Is flooding a problem for you?

 

There will be a public meeting on Tuesday 13 October from 7:00-9:00 at the Town Hall called the Flood Forum.

The Forum is open to all residents across Oxford and gives people an opportunity to talk about flooding issues in their area to representatives of partner agencies including:

  • Environment Agency
  • Thames Water
  • Network Rail
  • Oxfordshire County Council
  • Oxford City Council

We are encouraging groups like the Stoke Place Residents’ Group, the Friends of Old Headington, and the Friends of Lye Valley to attend the meeting. If you have neighbours or friends affected by flooding issues in Oxford, please do encourage them to go along as this is their opportunity to raise their issues directly with the people who can make improvements.

 

Students and Council Tax

Residents asked us about the situation re students and council tax at our Ward Focus Meeting on Tuesday. Here is some information from Oxford City Council.

Do students have to pay Council Tax?

  • Properties occupied by full time students only are exempt from payment of Council Tax. You will need to ensure that the Council receive letters from all residents confirming your student status before this exemption can be applied to your Council tax account.
  • If you are a student and you share your address with someone who is not a full time student then we can reduce the Council tax bill by 25%.
  • If you are a student and you share your address with two or more joint tenants who are not full time students then there is no reduction and the people who are not students will be named on the Council Tax bill.

If you have any further questions on council tax, you may find this link helpful. Please note that there are distinctions depending upon whether a student is full or part time and how old they are, so it’s best to follow the link where there is information on this and other more general issues regarding council tax eligibility

SmartWater. How to mark your property

What is SmartWater?

SmartWater is a colourless liquid that fluoresces yellow under ultra-violet (UV) light and contains a unique forensic fingerprint.

SmartWater provides proof of ownership, linking property to the rightful owner and criminals to a crime scene.

Where is SmartWater used?

 Homes 

Electrical goods, jewellery and other valuables are being marked in domestic properties.

Utilities

Electrical and water companies protect sub stations, cable and other metals.

Insurance

Church roofs, vehicles and even musical instruments are all being marked.

Railways

Electricity cable and earthing bonds at trackside are being marked.

Haulage

SmartWater is protecting HGV drivers and their loads from hi-jack and theft.

Finance

Cash in transit companies and banks are protecting staff and money.

Equestrian  

Saddles, horse boxes and other equipment is SmartWater protected.

Retail

Shops and supermarkets protect stock, cigarette kiosks and alcohol displays.

Machinery

Farms, factories and plant hirers are marking vehicles and machinery.

Fly-Tipping

Councils are marking domestic and commercial waste to deter fly-tippers.

Marine

Individuals and clubs are protecting  boats, yachts and equipment.

Who is looking for SmartWater?

Police Forces worldwide are trained to look for SmartWater. Second hand dealers, scrap merchants and metal recyclers are working with the Police and are scanning goods and metals brought onto their premises with UV equipment to identify stolen property.

If you want to know more, join your local Neighbourhood Watch group to get SmartWater at a discounted rate

SmartWater is recommended by the police. For more details of the product click here

Cold callers selling solar panels

Oxfordshire Trading Standards Doorstep Crime Team is appealing for information on a Solar Panel company who have been cold calling in the Oxford area. The company are believed to be targeting elderly and vulnerable residents. Residents have been sold panels that are not approved and told they can get money back from selling excess electricity to the grid.  To get money back from the government scheme, the panels must be installed by an approved MCS installer and a certificate supplied.  (MCS Micro generation Certification Scheme)

Aggressive sales tactics have been used and some residents have been escorted to the bank to obtain funds to pay for the panels.

The company has been reported operating in Headington and numerous areas around Oxfordshire.

 

If you have been the victim of cold callers or know of any elderly or vulnerable neighbours who have been sold un-necessary solar panels, please contact the Trading Standards Doorstep Crime Team on 0845 051 0845, option 2 or email trading.standards@oxfordshire.gov.uk

Warm Homes, Healthy People

hot water bottle

Support available for vulnerable people this winter

With temperatures starting to dip below zero again residents are enquiring about any help that may be available. One potential source of support is the Warm Homes, Healthy People project. This scheme brings together organizations across Oxfordshire to provide practical advice and support for people in need over the winter. Around £152,000 has been secured this year to support a range of activities.

If you are aware of any older people, low-income families or others who may be vulnerable to severe cold this winter, they may be entitled to help through the scheme. This could include:

  • free benefit entitlement checks
  • free grants for household refurbishments, such as emergency heaters and draft-proofing
  • free membership to an oil bulk-buying scheme
  • provision of fuel vouchers and food boxes
  • support for vulnerable isolated older people
  • piloting the use of ‘smart meters’ in households.

All of the support is subject to funding and eligibility criteria.

For more information and for eligibility criteria, people can visit the Warm Homes, Health People website or call the dedicated helpline on 0800 107 0044.

Numberplate thefts

This is a Community Message from Thames Valley Police.
On Tuesday the 8th January three reports were made of number plate thefts in Oxford.
This type of theft continues to happen weekly in Oxford, you could consider fitting anti tamper screws to your number plates, please seek advice from your local garage or car dealer.

Please check that your number plates are in tack on a regular basis, if you do discover that they are missing report to the police immediately.

Stolen number plates are used in a variety of crimes by thieves all of these crimes will in the first instance lead the police back to you and can be very distressing.

The plates are often used to replace number plates on stolen cars, or fitted to cars which are used recklessly followed by none payment of parking and speeding fines, also filling up with petrol and driving off without paying.

Once you have reported the theft of number plates to the police the registration number will added to the Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) CC TV network to track any moments.

In an Emergency please call the Police on 999.

Recycling team train up student wardens

Students from Oxford Brookes University have been visited by the City’s Recycling team, with the support of Oxford Brookes Student Community Wardens, to discuss recycling and waste issues in the city.

Training sessions were run by the Recycling team, resulting in 12 Student Community Wardens being prepared to answer any questions students might have on the door step.

Over 2000 student properties were visited to educate students about what they can recycle and what to place in each bin