Village News

East West Rail Access – Station Road 14 – 16 February

The East West Rail team is pleased to announce that the bridge over the railway to the north of Station Road is nearing completion.

One of the final major tasks is to surface the road – which they hope to do during week beginning 14 February.

The agreement has always been that the EWR HGV traffic would not come through the village. However, due to the nature of the operation, the EWR team has requested a short temporary change to the agreement so that the ‘tarmac’ trucks can enter the village from the A41 and turn right up Station Road to the site and then return the same way.

There will be about 15 HGVs a day for no more than three days that week.

We have been assured that traffic marshals will be stationed at the Station Road crossroads and further up Station Road for the safety of all.

We realise that this is not ideal, but would also like to work with the EWR team so that the bridge can be opened soon.

As usual, all enquiries should go to publicinformation@ewralliance.co.uk

Bicester Heritage – Sunday Scramble 24 April

Bicester Heritage will be opening their doors again from 9am until 2pm on Sunday 24 April.

Their April Scramble promises visitors the chance to experience historic motoring at its best, through a curated display of classic cars, open workshop doors and lots of surprises for the family along the way.

You will be able to visit the 45 industry-leading specialist businesses based in their restored historic buildings at Bicester Heritage. Family and dog friendly, the Scramble is a wonderful way to while away the weekend hours in the company of some spectacular machines, in a COVID-compliant setting.

Local residents and their families are more than welcome to attend the event and make the most of a 50% discount on full price tickets. Please contact the Bicester Heritage team via their Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/BicesterHeritage) for a local resident’s code, or alternatively the events team can be reached on: events@bicestermotion.com

Their proposed Scramble dates for the rest of 2022 are 19 June and 9 October.  Keep an eye on the Bicester Heritage website and social media pages for the latest information and release of tickets.

What3Words

Did you know that what3words could save a life?

What3Words has mapped the world in three metre squares and designated three unique words to each square.

So, for instance, the entrance to the Bull is ///stag.polices.crowns or the middle of the crossroads is ///premises.display.wordplay

If your car breaks down or you have an accident, would you be able to tell the emergency services where you are? What3Words makes it really simple to do.

There is a desktop version at https://what3words.com/ or download the app to your mobile and you’ll always know where you are!

Happy Christmas from the Parish Council

The Parish Council would like to wish everyone a peaceful Christmas and a happy new year.
The Clerk will try to monitor correspondence, but will also be taking a bit of a break after another extremely busy year.
We’ll look forward to welcoming villagers to the next Parish Council meeting on 6 January (restrictions-willing).

Bicester Heritage – January 2022 Scramble

Bicester Heritage has announced that their next Scramble will be on Sunday 16 January.

For more information go to: https://bicesterheritage.co.uk/events/ and choose the January Scramble

To order tickets go to the ticket page:  and use the local resident discount promotion code: FlyingBrevets .

All tickets are now £14.00 (+£1.10 Fee & Tax) and the discount code will give 50% discount.

All enquiries should go directly to Bicester Heritage.

A plea for kindness and thought

The Parish Council and the Launton Facebook pages may look like ‘faceless bureaucracies’ but behind these social media pages are people who have to filter out the, sometimes unpleasant or even aggressive, comments.

We use social media as a virtual noticeboard to keep the local community informed. However, if we continue to receive unpleasant remarks, we will consider disabling comments – please don’t ‘shoot the messenger’ – we’re only passing information on!

We do ask that, before you respond to a post, you think about who might be receiving the comments and how you would feel if you or a member of your family received them.

The Clerk also requests that villagers do not use her personal Facebook profile to contact her via Messenger. She is not employed 24/7, and deserves her time off too, so if you need to contact her, please use the Parish Council email address clerk@launton-pc.gov.uk.

Please be kind and respectful.

Launton Autumn Litter Pick – 25 September

Village Clean Up Poster
Village Clean Up Poster

Save the date!

Volunteers of all ages needed!

Come and join us on Saturday 25 September to help get the village clean and tidy for the autumn.

We’ll meet at the Parish Hall from 10am and will have litter pickers, hi-vis vests, gloves and bags available.

We’d also love a couple of volunteers who might be able to wield the sign cleaning equipment we’re borrowing from the County Council.

The marvellous WI’s refreshments will be available to all who return their equipment to the hall!

Bicester Heritage October Scramble

Bicester Heritage has announced that their next Scramble will be on Sunday 10 October.

For more information go to: https://bicesterheritage.co.uk/?ticket=october-scramble-tickets

To order tickets go to the ticket page: https://bicesterheritage.co.uk/whaton/octoberscramble-2/ and use the local resident discount promotion code: FlyingBrevets .

All tickets are now £14.00 (+£1.10 Fee & Tax) and the discount code will give 25% discount.