General Election 2019


On Thursday 12 December 2019 you can vote to elect an MP to represent your local area in parliament.  Here's some useful information about the election:

Voter registration 

To vote on 12 December, you need to be registered by 26 November.  If you're not registered at your current address visit gov.uk/register-to-vote to ensure you are eligible to vote.

If you have moved house since you last registered you will need to register again.  

Polling cards

If you registered to vote by 4 November, you should receive your poll card by 20 November – if you don't receive it by this date please call our Elections team on 01235 422528 to make sure you are still registered.

If you registered after 4 November you should receive your poll card by 3 December.

Postal and proxy voting

Postal vote applications need to reach our Elections team by 5pm on 26 November – application forms are available at southoxon.gov.uk/votebypost.

If you apply for a postal vote you should receive your ballot pack by 6 December – if it doesn't arrive by this date please contact our Elections team on 01235 422528 to request a replacement.

Important – due to the short timescales involved, we cannot guarantee when people will receive their postal ballot pack, therefore if you are likely to be away after 6 December you should consider applying for a proxy vote instead to guarantee you're able to vote.  The deadline to apply for a proxy vote is 5pm on 4 December.  To find out more please visit southoxon.gov.uk/votebyproxy.

Who you can vote for

To find out who you can vote in this election please use our general election postcode search.

More information

For more on the general election please visit whitehorsedc.gov.uk/elections.

Free parking in the run up to Christmas
Our special Christmas free parking days are back again this year.

We provide the annual free parking tradition to encourage people to shop locally for their Christmas presents.  

You will be able to park in our district council car parks without paying for or displaying a ticket on the following days next month:
  • Didcot – Mondays (9, 16, 23 December)
  • Goring – Saturdays (7, 14, 21 December)
  • Henley – Tuesdays (3, 10,17 December)
  • Thame – Saturdays (7, 14, 21 December)
  • Wallingford -Thursdays (5, 12,19 December)
For more about our car parks please visit southoxon.gov.uk/parking.

Christmas waste


For a short time after the Christmas and New Year bank holidays, we’ll empty your bins on a different day. Please see the changes here.

We don't collect garden waste over Christmas. However we always collect extra recycling, which cannot fit in your green bin. Just put it out in clear bags or cardboard boxes beside the bin. We also collect extra food recycling that won’t fit in your food bin if you put it in a bag on top of your food bin.  

If you are unsure when your next collection day is and which bin you should put out please visit the My South Oxfordshire search facility.

In the New Year we collect Christmas trees from collection points across the district and from garden waste customers. If you are a garden waste customer please put the tree out with your brown bin – please cut to 6ft lengths or less. More info here southoxon.gov.uk/christmastrees.

New life-saving app  


A new potentially life-saving app can tell emergency services the precise location they need to go to when someone needs assistance and Thames Valley Police is encouraging everybody to install it on their smartphones.

What3words divides the entire globe into 57 trillion 3m x 3m squares – if someone needs assistance it will then provide a specific three-word code for where they are, making it a lot easier for the emergency services to find someone in a rural area or unfamiliar location. 

The app, which is used by emergency services across the country, is free and doesn’t require an internet connection to use – for more information please see the what3words website.

Protect your home


Now the clocks have gone back, remember to leave a light on in the evening (using low energy bulbs) to prevent your home becoming a target for burglars.  

There are a number of other actions you can take to protect your property, including:
  • close and lock all your doors and windows when going out or to bed
  • keep valuables out of sight
  • don't advertise that you're going to be out or away on social media
  • invest in a timer switch to turn a light on automatically when you're out
  • register your valuables at immobilise.com
  • sign up for crime updates from Thames Valley Police

Work for us


We've been working with Vale of White Horse District Council since 2005 and together we employ around 400 staff.  We are always looking for enthusiastic team players to join us.  

To keep an eye on the career opportunities we have on offer, you can visit our website page.

Spread our news!


Help us to spread this newsletter to others in our district by sending them the link below:

https://campaign.emailblaster.cloud/OTQ5Mg/223.html

If you'd like to sign up to receive this newsletter direct to your inbox, please contact communications@southandvale.gov.uk - all we need is your email address.  
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South Oxfordshire District Council
135 Eastern Avenue
Milton Park
Milton
OX14 4SB
southoxon.gov.uk