers will need to take to continue receiving garden waste collections. The new permit payment system opens towards the end of February.
When the new system goes live, all existing customers will be invited to subscribe to the service. Existing customers will be notified directly, with full information on the council websites and each house getting a bin hanger flagging the changes. Customers will then need to make an annual payment for a permit – this replaces the existing direct debit scheme. Everyone’s payment year will run from 1 April to 31 March each year.
When customers sign-up they will be sent a garden waste permit sticker to put on the top of the lid of their brown bin. Each bin needs its own permit and all customers will receive a new sticker annually each time they renew.
The permits will help the waste collection crews identify which bins should be emptied. This will ensure that only households that have paid for the service have their garden waste bins emptied and the changes are part of the councils’ ongoing work to improve the efficiency and value of public services.
Benefits to customers include a new online system so they can manage their account and change their details much more easily. This will also mean the councils can contact people quickly if there are any major disruptions to the service, such as during adverse weather. When customers pay for a permit, there will be a link to sign up for an account and the account sign up is also available on the councils’ websites.
FAQ information is available on the SODC garden waste page.
Heard about devolution and local government reorganisation but not sure what it means? The latest updates on what it means for Oxfordshire can be found at news.oxfordshire.gov.uk