Welcome to the June 2024 edition of the Town Council’s newsletter.
Mayor Making 2024-25
Cllr Sandra Coleman was elected as Town Mayor for 2024-2025 at the Annual Meeting of The Council on 13th May 2024. This will be Cllr Coleman’s third year as Mayor, and we wish her all the best and are grateful for all she does for the town.
We were delighted to be joined by several past Mayors at the meeting, including Mr Ken Axford, who was Town Mayor in 1982.
2024 marks the 50th Anniversary of Chipping Norton Town Council, following the Local Government reorganisation in 1974. We will be celebrating this as part of our town awards in September 
Skatepark fun!
We had a fantastic time at the pop-up skatepark on Sunday 12th May – the sun shined while families came along to enjoy the day.
The skatepark project has garnered a significant amount of positive feedback from the community. Most residents are enthusiastic about the development and have expressed their support. However, a small number of residents have raised concerns regarding the project.
The Council is committed to addressing these concerns and ensuring that the project benefits the entire community. Once the preferred contractor is selected, comprehensive consultations will be conducted. These consultations will involve collaborating with skatepark users to finalise detailed designs, as well as engaging with local residents to listen to and address their concerns.
The Council aims to create a skatepark that meets the needs of its users while also maintaining harmony with the surrounding area, including ensuring any installation is complemented by natural landscaping, which is part of the design specification.
Town Festival – Sunday 30th June 2024
Town Festival is BACK! With a cracking line up to entertain the crowds of Chippy Folk, and visitors’ too – we are certain this year will be a brilliant come back for the team producing the Festival, headed up by Bev Lane. With local bands and musicians including Average Wyatt, M2, Urban Law, The Folk, Gospel and Blues Band, Shambolic!, Beverley Gray, The Dead Silence, Broken Mic, as well as our young people getting involved from St Mary’s School and The Cotswold Youth Choir with the Chipping Norton Choral Society. This musical extravaganza in the Top Side of Market place will also see all the churches in Town coming together in voice with contemporary music from Churches Together.
And they have even managed to land Kaleb Cooper in their cohort of super supporters! Of course, he was delighted to be asked to open the Town Festival this year, and the team are very excited to include Kaleb in this years festivities.
Please check out their Facebook page for further information about the event, Chipping Norton Town Festival.
More to look forward to from the Town Hall
Keep an eye on our Town Hall Facebook Events Listings to know what events, groups and activities you could be a part of that are coming up.
- We are thrilled to be able to provide Chipping Norton Theatre and Youth Groups space for their rehearsals, on what is a very very busy year, and their brilliant 50th Celebratory productions.
- Turning Point Oxfordshire are here every Tuesday afternoon for any one who wants to get on to the Road of Recovery from alcohol or drug misuse.
- Saturday 15th June is the first of our 3 woodworking workshops helping people with mental health concerns in the Community. OP Woodcraft will be hosting the event, and if you want more info or to book onto the sessions, please email oliver@opwoodcraft.co.uk.
- Phanthudet Muay Thai training starts here on Tuesday 18th June in Upper Hall, please check out their Phandhudet Muay Thia Facebook page for more info and how to book in with Aaron.
- We have a very special Jazz Supper from the Dean & Chadlington Festival 2024 taking place in the Upper Hall on 21st June, tickets can be purchased from their website: Dean and Chadlington Festival 2024 Tickets
- The Council Chambers is starting to take some bookings for private meetings, for anyone who needs a larger room for a meeting – and we are delighted that Cerberus Games have chosen the Town Hall to try out and test their brand new Role Playing game here in Chambers!
- Join Oxfam in Chipping Norton for their annual record fair here in the Upper Hall on Saturday June 29th. It’s a great event that will have all record collectors swooning at the vinyl on offer. There are some gems here every year.
- Following their break in festivities in 2023, Bev and the Team from Town Festival are back for 2024. Join us celebrating this years Town Festival on 30th June 2024. Live music, lovely food and plenty of friendship and joy!
- The Branch Trust will be hosting a Mental Health awareness day and event here in the Upper Hall on July 1st, bringing together groups and organisations to share information and provide advice.
- Of course, all our usual groups are back in for the remaining of the Summer term, and we invite you to check out those providing great meet ups to the community. From the Chipping Norton Railway Club to Learn2Sustain and their youth space take over, there is something here for everyone.
Chipping Norton Pride 2024 – A resounding success!
‘Express Yourself’ was the theme promoted by the fantastic Chipping Norton Pride Team for 2024! We would like to extend our congratulations to Nicola, Clare, Daniel, Luke, Sean, Jonathan, and their super volunteers on the day, Debs, Ruth, Mark and Heidi for a truly beautiful day full of inclusivity, diversity and love!
It was fabulous to be able to join the Pride Event this year, where we assisted by providing a First Aid and Lost Person Station to the event. In its second year, the new Pride Committee, led by Nicola created a fantastic event throughout the daytime and into the evening. Mayor Sandra Coleman had a great time with members of the team and other volunteers raising the Pride Flag to mark the start of the event at 10 am.
With drinks bars installed in Upper Hall and Lower Hall, and plenty more refreshments in the top side of Market Place, the team pulled out all the stops to make sure that everyone had a great time enjoying the day, and the evening event too. Hundreds of people arrived to join in the celebrations, as well as The Oxford Mail turning up to take some shots and promote the wonderful day which you can read all about here; LGBTQ+ Oxfordshire: Chipping Norton Celebrates Pride.
A new Speed Indicator Device for Churchill Road
Thanks to Councillor Geoff Saul’s Priority Funding, a new speed indicator device has been installed on Churchill Road. This device collects speed data from traffic traveling in both directions. The gathered data will determine the optimal direction for the warning indicator sign to face and provide valuable information to Thames Valley Police (TVP).
Elections Results May 2024
West Oxfordshire District Council and Police and Crime Commissioner Elections we held on Thursday 2nd May 2024. You can see the results below:
Rusty Riders
Cycling enthusiasts, both new and returning, have a monthly meet up to look forward to at the Rusty Riders Clinic. The event will be held on the first Saturday of the month from 10 am to midday. This unique event, hosted in collaboration with Transition Chipping Norton, is designed to cater to individuals who are either new to cycling or considering a return to the saddle after a hiatus. The Rusty Riders Clinic offers a three-part workshop, combining essential elements to ensure a safe, enjoyable, and educational experience for participants.
You can read more about this here:
Clear Air Day – 20th June 2024
Clean Air Day is the UK’s largest air pollution campaign, engaging thousands of people at hundreds of events, and reaching millions more through the media. Coordinated by Global Action Plan, Clean Air Day brings together communities, businesses, education and the health sector, improving public understanding of air pollution, building awareness of how air pollution affects our health and explaining some of the easy things we can all do to tackle air pollution, helping to protect our health and the environment too. You can find out more here:
Flag-flying at the Millennium Garden
We will be flying the following flags in the month of June:
The Pride Progress Flag, Saturday 1st June 2024
The D-Day Flag of Peace – Thursday 6th June 2024
The Refugee Nation Flag, Thursday 20th June 2024
and the Armed Forces Day flag, Saturday 29th June 2024
An Introduction to Councillor Michael Rowe
We will use this space to introduce your new town councillors.
This month we asked Cllr Michael Rowe to tell us a bit about himself and why he decided to become a Councillor:
I am by far the most recent resident to join the Town Council having only moved here with my wife in October 2022. We moved to more appropriate housing, much nearer family, as my wife was severely disabled and I have some disabilities. That has given me a particular interest in trying to improve life and access for those with physical or mental health problems. We were most surprised by how quickly we settled in and found many new friends, which seems a common experience. Local people have also been most helpful. That greatly encouraged me to quickly become deeply involved with local social organisations and, as a nearly life-long ecumenist, with Churches generally and as a Methodist Church Council member. I was honoured to join the Town Council, who – regardless of political affiliation – all belong because of their love for Chippy. My first venture into any form of politics.
I am myself a retired Charted Electrical Engineer, mainly involved in industrial control and monitoring systems over a very wide range of industries but also as a hobby blacksmith, demonstrating in museums. I am very interested in encouraging youngsters into both the Engineering Professions as well as into skilled crafts. My own training as a Student Apprentice initiated me into a wide range of skilled crafts as well as encountering a wide range of people well beyond my usual contacts. My wife and I lived in very rural France for 12 years and have a son, daughter and 6 granddaughters, most of whom are already or on the road to becoming professionally engaged applications of Space, such as Satellite communications.
You can contact staff and Councillors here:
Get involved
As part of our work in securing a Local Cycling/Walking Infrastructure Plan (LCWIP) for Chipping Norton, we’re very keen to hear from people with disabilities or mobility difficulties about the areas of the town that are particularly difficult for them to navigate. Please contact Katherine on: deputyclerk@chippingnorton-tc.gov.uk with your views.
Dates for your diary
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