Recruiting for a new Groundskeeper

Recruiting for a new Groundskeeper

March 2024 – We are currently recruiting for a Groundskeeper.

The Parish Council is looking for a Groundskeeper for their green spaces. The average working hours will be 7.5 hours a week. Necessary training will be provided. The salary is equivalent to £24,702 per annum at full time hours – pro rata for 7.5 hours a week this is £417 per month as well as a 21.7% pension contribution.

Duties of the post include, but are not limited to:

  • Weekly safety checks of the playground equipment (training provided)
  • Regular maintenance checks on the defibrillator cabinet (training provided)
  • Cleaning and litter picking, general maintenance of the Trim Trail equipment, and reporting and removing graffiti
  • Ensuring safety of the paths in the woodland and checking for any tree damage
  • Line marking an 11-a-side football pitch and a 5-a side football pitch fortnightly (training provided)
  • Taking care of groundskeeping supplies tools and inventory.

Please follow the link for the full Job Description for the role.

To apply please send your CV and this completed application form to the Parish Clerk by email at clerk@botleynorthhinksey-pc.gov.uk or call her on 07785775996 if you would like to ask any questions.

Louie Memorial Playing Fields
<strong>Annual Parish Meeting, Thurs 14th March</strong>

Annual Parish Meeting, Thurs 14th March

Send in your topics for the Annual Parish Meeting – 7:30pm on Thursday 14th March at Seacourt Hall and online via Zoom.

Annual Parish Meetings are a chance for parishioners to discuss matters of local importance. Although arranged by the Parish Council and chaired by the Chair of B&NHPC, it is not a Parish Council meeting and operates under a different set of procedures.  You can suggest topics for discussion, request project updates, or submit questions for the meeting.

Please send these to: chair@botleynorthhinksey-pc.gov.uk by Monday 11th March.

You are all welcome to join us on March 14th. Agenda is now available here.

Botley SK8s

Botley SK8s

We are fundraising to build a new and much wanted Skatepark in Botley. Planning permission has been granted and the design is agreed. We now need to raise funds to bring it to life! We are applying for grants and running a number of fundraising events.

If you would like to get involved contact the Clerk or look out for our events and activities being advertised here and on Facebook and posters.

You can also donate online here or by scanning the QR code below:

Find out more about the project on the Working Group page and more on Fundraising here.

Council Meetings – Moved, but not far.

Council Meetings – Moved, but not far.

BNHPC Council Meetings moved to the back room of Seacourt Hall

– access via a different door.

As of last week, Council Meetings will no longer take place in the front hall of Seacourt Hall. They will now be in the back room. The meetings can be accessed via the side door rather than the front door as illustrated by the orange arrow in the picture above – larger version below:

Remember Parish Council meetings are public events and we will be discussing matters relating to your Botley and North Hinksey Parish, so do consult the future meetings page or our notice board (shown by blue rectangle in the picture) just outside the Seacourt Hall, if you would like to know what matters are under discussion.

If you can’t come in person, then it might be useful to know that the majority of the meetings have a zoom link and can be accessed from the comfort of your own home, via links in the agendas.

Christmas break – office opening times.

Christmas break – office opening times.

The Parish Clerk and RFO would like to wish you all a happy Christmas and New Year.

Please note that the Parish office will be closed from 4pm on December the 22nd, reopening at 10am on January the 4th. Parish staff will not be available during this time. Phone messages and emails will be responded to upon their return.

You can report many issues including graffiti, fly tipping, street lighting and broken paving slabs direct to the County Council via fixmystreet.com. For details of the Vale District Council services over the holiday period check this page. There are also details on the Oxfordshire County Council website on the OCC holiday service.

As Christmas can be a time when more than usual amounts of waste are generated at home, please visit the Vale of White Horse Christmas Waste page to find our how to deal with your waste responsibly. There is also a change to the collection schedule – you can easily find out which bin will be collected when by inputting your postcode here – BINZONE

If you have an urgent issue over the break that relates to Parish Council owned land, buildings or facilities you can contact any of the Parish Councillors listed on the Councillors page.

Wishing you all a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

B&NHPC Chair wins Councillor of the Year

B&NHPC Chair wins Councillor of the Year

Botley and North Hinksey parish councillor Lorna Berrett won the ‘Councillor of the Year’ award at an event at the House of Lords on Wednesday. The ‘Star Council’ awards that recognise local (parish and town) councils’ contributions to their communities across England. The long-running awards are made by the National Association of Local Councillors (NALC) and celebrate local councils, councillors and clerks’ positive impact on their communities.

Lorna Berrett has been a councillor in Botley for eight years. Before that she was a leader of the successful community campaign that prevented the demolition of Botley’s Elms Parade shops and local housing and helped set up the community’s first local website.

As a councillor and now as Chair of the parish council she has worked on hard on projects including new bus shelters, new play equipment, and public art in the West Way centre.  She played a leading role during the COVID-19 pandemic, setting up the ‘Botley Responders’ network of volunteers who supported vulnerable people in their neighbourhoods during lockdown. Three years later, the Botley Responders are still going strong with Lorna’s involvement.

For several months before the recent election, she encouraged residents to stand as a councillor. There were 26 candidates for the 14 places on the parish council – Lorna received the largest number of votes.

In Lorna’s capacity as Chair of the Council she is currently organising the annual ‘All in One Room’ event on December 10th, which brings together around 100 local volunteers form all the different community groups in the parish. 

Cllr Berrett thanked her fellow councillors and parishioners and NALC for this award and for the recognition of all the hard work that councillors voluntarily do to support their community.

She added “I really enjoy being a Councillor and I try to build on all the amazing work by volunteers and workers across our community. As the first level of government Parish Councils may be small but by working together with the community they can make a bigger impact than many expect focusing on local facilities and ensuring that whatever funds are available used for initiatives that matter to people on the ground.”

All in One Room 10th December

All in One Room 10th December

All local volunteers are invited to the WI Hall at 4:30pm on Sunday 10th December for mince pies and mulled wine or soft drinks as a thank you for all your community work this year.

We ran this event for the first time in December 2022 with around 100 volunteers attending, from baby and youth groups to pensioners lunch clubs, from sports groups to food banks, and groups supporting our local natural habitat. As well as a recognition of all their various contributions to the community, the event was also a time to pause, connect, meet and to share and discuss common issues and ideas.

We look forward to welcoming even more volunteers to this event this year. Please do come along to the WI Hall, North Hinksey Lane at 4:30pm on Saturday 10th December. RSVP: chair@botleynorthhinksey-pc.gov.uk

Remembrance Day 2023

Remembrance Day 2023

The annual Remembrance Service at the Commonwealth War Graves, Sunday 12th November and event on 11th November.

The annual Remembrance Service at the Commonwealth War Graves, North Hinksey Lane, will take place on Sunday 12th November from 10:45am to 11:45am. Gates will open at 10:30am.  

 All members of the Parish are warmly invited to attend. The service will see participation by members of the United Kingdom’s Armed Forces, the Commonwealth, and representatives from other countries whose Service personnel are laid to rest in the Cemetery. Involvement from the Parish includes Scouts, Guides and pupils from Matthew Arnold School alongside local voluntary and community organizations, dignitaries and religious leaders. Following the service there will be tea and cakes served by Botley Women’s Institute in the WI Hall across the road.

If you are attending by car and have a registered disabled badge or are escorting someone with a disability please contact the Clerk to request a parking permit for the cemetery. Other attendees may park in the Minns trading estate and walk across.

In addition to this service, at 11am on Saturday 11th November, a 2 minute’s silence will be observed and a bugler will play the Last Post in the centre of Botley. This will take place in the West Way shopping centre near to the Library and Tesco. All welcome.

Press release: <strong>Parish council demand extra bus shelter at Botley road bus stops.</strong>

Press release: Parish council demand extra bus shelter at Botley road bus stops.

Botley and North Hinksey Parish Council are calling for a proper bus shelter on Botley Road where all West Oxfordshire buses now start during the now 18 month closure of the road due to the Oxford railway station works. At the Full Council meeting on Thursday the 19th, the council voted unanimously to push all the relevant organisations including local councils and the bus companies to install a bus shelter for passengers taking the park and ride and other services to Botley.

 Councillor Chris Church who proposed the vote said “it is simply not acceptable for people waiting to take these buses to have to stand in the rain all through the coming winter months. We know that there has been talk about an extra shelter – it is time to turn that talk into action. The cost will be a tiny fraction of the whole redevelopment, and we now need the political push to overcome any funding or bureaucratic obstacles. We call on everyone involved to make this happen in the next few weeks.”

For more information contact 

Parish Clerk Emma Gordon: clerk@botleynorthhinksey-pc.gov.uk

Staff update and welcome

Staff update and welcome

We are pleased to introduce new staff joining B&NHPC and wish to thank our Locum Clerk.

Thank you to Julie Flenley, Locum Clerk who has been working with us since April covering for Clerk and Responsible Financial Officer (RFO) while we recruited for these roles. Julie has seen us through the election and change of council, and her experience has been invaluable in supporting the work of the Council. Thank you Julie.

We are very pleased to announce that we have a new full team of staff who have joined us between July and September.

The photo shows Julie on the left, Emma in the centre, and Alice on the right.

Emma Gordon joined in July as our new Clerk. Emma can be contacted on 07494 054581 or 01865 861992 or via email clerk@botleynorthhinksey-pc.gov.uk. Her office hours to meet parishioners are:

  • Monday 10am – 12pm (by appointment)
  • Wednesday 10am – 12pm (by appointment)
  • Thursday 10am – 12pm (drop in)
  • Friday 10am – 12pm (drop in)

Alice Handscomb Retallack joined on 1st September as Responsible Finance Officer (RFO). Alice is mostly home-based but you may find her in the office with Emma some days.

Jon Ramsay joined in July as Groundsperson responsible for the Louie Memorial Fields. Jon will be marking lines, checking the play equipment and picking up litter around the Louie Memorial playing fields early on Fridays and Saturday and dropping by mid week to keep the playing fields safe and tidy.

Welcome to the team Emma, Alice and Jon!