Dear all, as you will be aware the Government has issued additional requirements and guidance for the most vulnerable in our communities. Those in this vulnerable group are; and will, be contacted centrally and will receive clear details on how to protect themselves, which includes strict self-isolation for 12 weeks. 

The Oxfordshire Local Government family, in partnership with our Health and Voluntary and Community sector partners have established a simple point of contact for those residents who will struggle during this period. The County Council has established a team of officers with a dedicated helpline number for our vulnerable residents to access and will link directly with the front doors of our City and Districts partners.  This engagement  / partnership is essential as there will be a growing demand for support from those in our communities beyond this specific vulnerable group. We need to work together to help our communities through this challenging period. 
 
For residents in South Oxfordshire, Vale of White Horse, West Oxfordshire and Cherwell District Councils  - they can call the dedicated team on 01865 89 78 20 or email [email protected]. This will be operational from 8:30am to 8:00pm Monday to Friday, and 9:00am - 5:00pm Saturday and Sunday.  This will not stand up until Friday the 27th March 

If you live in Oxford City the number to call is 01865 24 98 11 between 8am and 5pm or visit www.oxford.gov.uk/CommunityAssistance
  
More information will be available over the coming days but we wanted to provide you with some initial information asap 

Kind regards 

Yvonne Rees 
Mark Stone 
Giles Hughes
Gordon Mitchel 

It is with great sadness that following Government advice to reduce the spread of Coronavirus by avoiding unnecessary contact, we have cancelled all forthcoming films at The Regent Cinema in Faringdon Corn Exchange until further notice.

We look forward to sending you details of new cinema dates as soon as we re-open.   

We will also keep everyone updated on the Town Council website: www.faringdontowncouncil.gov.uk, the noticeboard outside the Corn Exchange on Gloucester Street and our Facebook page: Faringdon Regent Cinema.
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My thoughts are with you all as we face this unseen menace.
 
I wish to especially acknowledge Mandy for the excellent work being done by her and “The Great Coxwell Support Group” in making sure that no one feels cut off; and the very valuable work by Jake and Gav in creating and maintaining the email platform ([email protected]) for keeping us all informed and able to so easily circulate requests and information.
 
The Village Calendar is now rather thin with the cancellation of the Sunday Teas, the Wednesday morning Open House and Art Weeks. However, when we finally emerge from this dreadful time, we will be able to reflect on how it brought us closer together in many ways.
 
Although your Council is not meeting, please be assured that it is business as usual for responding to issues within the confines of the current ‘stay at home’ restrictions. Please send any issues you may have to me and I’ll try my best to help.
 
I look forward to being able to meet up again as villagers of Great Coxwell.
 
With best wishes to you all,
Richard May
Chairman
Great Coxwell Parish Council
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Due to the recent government guidelines regarding COVID-19 and with safety checks not being carried out.

Great Coxwell Parish Council has taken the decision to close the play area.

We thank you for understanding and helping us to keep our families safe.

Great Coxwell Parish Council

Following recent Government advice, we regret to announce that the Reading Room will close to the public with immediate effect.

This will be reviewed on 30th April 2020.

Our first priority is to protect the safety of our hirers, residents and staff.
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Thames Valley Police is urging people to be vigilant against criminals attempting to use the publicity around COVID-19 as a chance to target them with fraudulent emails, phone calls, text messages or door to door services.
 
To stay safe residents should follow this advice on Covid-19 related scams, which you should read and understand too. Residents can also receive regular updates about potential scams in their area by signing up to Thames Valley Alert Community Messaging.

Please could we ask you to be extra-vigilant as you’re likely to hear about scams during your work with community groups. If you do hear of anything suspicious, contact the police on 111.

Supporting the vulnerable

If you have been shopping for neighbours or family members who are vulnerable, elderly or self-isolating, please continue to do so.  The government says you are allowed to leave your home to provide care or to help a vulnerable person.  Just be careful to follow the usual guidance about washing your hands and keeping a safe distance from others. Where possible, it is sensible to leave the shopping on the doorstep for them rather than handing it to them directly.

Support for shops and businesses that have now closed
Many of our shops and other businesses have either closed or will be closing following the announcement last night that all but essential businesses need to do this.  

If you know of or are contacted by anyone whose business or shop has been forced to shut, please remember to direct them to our South & Vale Business Support website.  We already have lots of helpful information on there and our staff are working hard to ensure it is up to date each time the government provides more detail about the help available.

After an appeal for volunteers few days ago, over 30 people have come forward to support vulnerable households.  The response has been truly wonderful.  We have called our group of volunteers ‘The Great Coxwell Support Group, (GCSG)’.  Pauline Durham, Lauren Gale and I have been working together to roll out a system of support.  We have taken advice from the Parish Council, the VWH District Council and others.  

Initially, the support group will be distributing ‘YOU ARE NOT ALONE Contact Cards’ to all households.  These laminated cards explain that volunteers from the Great Coxwell Support Group will be in touch in the next few days.  The reverse of the ‘You are Not Alone’ contact card is a picture of a daffodil.  It can be displayed in the window by any villagers who need help.  Volunteers will check households each day and look out for the daffodil card in windows. The ‘You are not alone’ contact card, is a failsafe method of making sure that people get help.  We anticipate that that most people will use the phone or email to contact their volunteer and trigger the help they need.

Each Volunteer is being asked to monitor a number of houses in the village.  They will give their contact details to each house they have been allocated on what we have called the ‘VOLUNTEER CONTACT CARD’ which they will bring with them when they first introduce themselves.  Some of the householders may already have a relative/neighbour who assists them.  In such cases, we do not want to complicate, confuse or interfere with any arrangements that have already been put in place.  However, your volunteer will be prepared to act as a backup should that first line of support not be available.  Once the vulnerable households have been allocated between us, it is anticipated that the following happens:

1. Initial contact will be made by phone, email or a knock on the door.  (Remembering the 2 metre social distancing rule.)
2. The householder will receive the Volunteer Contact Card, filled in with their volunteer’s details including phone number and address.
3. Volunteers will then keep a watchful eye on the houses they are allocated and will be prepared to received telephone calls and look out for the daffodil sign.  It will signal for them to make contact if the householder has not already done so using the contact information left with them.
4. Please try to restrict the help you need to emergency help, shopping or prescriptions.  We are volunteers and are not medically trained but are here to help in any way we can.
5. Volunteers will maintain the 2 metre rule and leave shopping at the door.

I would welcome any feedback you have, once we have launched the GCSG initiative.  I am sure we will need to fine tune the plan as we go forward and develop our thinking in anticipation of some in the community contracting Covid 19.
  

Mandy
07968439408
01367240142
Church Lees

I need to inform you that a decision was taken early this morning by our Waste team to close the  Household Waste Recycling Centres with immediate effect. This is to protect the public and site staff from the potential risk of infection.

The closures are also in line with Government's advice on social distancing as updated by the Prime Minister on March 23rd.

This may be something your constituents ask questions about. We would also urge residents to visit the websites of their respective district councils for any updates or changes to the kerbside collection services.

A letter that has been sent to all schools yesterday, for information. The key message remains the first principle of the government's guidance which is children and young people should stay at home, if it is safe to do so.

OCC/CEF are also acting as a 'brokerage' services so that we can support key worker parents/carers who need to send their children to school in the event that their local school closes. Also, just to clarify, only one parent needs to be a key worker to access education in an educational setting.

If you receive any queries from your residents about the availability of school places, please contact us using the email address [email protected].

Please also signpost residents to our website https://www.oxfordshire.gov.uk/residents/schools/emergency-school-closures
for our latest information about schools open for vulnerable children and children of key workers.

Judith Heathcoat
Deputy Leader to the Council,
Cabinet Member for Community Safety
Oxfordshire County Council
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