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Witney Photos
A selection of photos taken in and around Witney, Oxfordshire
The Witney Photos website is updated regularly, the most recent photos being displayed to the left of the page. Many of the photos are taken on a mobile device and uploaded within seconds of them being taken. Click on any of the photos on the left to view the full-sized image.
Witney News
A selection of news stories from the Witney area
Planning for the future consultation
From 5 February West Oxfordshire District Council is seeking comments on a major planning strategy showing how the District could develop over the next 15 years.
The consultation document is called the Core Strategy Preferred Approach and this identifies the broad locations for new homes, jobs and infrastructure such as roads and schools. Sites for larger-scale development being consulted upon are in Witney, Carterton and Chipping Norton.
The Core Strategy Preferred Approach looks at how the housing targets set by the Government for 2006-2026 will be met in West Oxfordshire. Some 4,100 homes are already built/planned which leaves locations for at least another 3,200 homes to be identified.
In Witney at least another 1,500 new homes are proposed of which 1,000 will be in the Downs Road area to the west of the town, along with new schools, open space, community and leisure facilities and a large area for new businesses. Land to the north of Witney is under review as a possible location for longer term housing development or as a reserve site if land in the Downs Road area does not come forward as anticipated. Land south of Welch Way has potential for longer term expansion of the town centre.
In Carterton we support the Town Council in seeking further growth of the town and are inviting comments on the options for further expansion land to either the east or west is preferred for a development of about 1,000 homes. Improvements are proposed to local facilities with new shops in the town centre.
In Chipping Norton at least another 400 homes are proposed of which about 200 will be on land in the London Road area, together with new businesses, health care and education facilities. Additional town centre shopping and community facilities are earmarked for land between the High Street and Albion Street.
Small scale development to meet local housing and employment needs will also take place in other towns and some villages but sites are not identified at this stage.
Cllr Warwick Robinson, Cabinet Member for Planning said, The Government not only sets the target number of new homes needed for West Oxfordshire but also approves the final plan. We want to make sure that anyone who wishes is able to make comment through this consultation. There are some difficult decisions to be made and we need to know that all the possible options for the future have been fully investigated before we finalise our Plan ready for submission to Government later this year.
Public consultation will take place over the next few weeks up to Monday 22 March. Exhibitions are being arranged in Witney, Carterton and Chipping Norton further details will be announced. The Council prefers to receive responses online via http://www.westoxon.gov.uk/planning/CoreStrategy.cfm although relevant documents will be available for inspection at:
Elmfield Office and Town Centre Shop, Witney
The Guildhall, Chipping Norton
Public libraries in the district
Further information about the consultation and the new Planning for the future (LDF) process will be on http://www.westoxon.gov.uk/planning/CoreStrategy.cfm from the beginning of February. Alternatively, for further details, contact the Councils Planning Policy team on 01993 861420. All Parish/Town Councils and many local organisations will be separately consulted.
More tree chippings despite bad weather
Januarys snow and freezing conditions failed to stop West Oxfordshire residents from helping the environment by getting their real Christmas trees recycled.
Almost an extra tonne of Christmas trees have been chipped in West Oxfordshire this year; despite sessions across the district being put back a week due to the adverse weather.
West Oxfordshire District Council organises the free sessions every January to give people the chance to get their trees turned into chippings which are then used to create eco-friendly biomass energy.
Last year, 10.25 tonnes of chippings were collected in the district. This year, 11.3 tonnes the weight of two African elephants were collected from trees taken to sessions and drop-off points in Burford, Carterton, Charlbury, Chipping Norton, Eynsham, Long Hanborough, Tackley, Witney and Woodstock.
Cllr David Harvey, Cabinet Member for Environment, said: We had to postpone the sessions at short notice because of the weather and we thought this might have decreased the number of trees brought along. However, we gave people the chance to leave their trees to be chipped and ran the sessions a week later than planned, and although the weather was still affecting travelling conditions people made the effort to come along.
We are extremely grateful and I would like to thank our residents. This has stopped hundreds of trees from going to landfill and they are being put to good use instead.
Oxfordshire-based Goodwood Tree Care Ltd helped with the chipping sessions. Half of the chippings have been sent for biomass and will create enough energy to supply heat and hot water to a large three-bedroom house for more than four months during the winter. The rest of the chippings have been used locally on shrub beds.
For more information about other aspects of waste and recycling in West Oxfordshire, visit www.westoxon.gov.uk/environment or call 01993 861020
Schools Prize Plea as campaign deadline nears
Witney shoppers are being urged to make a big final effort to help their local school win a prize as part of the towns Bags of Life recycling-re-use campaign.
The campaign to encourage shoppers to take their own bag for life or re-use an old plastic bag rather than collect new ones when they go shopping is now in its final month. Shoppers who are offered a plastic bag when they buy something in a participating town centre store, but say no thanks are given a voucher which can be passed on to a participating school in Witney or neighbouring villages.
The 18 schools taking part have been divided into three groups based on the number of pupils they have. The one in each category that collects the most vouchers will win a prize to spend on an environmental project at the school. Shoppers have until Thursday 31st January to get their vouchers in. A list of shops and schools taking part is available on the website of campaign organisers, the Oxfordshire Town Chambers Network (OTCN) at www.otcn.co.uk
More than 90 Witney town centre shops and traders including some of the bigger stores, Waitrose, Boots, Somerfield, and Debenhams in the new Marriotts Walk development - signed up to be part of the scheme. Waitrose Section Manager Elaine Lattimore says: The Bags of Life in Witney campaign has definitely raised awareness of the need to reduce the number of plastic bags customers use. Its been a very good interactive project that has involved businesses, schools and the local community, and weve had a huge number of customers asking for the vouchers.
Laura Cooper, who won a competition to design the voucher used for the scheme says: Winning one of the prizes will mean a lot to children at the school and the environmental work they do in different projects so I hope everyone who has collected vouchers will make sure they get to one of the participating schools before the 31st January deadline.
The project is funded by Oxfordshire Waste Partnership and led by the Oxfordshire Town Chambers Network (OTCN). OTCN is a communications network bringing together 24 local chambers and other business groups in the county with 1600 member businesses between them, plus 12 events networks with a database reach in excess of 3,000 businesses.
For more details about the scheme visit www.otcn.co.uk/projects/plastic_bags.htm
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