Month: March 2023

A4095 Road Works

You may have seen the matrix signs around Bicester warning of major works along the A4095 from 3 April.

SSE is starting work on Skimmingdish Lane at the electricity sub station on Monday 3 April for the installation of a new 33KV cable to supply the NW Bicester development.

Work will continue around the ring road with traffic lights,  finishing with a temporary closure of Howes Lane from 24 July until the end of October.

All work is expected to be complete by 29 October 2023.

For information, the permit reference is: LP701S30001317-02 and the road closure reference is T11484.

Bicester Heritage – Vegan Campout, July 2023

Bicester Heritage will be hosting the Vegan Camp Out 2023 event on the 28th – 30th July.
 
The event is 2 live event days and 3 nights of camping, talks, live music, yoga/meditation classes, workshops and the UK’s best vegan food.
 
The support and collaboration of neighbours and local community remains a priority, and the Event organisers will be offering locals an allocation of tickets with a 50% discount on the ticket price for the event: bicester50.
 
For further information about the event or to purchase tickets at your discounted rate please follow this link https://vegancampouttickets.com

OCC – Area weight restrictions engagement

Oxfordshire County Council is inviting local stakeholders to share their views on where there are existing or potential future challenges with inappropriate Heavy Goods Vehicle (HGV) movements so that the information can be used for a study of the issues.
Further information about the activity which runs from 10 March until the 10 April 2023 can be found on the OCC website at https://letstalk.oxfordshire.gov.uk/area-weight-restrictions
Please do let the County Council know your views.

Voter ID requirement

From the elections on 4 May 2023, voters in England will need to show photo ID to vote at polling stations in some elections.

This will apply to:

• Local elections
• Police and Crime Commissioner elections
• UK parliamentary by-elections
• Recall petitions
and
• from October 2023 it will also apply to UK General elections.

Accepted forms of photo ID include:

• a passport;
• UK driving licence;
• a blue disabled person’s badge; or
• older person’s bus pass.

However these don’t have to be valid – as long as the photograph on it still looks like you.

The full list of accepted forms of photo ID is available on the Electoral Commission’s website at https://www.electoralcommission.org.uk/i-am-a/voter/voter-id/accepted-forms-photo-id

If you don’t have any form of photo ID, then you can apply for a free voter ID document, which is known as a “Voter Authority Certificate” via the Government’s website at https://www.gov.uk/apply-for-photo-id-voter-authority-certificate.

If you know someone who doesn’t have access to the internet, the Clerk has some printed copies of the form which she will be happy to deliver – just call the Parish Council mobile – 07305 303889. The deadline for applying for the ‘VAC’ is 25 April.

There is also a special Electoral Commission helpline: 0800 328 0280

Postal votes are not affected by this requirement, but if you would like a postal vote you need to have registered by Tuesday 18 April. The Clerk also has copies of the form to apply for a postal vote.

Don’t lose your vote!

Council Tax and Parish Council Precept 2023/24

The Parish Council considered the detailed budget and the Precept request (the amount the Parish Council requires for meeting the expenses of running the Council) for the year 2023 / 24 at the meeting on 5 January.

The budget of £38,583 was agreed.  This took into account the range of Parish responsibilities including village grass cutting and weed spraying, the dog bin emptying, meeting costs, saving for replacement street furniture, road safety, reserves and ensuring that the Parish Hall project could meet the contractual obligations to the architect.

The Parish had been given the Tax Base figure (broadly, the number of Band D equivalent dwellings in the village) by CDC which was estimated at 615.7; this was an increase from 566.4 the previous year.  Following the calculations, it was agreed to increase the Precept to £39,743 which was an increase of £9,847.  The annual cost to a Band D household would be approximately £64.55 – an increase of £11.77 over the whole year.

However, it is worth noting that the Band D equivalent for a resident of Bicester for 21/22 was £131.94.

More information about how the Tax Base figure is calculated is available on the Parish Council website at Financing the Parish Council

For anyone interested, the draft budget and precept calculations can be found on the Parish Council website under the January Items for Information at 2022 – 2023 Agenda and Minutes