A working party has been set up by Burford Town Council to carry out a feasibility study into the possibility of developing a Neighbourhood Plan for Burford. Neighbourhood planning gives communities an opportunity to have a say in how development happens in their area. The neighbourhood plan can influence: where new housing or employment might be located in the area types of development, including materials to be used for new development opportunities for green infrastructur

For years people have been complaining about the fact that pedestrians have to share the carriageway with vehicles while crossing Burford bridge. For the last two years Burford town council (BTC) has been working with Fulbrook parish council (FPC) and Oxfordshire Highways on how to make the bridge safer. A plan has been developed and work to implement it is due to start on 7 April. The idea is to install a raised walkway, about four inches high, along the east side of the

Jennie Craven was elected unopposed as the new mayor of Burford at a meeting of the town council last night (4 February). Jennie said that her three priorities as mayor will be: Community engagement - seeking the views of residents on local issues 2 . Sustainable growth Celebrating the town's heritage. Paul Newman was elected as deputy mayor. Both will serve until May when a new council will be elected.

OCC Highways are planning to close Burford bridge from 7 April to enable work to be carried out to provide a safer route for pedestrians. It is expected that the work will be completed by 13 April. This means that through traffic will be prohibited from travelling along the whole road between the A40 Burford roundabout and the mini-roundabout on the Fulbrook side. Local access will still be possible. Alternative routes will be signposted but at the moment it is not clear w

Derek Cotterill has stepped down as the Mayor and Councillor for Burford Town Council with immediate effect as from 18 January. After 16 years as District Councillor, four years as District Council's chairman, and four years as Town Councillor, Derek has been devoted to serving Burford. Derek was instrumental in the Cotswold Gate development off Shilton Road having successfully promoted the Cotswold Gate development for the School Foundation. The Town Council wants to celebra

Matthew Freud and Sheherazade Goldsmith are delighted to welcome visitors to Burford Priory for the annual Snowdrop Sunday Charity Day. This year it is taking place on 15 February from 10-3.   All entrance fees (£4 for adult, children free) will be given to WASP who investigate pollution in the Windrush and its sister rivers and who were instrumental in uncovering the extent to which large quantities of untreated sewage are regularly dumped into rivers across the country. Tic

It seems impossible to go very far these days without seeing numerous Union Jacks (or Union Flags if you prefer) and St George's Flags adorning lamp posts. Their recent popularity seems to stem from football fans wanting to show their support for the Lionesses during last year's Euros. Fair enough, you might think. Then they seemed to spread even further. Some people said that the flags showed pride in our national history, achievements and culture. However the flags hav

Residents of Bibury are accusing owners of a cottage in the village of wrecking Britain's "prettiest street" and creating a "war zone", reports The Times. The cottage was bought by a Turkish couple in 2022 and intrusive renovation work has been going on since 2023. At one stage the road was closed for almost a year. There was particular concern that the work included creating an underground garage. This necessitated using heavy machinery and resulted in the road closure.

Image: Clipart OCC have announced (or perhaps we should say sneaked out) that from 14 January you will have to book a slot before taking waste to a recycling centre. Appointments have to be booked at least 30 minutes but not more than 14 days in advance. In addition to providing four pieces of information when making an appointment, you will need to take with you proof that you live in Oxfordshire such as a council tax bill or driving licence; otherwise you will be charged £

Priory Lane was blocked for a time this afternnon. A van had been parked in the area marked COACHES ONLY in large letters. A large coach then arrived. With great skill and help from another coach driver the driver managed to reverse into the narrow remaining space, avoiding the cars parked on the opposite side of the road. However, having manoevred into the space, it turned out that the coach was so long that it blocked the entire road. The driver eventually gave up and we

We   are a small friendly group of Francophiles who meet once a week in the café at the Warwick Hall in Burford to chat in French. Recently our numbers have depleted (mainly due to house moves) and we would love to welcome a few more people to our group. Please note, this is not French tuition (although we do learn from each other) but an opportunity to keep ‘the little grey cells’ working! We meet on Tuesdays at 2pm – our first meeting in 2026 will be on 6  January. Please

A seasonal message from Windrush WASP: Tis the season to be jolly and the season of good will, but beware, it is also the sewage dumping season.  This is the time of year when water companies discharge most of the untreated sewage they are unable to deal with, legally or illegally. As this is entirely the responsibility of the senior management and owners of water companies, and   not the fault of the employees who have to work with the consequences of underinvestment, we sen

The National Trust has abandoned its plan to rewild the lakes on the Sherborne Estate.  They had planned to dig scrapes and scatter fallen trees by the lakes to change the character of the area to “a more diverse landscape with areas of occasionally inundated land, resulting in wetland habitat creation”.  Local residents have complained that the Trust had failed to dredge the Georgian ornamental lakes and was destroying a cherished national heritage landscape through “managed

Thank you to all residents who attended Burford annual Civic Service. It was a wonderful afternoon of carols and giving thanks to the many residents who volunteer to help make the town such an enjoyable place to live in. Your kind donations on the day, helped raise over £400 for Special Effect, a local charity enabling people with severe physical disabilities to use technology. From the councillors and town clerk

Details of the walks available are described on the website (below ). Please check walk details carefully on the website, including whether booking is necessary. Additional walks may be published on the website. https://www.cotswolds-nl.org.uk Dovers Hill to Chipping Campden Circular – Tuesday 6 th  January – Moderate 2.5hr 4.5ml We descend the hill and skirt Weston Park, passing the Kiftsgate Stone. Entering Chipping Campden we visit the start of the Cotswold Way and rest aw

Has there ever been such a well attended meeting of Burford Town Council as the one that took place on 3 December?  Some six members of the public had given notice of their desire to speak at the meeting and many others were interested in the question of possible housing in Sheep Street, so it was decided to hold the meeting in the old hall at the Warwick Hall.  This turned out to be a good decision as the hall was packed out, with latecomers having to stand at the back. Obje

A SLEDGEHAMMER TO CRACK A NUT The Town Council are desperate to expand parking in the town. I agree the current situation outside the primary school is unacceptable but am I convinced encouraging more coaches is entirely necessary in a medieval town such as Burford? In any event, it would seem to me that OCC owned land with access to the A40 would be the best option. But BTC appear so desperate to find a car park, they are willing to support the development of 70+ houses on

In last month’s Bridge [November] , I wrote about the HELAA plan which proposes to build 70 dwellings on AONB land. Consultation started on 3 November and will end on 22 December.  We hope you will support us in stopping this project by registering your objections at www.westoxon.gov.uk/localplan2043   It is doubtful whether the planners understand the concept of Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. In the WODC plan, they wrote: Situated to the west of the town, the preferred

From Hugo Ashton - Executive Member for Planning on WODC and councillor for the Burford ward As many of you will have seen, West Oxfordshire District Council has published its Preferred Spatial Options Consultation Paper on how and where to allow development to meet the government’s challenging housing targets. The consultation will run to just before Christmas.  We have also published the draft HELAA (Housing and Employment Land Availability Assessment), which is our planner