Faringdon Fire Station is to undergo a £700,000 redevelopment to modernise accommodation for fire and rescue teams as part of Oxfordshire County Council’s longer-term plans to decarbonise its buildings The project is scheduled to begin in January 2025 and will take around four months to complete The redevelopment plan includes health and safety initiatives for operational fire and rescue employees such as managing the risk posed by toxins associated with firefighting There will be new facilities for cleaning breathing apparatus equipment Oxfordshire County Council’s Cabinet Member for Public Health said: “This significant investment reflects our environmental credentials and our commitment to provide the very best facilities for fire and rescue crews and support staff always ensuring that health and wellbeing is taken seriously This investment is also reflective of our commitment to look after all corners of our county “Crews will temporarily relocate to another premises in the town until work is complete ensuring there will be no disruption to emergency and community responses It’ll be business as usual during the improvement works.” The improvements also involve the modernisation of toilets and showers Changes to reduce the carbon footprint of the building will include thermal insulation energy efficiency and installation of solar panels associated batteries and air source heating Click Sign up to hear from us and receive the latest news and updates in our fortnightly newsletter, Your Oxfordshire. A farmer from Oxfordshire says he's been left thousands of pounds out of pocket after a suspected arson attack near a cattle shed Jack Saunders and his fiancée Amy Shoemake arrived to Church Path Farm in Faringdon Firefighters were at the scene for more than 4 hours with around 7.5 tonnes of straw bales set alight with around £12,000 worth of straw bales lost describing the incident as "purely unnecessary." and the detrimental consequence to us as farmers you have to sit back and think 'why?'" Around 100 cattle were on site during the blaze and luckily unharmed that all of the hot embers from the fire were blowing in the wind," said Amy "They were landing on the fresh bedding it was very dry and could have really easily set alight." Saunders said this is another blow to them as the "farming industry is under plenty of pressure at the moment." This part of the farm now has lost its summer food which is worrying Jack believes: "If we go into a drought we now have no summer forage." Amy said she is heartbroken and would be devastated if the worst happened and they lost their cattle: "if anything would have happened to them it would impact us emotionally but also financially." Thames Valley Police is investigating the incident as arson Investigating officer Detective Sergeant Michael Fogg said: "This reckless and dangerous incident of arson has caused a significant financial loss to the farmer as well as causing issues with feed for his animals "I would like to hear from anybody who has dash-cam CCTV or doorbell camera footage that has captured the incident "You can make a report via our website or by calling 101 quoting crime reference number 43250177950." Want a quick and expert briefing on the biggest news stories Listen to our latest podcasts to find out What You Need To Know.. Relive your finest Titanic moments at The Old Crown Coaching Inn in Faringdon with a unique immersive dining experience inspired by the iconic scenes from Titanic followed by a night of wild Irish dancing in third and adventure of the world’s most famous voyage with a night inspired by the Titanic’s final evening and immerse yourself in an unforgettable evening guests are encouraged to dress as either first-class Rose or third-class Jack for a night to remember Guests will begin their evening in the elegance of first class guests will be invited to join in the ‘third class’ lively Irish party in the pub where a live Irish band The Publicans and dancing will take place until the wee hours Unsurprisingly the event sold out last year but for those wanting a more rustic experience “We hosted our first Titanic evening last year and it went down so well we thought we’d do it again so there is now also a third class offering of two courses and Irish dancing on offer (tickets are £30) by those who will then be joined by the first class passengers (£95 a ticket) your evening will begin with a selection of canapés followed by a four-course silver service menu with petit four, inspired by the original first-class menu Enjoy a glass of champagne on arrival a live pianist as you soak in the elegance of the era beef and fish courses and a refined pudding We haven’t seen or heard it done anywhere else and everyone knows the history and has watched the movie “Everyone loves an Irish band and fortunately we have no plans to sink although there will be lifeboats at midnight,” Seb explains, “so we are looking forward to welcoming people on board.” BOOK TICKETS HERE or fancy booking their special Cava evening instead then buy tickets for Friday March 28‘s Cava Night – A Journey Through Spain’s Finest Sparkling Wines – expertly curated by Frank Merten including gran vintages from one of Spain’s most renowned producers Jaume Giró i Giró Priced at £70 for all five courses and the Cava flight Seb hopes to introduce his customers to the delights of cava which he says “can be as good as champagne if not better.” “Jaume puts his life and soul in his vintages which are made with so much loved and care, so that the Cava they produce is phenomenal. We want our cava dinner to help dismiss the myths.” BOOK TICKETS HERE The Old Crown Coaching Inn is at 25 Market Place, Faringdon, SN7 7HU https://www.theoldcrowncoachinginn.com A shepherd has received a suspended sentence for further animal welfare and farming standards offences following an inspection by Oxfordshire County Council’s trading standards team. Jonathon Hornsby Simpson had already been convicted in April 2023 of 13 animal welfare and farming standards offences. Previously the court heard that Simpson had failed to comply with restrictions on animal byproducts by disposing of a large number of dead sheep over many years burying them in a muck heap to rot and decay. Simpson including an up to date register of animals and a record of veterinary medicines detailing when they were purchased he was sentenced to a 12 month community order including completion of a 15 day rehabilitation requirement He was also ordered to pay £2,000 towards the prosecution’s costs as well as thousands of pounds for the appropriate removal of the muck heap and animal byproducts. During a further inspection on 9 October 2023 trading standards officers found that no improvements had been made and that Simpson had failed to act on any of the court's findings or advice. Officers found that dead sheep were still not being disposed of correctly which were littered with sheep bones. Simpson again failed to keep and provide an up to date flock register and also failed to produce other documents namely animal byproduct commercial documents Veterinary medicine records were not kept identifying how they were bought administered and disposed of. Following a hearing at Oxford Crown Court on Friday 17 January 2025 His Honour Judge Pringle KC sentenced Jonathon Simpson to a seven month custodial sentence suspended for two years. Councillor Dr Nathan Ley said: “I would like to thank our trading standards team for their efforts in bringing about this prosecution. “Animal welfare legislation exists for very good reasons: to control disease and ensure the safety of the wider food chain The recent detection of foot and mouth disease in Germany is a prime example. "Prosecutions like this are a testament to the tireless efforts of our trading standards team in protecting residents and businesses in Oxfordshire." Jody Kerman Oxfordshire County Council’s Head of Trading Standards said: “The vast majority of farmers work to the highest standards we will continue to support them. “The small minority who seek to bypass the rules not only put the integrity of the food chain at risk and increase the risk of disease spread but also gain an unfair advantage over our hardworking farmers. “As one of the most rural counties in the southeast of England an uncontrolled animal disease outbreak would have a hugely damaging impact on people's lives and our local economy Simpson's sheer ignorance and total disregard for the law could have had dire consequences. “While we have some of the best farmers in the business in Oxfordshire the trading standards team will not hesitate to tackle those who put the health and wellbeing of our residents and rural communities at risk.”   Click Sign up to hear from us and receive the latest news and updates in our fortnightly newsletter Several leisure centres across Vale of White Horse District will get an early Christmas present this year hot on the heels of a revamp in the sports hall – with a newly refurbished floor and refreshed interior – there will now be an investment in new gym equipment Wantage will receive 40 pieces of equipment including treadmills The gyms at Faringdon and White Horse Leisure Centres will also benefit from new equipment over the coming weeks Users will start to see the new equipment from late November and during December Working in partnership with leisure providers has enabled the council to secure the best possible equipment at the best available price from Technogym Where possible the equipment purchased is using the latest technology along with self-powered kit ensuring residents continue to receive the latest cutting-edge equipment on the market Much of the current gym equipment at all the centres is over 10 years old and the gyms will benefit from a boost with new The Technogym equipment works off a ‘Wellness Cloud’ allowing residents to use Wi-Fi programmes across any leisure centre they are at for this system All equipment is compatible with the Better Mobile App used by members to support their fitness programmes Old equipment will go back to Technogym and as much of the old equipment will be recycled as possible Vale of White Horse District Council’s Cabinet Member for Leisure Facilities said: “It is fantastic that working with our partners GLL we can inject such a significant boost to invest in new equipment across three of our leisure centres We know at Wantage Leisure Centre in particular where we recently revamped the sports hall the local leisure centre users have been keen to see more investment This will greatly enhance the experience for gym users and hopefully encourage more people to get active and join their local gym.” GLL Partnership Manager – South Oxfordshire and Vale of White Horse added: “This significant investment provides a vital boost to three of our leisure centre gyms.  Technogym is one of the world’s leading manufacturers of sports and leisure equipment We’re therefore really excited to be able to present some of the latest state-of-the-art fitness solutions to local residents.” Visit the Better Vale website for more information on memberships Make an enquiry 01235 422 422(Text phone users add18001 before dialing) © 2025 Vale of White Horse District Council Win HappyPremiumSearch Rayogreatest hitsoxfordshirenewsHay bales set on fire deliberately in Faringdon Thames Valley Police are investigating the incident as arson Thames Valley Police are investigating and appealing for witnesses to an arson in Faringdon Officers were called out to Church Path Farm at around 7pm on Friday (11 April) after a store of hay bales were set on fire Investigating officer Detective Sergeant Michael Fogg said: “This reckless and dangerous incident of arson has caused a significant financial loss to the farmer as well as causing issues with feed for his animals “I would like to hear from anybody who has dash-cam CCTV or doorbell camera footage that has captured the incident to please contact us “You can make a report via our website or by calling 101 quoting crime reference number 43250177950 you can call the independent charity Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.” Hear all the latest news from across the UK on the hour, every hour, on Greatest Hits Radio on DAB, smartspeaker, at greatesthitsradio.co.uk, and on the Rayo app. Company number 01176085; Bauer Radio Limited Company number: 1394141Registered office: Media House Peterborough PE2 6EA and H Bauer Publishing Company number: LP003328; Registered office: The Lantern London NW1 2PL All registered in England and Wales VAT no 918 5617 01H Bauer Publishing are authorised and regulated for credit broking by the FCA (Ref No: 845898)