Notice of Election
Election of parish councillors in the Vale of the White Horse is due shortly. Nominations must be in by 9 April.
Planning Application for Five New Houses
A planning application has been submitted to VWHDC to construct 5 new houses with carports on Prior’s Lane, just north-east of the junction with High Street and The Row. This application will be discussed at a Parish Council meeting in the Village Hall on Monday 23 March at 8:00 pm. Please attend this meeting if you wish to comment on the application.
Wanted: Volunteer for Neighbourhood Action Group
The Neighbourhood Action Group works closely with Thames Valley Police to keep our area low in crime. Hinton Waldrist is not currently represented on the NAG and Thames Valley Police are requesting a volunteer. For more details, click here.
If you are interested, please contact FaringdonNHPT@thamesvalley.pnn.police.uk
Gigaclear is coming to Hinton
As of this morning, Gigaclear’s web site is showing that we’ve hit the 100% target for the number of orders needed to justify extending their network to cover Longworth and Hinton. Thank you to all those of you who ordered the service, and so made it possible for us to get the best broadband available in Britain today. If you didn’t order the service, but are wondering if you will be able to in the future, Gigaclear install access points for every household in the village, so the service will be available to all as and when you decide this makes sense for you.
Valentine’s Quiz Night – what a night!
On 14th February, Hinton Waldrist Village Hall was full to the rafters with people eager to test their knowledge of all things Valentine’s Day related. Despite the occasional ‘blip’ from the quizmaster who broke her reading glasses before the quiz (oops..) the event was very enjoyable, raising £318.00 for the Village Hall fund.
Thank you to everyone who took part. It was great community event, a chance for some to reconnect with friends and neighbours and for others, an opportunity to get to know more people in the village.
The last word has to go to one happy customer:
“Best Valentine’s Day I’ve had in years!”
Call for Volunteer Assistant Lock Keepers
For the last 4 years volunteers have been assisting our Lock Staff on the Thames at the 45 locks along its length between Lechlade and Teddington. Now, ahead of our fifth season, we invite you to apply to become a Volunteer Assistant Lock Keeper at a lock near you.
The Environment Agency, which is navigation authority for the Thames, is now recruiting for the 2015 season and are looking for volunteers who can commit to assisting at least one day a week between May and the end of September. Volunteers can agree their days with lock keepers but need to be available from 10 to 5. Volunteering is a great way to meet people and to find out more about the Thames, its history, wildlife and management. At the same time volunteers know that they are doing something worthwhile that is really appreciated.
Roy Poysor who volunteers at Iffley Lock said:
“Since becoming a volunteer lock keeper I am absorbed in a completely different environment where my assistance is greeted by the enthusiastic boating fraternity who give me immense pleasure with their friendship and banter”Our Volunteer Assistant Lock Keepers work alongside paid lock keepers. They help boats pass through the lock safely: taking ropes, directing traffic, and operating sluices and lock gates. They help maintain the site: painting, tidying and gardening. They provide information to visitors, be they on foot or afloat, so that they can make the best of their time on the river. Visitors really appreciate the local knowledge that volunteers can provide.
All applicants are invited to an assessment at a local lock. Here they will have the role explained to them and be shown what it involves in practical terms. They will also be assessed to decide which site may be most appropriate for them and to ensure that they have the physical capabilities required. After successful completion of the assessment, they attend an induction course which focuses on safety and preparing them for the lock side.
On the lock side the volunteers follow a documented training programme before being signed off to take charge of the lock on their own. This will only be for short periods, while the paid keeper is at lunch for example.
William Partridge who volunteers at Benson Lock had the following to say:
“2015 will be my fifth year as a volunteer lock keeper. I have enjoyed every moment of it, come rain or shine. I look forward to it in the knowledge that I am helping boaters and lock staff alike. It gives me great pleasure to make a contribution”Volunteers are provided with uniform and can claim mileage for travel to and from a lock local to them. They also receive a monthly newsletter which keeps them in touch with what is going on along the river and other activities of the Environment Agency.
If you would like to find out more about volunteering on the Thames and to receive an information pack and application form, please contact the Volunteer team on 01491 828360 or email thames.volunteers@environment-agency.gov.uk
Gigaclear taking orders from Hinton residents
Gigaclear, the Oxfordshire-based provider of ultrafast broadband services, is now taking orders for its service from residents in Hinton. Gigaclear only opened up to registrations of interest from Hinton and Longworth on 10 January this year. In just 10 days it must have seen an impressive level of interest to start taking orders so quickly.
We’re not there yet, of course. Gigaclear will only commit to bringing their fibre network to Hinton if at least 30% of households place orders for the service. If you’re not sure whether the service would make sense for you or not, then take the opportunity to meet Gigaclear representatives and put your questions to them in Longworth Village Hall on Wednesday 28 January at 7:30 pm.
Gigaclear seeking registrations of interest
Gigaclear, the Oxfordshire-based provider of ultrafast Fibre-to-the-Home broadband services, is actively seeking registrations of interest from residents of Hinton Waldrist.
The Gigaclear service delivers the fastest broadband speeds available anywhere in the country. The broadband service currently available in Hinton delivers an average of 2-5 Megabits per second (Mbps) downstream and perhaps 0.4 Mbps upstream. By contrast, Gigaclear delivers up to 900 Mbps in both directions! Residents of Appleton and Fyfield have been enjoying this service for some time now, and are universally delighted by its performance.
Recently, Gigaclear announced that they will shortly start building out their network in Southmoor and Kingston Bagpuize, so we will be surrounded by communities enjoying ultrafast broadband while we struggle along with the BT’s hopelessly out-of-date offering. And BT’s planned upgrade, which was due to be completed by December 2014, has now been put back to June 2015.
There’s lots more detail about broadband services in general and Gigaclear’s offering in particular at the Hinton and Longworth Campaign for Ultrafast Broadband, so please take a look there and don’t forget to register your interest with Gigaclear at www.gigaclear.com/registerme
