Council News

Adding final touches to our Climate Change Strategy
The Council's Climate Change Strategy is being presented for approval at Full Council on 24th February, a true milestone in climate action for West Oxfordshire. This key document will provide a framework for putting into action the Council's vision for tackling local climate-change impacts.

The views and responses received from our climate action survey in May 2020 - which include Your Views - have directly shaped our vision and strategic themes and objectives. These provide the Council with a valuable reference point, sitting alongside the Carbon Action Plan, to focus resource in a targeted and structured way.

Steering this initiative, is the Climate Action Working Group, which continues to work in an agile and flexible way, meeting virtually in lockdown. The group met very recently to sign off the final draft of the document. Further updates on the Climate Change Strategy will be shared and available online.

Climate Action Working Group - agile and flexible

Meet the Council's growing climate team
Climate action is now receiving strong support and funding from the Council's recent Local Recovery Plan. The team will be growing, with more resource dedicated to delivering the Council's ambitions for a green recovery. Leading the Council's response to the climate and ecological emergency is Ness Scott, Climate Change Manager. Ness has been on board since November 2019 and is the author of the Carbon Action Plan and Climate Change Strategy.

Today, Ness welcomes Rachel Crookes to the team, who will be the Council's new Countryside & Biodiversity Land Management Officer: "Rachel brings important local knowledge having worked with the Lower Windrush Valley Project and ecological and land management experience from previous work in both public and private sectors. Rachel's skillset will complement our growing team. We are shaping positive plans for our land management that will not only benefit biodiversity, but in the long term will also benefit everyone visiting our open spaces."

Louise Croot, Energy and Resources Project Officer, has also recently returned from maternity leave and continues to provide support on climate projects, working across WODC and Cotswold District Council (CDC) as a shared role.

WODC Climate Change Team (l-r) Ness Scott, Rachel Crookes and Louise Croot

Electric vehicle charging points coming to Council car parks in 2021
Park and Charge Oxfordshire, Electric Vehicle Charging Point (EVCP) project has secured £3.4 million of Innovate-UK funding and embarked on a project target to install EVCP in 24 car parks across Oxfordshire. The total value of the Park and Charge project for the county - including the commercial partner contributions - is estimated to be £5.2 million.

The Council has been working closely with the Park and Charge team to plan the roll out of EVCP in its car parks. Because the funding comes from Innovate UK, there is no direct cost to the Council. In West Oxfordshire, Park and Charge will see up to 35 EVCPs, providing charging to 70 parking bays, installed across six of its car parks. To find out where these are planned, view details online.

Cllr David Harvey, Cabinet Member for Climate Change says: "The Council is really pleased to be a partner in this project. Our aim is to provide EVCP in car parks allowing residents who have no off-street parking the ability to park overnight and charge their electric vehicles at a competitive price."

Donate your postage stamps to a local good cause
Here at West Oxfordshire District Council, we still receive a lot of mail through the post. We save all our used postal stamps and donate them to the Cotswold Wildlife Park Conservation Trust. They in turn use the stamps to raise funds for the conservation of animal species and endangered environments and to educate and inform the public, including visitors to the Cotswold Wildlife Park and Gardens, about the activities they fund. More information on their website Cotswold Wildlife Park Conservation Trust.

How To Get Involved

Help spread the word and invite your family and friends living locally to sign up to our Climate Action Network for Council updates and news.

If you are homeschooling and looking for ways to inspire young children in lockdown, take a look at RSPB's Wild Challenge.

Consider how your gardening can help wildlife at this time of year. Read Roselle Chapman's blog for Wild Oxfordshire on how to Bee Healthy and take away some good advice and tips for this winter.

The Council's Fuel Poverty Grants are still open to applications and are available to people most vulnerable to the cold. Find out whether you are eligible by getting in touch with our Better Housing Better Health service.

Oxfordshire County Council has launched its Winter Warmth campaign to help vulnerable residents access support and funding for home repairs. Its dedicated online service can be used by residents to stay safe, secure, independent and warm this winter.

Read the Lower Windrush Valley Project's recent review of biodiversity opportunities, now available online.

The Replenish project supports residents of Oxfordshire to grow and cook nutritious food, with a particular focus on food waste reduction. Food Waste Action Week (1-7 March) is a national campaign to support people to make the most of their food and avoid waste. To help families get involved, the Replenish project has pulled together a list of fun, screen-free activities families can try at home.

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West Oxfordshire District Council · Council Offices, Woodgreen · New Yatt Road · Witney, Oxfordshire OX28 1NB · United Kingdom