Local Plan - Examination in Public - Part 2 The first part of the Examination in Public of the Vale's Local Plan concluded at the end of September. In a short letter thanking the participants, the Inspector has announced that he is now ready to move on to the second part of the Examination. This will look in detail at individual sites. No date has yet been set for it, there will be more news on the Vale's website as soon as a date has been given, although it is expected to be in the New Year. Recycling of small electricals now live & Stanford/Drayton tips Residents can now recycle small electrical goods and old clothes at the curbside. The new scheme went live at the start of the month. You can now leave these items in a tied carrier bag along with your green bin. For full details click here. The Vale has now responded to the County Council's proposal to close recycling centres. We have objected to the proposals and raised concerns about how the closure would affect residents. Our formal response can be seen here. Vale Community Awards Thank you to everyone who made nominations for the Vale's Community Awards. We have had a great response and all of those nominated will be invited to a special awards ceremony in November where we can properly thank them for their contributions to the community. Go Active goes Gold in rural areas thanks to £227,000 funding boost An exciting new scheme to help older people in rural areas become more active is to launch across the Vale of White Horse. The District Council has been awarded part of a £227,000 grant from Sport England for Go Active Gold, a three year project offering a range of sports and classes in rural areas for people aged 60 plus. Details of the programme will be available shortly on www.whitehorsedc.gov.uk/gold. Funding available for rural businesses In just four years the Southern Oxfordshire LEADER Project handed out more than £1.2million to projects aimed at supporting the rural economy. We've now set up an Oxfordshire wide LEADER scheme and there's £1.5million on offer for rural projects until 2020. We're looking for farmers, foresters, rural businesses or communities with projects that fit into one or more of these themes:
- growing, selling, eating more local food
- vibrant villages
- reviving the River Thames and associated waterways
- unlocking the potential of woodlands.
If you know of a project that could benefit from some funding please encourage those involved to visit www.oxfordshireleader.org.uk to see if they're eligible.