News

YOU ARE INVITED TO ATTEND THE 

Annual Parish Meeting 

ON THURSDAY 29TH MAY 2025 7.00 PM AT THE VILLAGE HALL, SIBFORD GOWER 

A G E N D A 

1. Welcome, apologies and introduction 

2. Declaration of interest in agenda items 

3. Report from Parish Council Chairman – Cllr J Noquet 

4. Public forum – parishioners are welcome to raise any issues/questions at this point. 

5. Closing remarks – Cllr J Noquet 

The full Parish Council meeting will follow the Annual Parish Meeting.

Sibford Gower Parish Council currently has a vacancy for a parish councillor. If you are enthusiastic about your community and would like to work as part of team to maintain and improve the village then please consider joining the Parish Council.

The Parish Council meets 4 times per year (Feb, May, Sep, and Dec) with the occasional need to call extra meetings due to planning applications or other urgent matters. The next Parish Council meeting date is scheduled for Thursday 29th May 2025.

If you have any questions or would like to put your name forward to be considered for cooption please contact the Clerk on sibford.gower.pc@thesibfords.org.uk or 07837 745 246 before mid-day Friday 23rd May 2025 with the aim of co-opting a new councillor at the Parish Council meeting on Thursday 29th May 2025.

Criteria for standing as a Parish Councillor

Candidates must fit at least one of the following criteria – 

• On Electoral Register (i.e. registered to vote) for the parish
• Have occupied as owner or tenant any land or other premises in the parish/community area over the last 12 months
• Lived within 3 miles of the parish over the last 12 months
• Their principal place of work is in the parish and has been for at least 12 months

Stamp duty discount offered at new Oxfordshire housing development – Yahoo News UK (26 April 2025, 12:03 pm) A new housing development in Oxfordshire is offering stamp duty discounts. Deanfield Heights, located in the village of Sibford Ferris, …

Sibford Gower Parish Council currently has a vacancy for a parish councillor. If you are enthusiastic about your community and would like to work as part of team to maintain and improve the village then please consider joining the Parish Council.

The Parish Council meets 4 times per year (Feb, May, Sep, and Dec) with the occasional need to call extra meetings due to planning applications or other urgent matters. The next Parish Council meeting date is scheduled for Tuesday 15th April 2025.

If you have any questions or would like to put your name forward to be considered for cooption please contact the Clerk on sibford.gower.pc@thesibfords.org.uk or 07837 745 246 before mid-day Tuesday 15th April 2025 with the aim of co-opting a new councillor at the Parish Council meeting on Tuesday 15th April 2025.

Criteria for standing as a Parish Councillor

Candidates must fit at least one of the following criteria – 

• On Electoral Register (i.e. registered to vote) for the parish
• Have occupied as owner or tenant any land or other premises in the parish/community area over the last 12 months
• Lived within 3 miles of the parish over the last 12 months
• Their principal place of work is in the parish and has been for at least 12 months

Sibford Ferris Parish Council

Clerk to the Council: Kirsty Buttle

Email: sfpc@thesibfords.org.uk    

NOTICE OF VACANCY

IN OFFICE OF PARISH COUNCILLOR

PARISH OF SIBFORD FERRIS

NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that pursuant to section 87(2) of the Local Government Act 1972, that John Wass has ceased to be a member of Sibford Ferris, and that a vacancy now exists in the office of Councillor for the said Parish Council.

In accordance with the Local Elections Rules an election to fill the vacancy shall be held if, within 14 days after the date of this notice (i.e. no later than 22 April 2025), a request for an election to fill the said vacancy is made in writing to the Returning Officer, Cherwell District Council, Bodicote House, Bodicote, Banbury OX15 4AA by TEN electors for the said Parish.

In the event that no such request is received by 22 April 2025 the vacancy will be filled by co-option.

Gordon Stewart

Returning Officer

Dated 31 March 2025

Note:  In computing the fourteen days Saturdays, Sundays, day of Christmas break, of the Easter break or of a bank holiday or day appointed for public thanksgiving or mourning are disregarded.

Sibford Gower Parish Council are very grateful to Flora Ransom for volunteering to litter pick and clean the road signs throughout Sibford Gower and Burdrop as part of her Bronze Duke of Edinburgh Award. Flora will be systematically working along our lanes and roads in the next number of weeks. 

Thank you very much to all those who were planning to help with this year’s annual litter pick, we hope you can join us next year. Also a big thank you to all the residents who litter pick and clean road signs etc throughout the year, helping to keep our villages clean and tidy.

The picture shows the result of Flora’s first litter pick up Pound Lane – astonishing!

Cllr Alan Berks

The Planning Inspectorate has dismissed an appeal against CDC’s decision not to give Permission in Principle for the construction of up to 5 dwellings on the former paddocks at the end of Backside Lane.

You can read the Inspector’s report on the Planning Inspectorate website

Celebrate the start of Spring with a trip to France (well, as good as…!). Six fine French wines paired beautifully with six fine French cheeses, all presented to you by qualified wine and cheese geek, Carrick Cameron.

Advance booking only, £35 per person, at www.northoxfordshirewineclub.com

27th April 2025, Holy Trinity Church

Music with Sounds Historical

Tickets £15 from ticketsource.co.uk/soundshistorical

More than 50 people attended the first Sibford Environmental Forum at the Village Hall on 14 January. The organisers explained that the Forum was an initiative to bring together people with experience and interest in energy efficiency through renewable technologies in the home, and to develop expertise and practical projects of use to others and the community as a whole.

Tim Lunel and Dan Farmiloe from Hook Norton Low Carbon described their fifteen years’ experience of developing an electric car and bike club, low energy housing and work spaces, and generously offered advice and support to similar initiatives here. They highlighted a new Club, Energy Local North Oxfordshire, which will generate solar energy from behind Sibford School and make it available to subscribers at low rates during periods of generation. This will go live for consumers from 1 March and will eventually permit other small/medium solar installations in the Epwell/Hook Norton area to become suppliers.

A lively discussion showed there is already quite widespread adoption of renewables in the Sibfords, and interest in sharing knowledge particularly on vehicles, solar panels and batteries. Home insulation and heat pumps were also discussed.

This is an open initiative, and we are keen to hear from anyone interested in future meetings or willing to share their knowledge and develop it further. Based on the support expressed, we will begin a feasibility study for introducing our own electric car club and create a knowledge base on solar and battery installations.

Please be in touch with us at tom@naive.co.uk (particularly for EV) sjgomersall@hotmail.com (particularly on joining and general information) or janthompson50@hotmail.com (particularly for solar/batteries). Watch for updates on the Sibfords website at thesibfords.uk/sef . We would love to hear your views.

Burns night this Saturday night (25th) at The Wykham Arms.

Give Debbie a ring to book a table if you fancy some Haggis, neeps & tatties: 01295 788 808