APRIL
No parish elections in May, just one district council vote
Nominations have closed for the local elections on Thursday, 7th May. As there were only three nominations for the seven vacancies on the parish council, there was an uncontested election.
The three councillors elected unopposed were existing councillors Greg Elphick, and Martin Lipson and newcomer Andrew Gibson. They will be looking to co-opt a further four councillors after 11th May when the new term starts.
Villagers will, however, be able to vote for a Cherwell District councillor for the Deddington ward. The current Conservative councillor Eddie Reeeves is standing again and has four candidates running against him. The candidates are:
Aaron Bliss – Green Party
Ann Collingwood-Turner – Reform Uk
Eddie Reeves – Conservative
Dean Hartley – Liberal Democrats
Annette Murphy – Labour
Election Day is Thursday, 7th May and the polling station at Steeple Aston Village Hall will be open from 7.00am until 10.00pm. REMEMBER you must bring photographic identification with you to be able to vote.
If you’re interested in being co-opted on to the new parish council, please contact the Parish Clerk Cathy Fleet (parishclerk.steepleaston@gmail.com) for more information.
MARCH
Launch of petition on five local ‘mega’ developments
North Oxfordshire Residents Action (NORA) has launched a petition to try and protect the area from being overwhelmed by so-called mega developments, including the possible new town at Heyford Park.
Founded in January 2025. NORA says it is “a diverse team of conscientious residents from north Oxfordshire who are concerned about the pace and nature of development in our local area”.
The petition is sponsored by Somerton parish councillor Paul Fennemore and supported by the Liberal Democrat MP for Bicester and Woodstock MP, Callum Miller. Gideon Amos MP, the Lib Dem spokesperson for Housing and Communities raised the issue in Parliament and noted the scale of proposed development in Cherwell.
NORA’s mission is to ensure that local residents know about and participate in decisions about planned development where they live and work. They want residents to be able to engage in meaningful dialogue about meeting local needs.
They also want to prevent overdevelopment in north Oxfordshire in favour of high-quality development that truly meets local needs and protects the living environment
They launched the petition on 1st February calling for a fix to a flawed planning process: they say decisions are being made in silos, without a proper assessment of combined (cumulative) impacts of multiple developments.
As previously reported, North Oxfordshire is being targeted by several large-scale developments being proposed all at the same time. They’re listed in the petition as:
- Heyford Park (one of 12 designated New Towns)
- Hawkwell Village housing estate
- Oxfordshire Strategic Rail Freight Interchange (OxSRFI)
- Puy du Fou mass tourist destination and
- four massive warehouses at Baynard’s Green, which are headed to appeal.
They say that together these schemes will completely change our landscape and quality of life permanently. To illustrate the true impact of these proposals, NORA estimates that they will generate over 45 million vehicle movements annually and introduce 50,000 more people to an area of just a four-mile radius.
The petition says this tsunami of population and traffic will devastate the character of North Oxfordshire and asks that the planning process should be halted until there is a coordinated response from government. They suggest a ‘Cumulative Impacts and Infrastructure Board’ or an equivalent governance structure should be set up to consult widely and make a plan for the integrated development of all five projects. The plan should cover transport/traffic, public services (schools/healthcare), utility services, emergency services, the environment, community wellbeing, views and heritage with published assumptions, scenarios and data.
The petition had over 1,750 signatures by 7th March. You can find it here.
Recruitment under way for new Dr Radcliffe’s head
Rob O’Malley, the Headteacher of Dr Radcliffe’s Primary School in Steeple Aston, has resigned from his post because of ill health. Mr O’Malley only took over the role in September 2023, so his departure was unexpected.
Recruitment for his replacement has already started. It is hoped that the new head will be in post for the start of the school year in September. Meanwhile a part-time Interim Headteacher has been appointed and will work with the two assistant heads for the rest of this school year. It was important to get a new structure in place quickly as the school is facing two important inspections in the next few months.
Lisa Boote, Chair of the school’s Local Governing Body writes:
There is a new chapter happening at Dr Radcliffe’s. Due to ill health our Headteacher Rob O’Malley has made the decision to resign as our Headteacher and will formally leave at Easter. We wish him a speedy recovery and send him and his family our best wishes. Whilst we are saddened by this news, we fully support his decision to prioritise his recovery.
We are immensely grateful for Rob’s commitment, dedication and care to our pupils, the school team, and the community during his time at Dr Radcliffe’s. We will miss his sense of humour, his passion for sport and his pride in the children achieving.
When the time is right, we will acknowledge his headship and ensure that he knows how grateful we all were for his leadership.
Our priority is to ensure that the school stays in strong hands and continues to move forward. The key development areas in our School Improvement Plan are a priority and will be developed and driven forward to improve outcomes for all our pupils. We are fortunate to have an experienced and dedicated Senior Leadership team and our thanks to Sarah Goldsworthy and Becky Roberts, our Assistant heads in stepping up to lead and support the school in Rob’s absence. Our whole school team, who are experienced and highly skilled, have been proactive, thoughtful, and responsive in their support. Our thanks go to each one of them for going above and beyond at short notice.
Supported by our Academy, Oxfordshire Diocesan School’s Trust, we acted quickly, thinking of our pupils and the school community and the fact that we are due two inspections this academic year – OFSTED and SIAMs (Statutory Inspection of Anglican and Methodist Schools) and were exceptionally fortunate in organising an Interim Headteacher. Mrs Lorraine Wood, an experienced headteacher, currently leading in another ODST school St Francis in Oxford started on the first day of this term. She will be in Dr Radcliffe’s for three days a week supported by Mrs Goldsworthy and Mrs Roberts. Mrs Wood is excited about supporting our school and been made very welcome.
The next step is for the LGB (Local Governing Body) to begin the formal process of recruiting a permanent full time Headteacher. The process has begun and I look forward to letting you know who our new Headteacher will be starting in September.
JANUARY
Workshop highlights villagers’ concerns on transport and traffic
A public workshop was held on January 30th for villagers to consider what community benefits might be required if there was approval for one or more of the nearby ‘mega’ developments currently under consideration.
Parish councillors heard that villagers’ top priorities were transport, traffic, highways and footpaths. They were followed by concerns about the environment, infrastructure and health. The Parish Council will now discuss how to make these ideas become a reality.
The giant developments proposed are Heyford Park (and its potential New Town); the Oxfordshire Strategic Railfreight Interchange at Ardley; Puy Du Fou near Bucknell and Baynards Green warehousing.
The planning system allows authorities to ask developers to pay for ‘mitigation’ where a community is likely to be adversely affected by the development. In the case of Steeple Aston, it is the impact of increased traffic in the area that is the greatest concern, although there could also be other negative impacts.
The Parish Council opposes all these schemes, and they may not all be approved. But councillors wanted to hear what villagers think about improvements to the village that might be desirable and possible.
The Vice-Chair of the Parish Council Martin Lipson reports on the meeting:
An excellent turnout of 35 people for the Parish Council’s workshop on possible future improvements netted a total of 70 ideas, some of which were close matches for other ideas, so it was probably nearer to 60, including several sent in by villagers who couldn’t make the meeting. It was perhaps no surprise that the largest number related to transport and traffic, highways and footpaths (the same outcome as the 2015 consultation on the Mid-Cherwell Neighbourhood Plan- MCNP). The second largest group was for ‘the environment’.
The top proposals per category were:
Transport
- Bus route servicing the north of the village
- New footpath linking school to Grain Store and on to Middle Aston
- Traffic-easing measures and weight limits on HGVs through village and using Rousham Bridge
- Improved pedestrian/ cycle access to Heyford Station.
Environment
- Designated green space to protect village’s character (although many of those present may not have been aware that the MCNP has already given protection to the Paines Hill ‘green’, the allotments and Robinson’s Close).
- Address wildlife displacement – wildlife corridors or a reserve/ country park
- Increase tree planting – pockets and avenues
Infrastructure
- Phone mast to improve reception
- Address sewage issues
- Sustainable energy initiative e.g. solar or wind
Health
- New community health hub for SA at least two days a week
- Improved health services – enlarge Deddington HC, or a full surgery at Heyford Park
Over the coming months Parish councillors will discuss how to make these ideas become reality.
Deadline extended for survey on concerning fire service changes
Oxfordshire County Council, which is responsible for local Fire and Rescue Services, is asking for your views on proposed changes to how they respond to emergencies. They say they want to ensure that more fire engines are consistently available, and that they can get to incidents across Oxfordshire more quickly.
However, there have been criticism of their proposals by the Fire Brigades Union and councillors in Kidlington and West Oxfordshire. And concerns have been raised over the impact on villages like Steeple and Middle Aston.
Two young firefighters attended Steeple Aston’s Parish Council meeting on Monday, 19th January. They said that aid that they felt the changes being proposed were “about hitting targets rather than safety”. Steeple Aston will very much be affected if the proposals go ahead – with our area possibly being covered by just two fire engines (and eight firefighters) rather than the current five engines (with 35 firefighters) with longer wait times and decreased night time cover. They spoke passionately on the topic saying they feared safety was being compromised
The survey deadline has been extended until Saturday 31st January, so it’s important to act now.
The complex proposals suggest closing stations in Kidlington and Oxford’s Rewley Road and replacing them with a single new station in North Oxford. There would be new 12-hour day shifts for full-time firefighters at five currently on-call fire stations including Bicester. On call crews will provide cover at night.
On call stations in Eynsham, Woodstock and Henley are also proposed for closure, but no change is proposed for our nearest on call station in Deddington.
The county council say the proposals are designed to:
- Match resources to risk, based on an understanding of where incidents are most likely to happen across Oxfordshire to ensure that the right level of cover is available in those areas.
- Improve community safety, with the service continuing to conduct prevention and protection work, but reshaped and enhanced to meet the changing needs of Oxfordshire’s communities.
- Futureproof the service by reviewing how it operates, which will help in making informed decisions that ensure long-term sustainability and resilience.
You can see the detailed proposals and take the survey here. The closing date for responses is 31st January. https://letstalk.oxfordshire.gov.uk/ofrs-consultation
The Fire Service has also produced a document responding to some of the criticisms of their proposals. It’s called Facts First.