Local Services Directory

Broadband: Most telephone lines in the Village can support high speed Broadband internet connections: contact BT for confirmation that your line is suitable and for a line speed test.  


Buses:  There are currently no commercial buses that run through Freeland.


The Number 233 Bus service runs from Witney to Burford and does not go through Freeland but passes along the A4095 near the Northern end of Wroslyn Road.


Freeland Community Bus: The service connects Freeland with Witney supermarkets and was launched on 6th December 2018 and, after a period of suspension for Covid, it resumed on 9th September 2021.


First & Last Mile Bus Service:  The 411 bus service runs between Church Hanborough and Eynsham (passing through Freeland) and the 418 runs between Standlake and Eynsham.


Comet Buses:  This service is currently suspended


Cashpoints: There are Cashpoints at:  the Co-op shop in Long Hanborough; Tesco Express on the A40 near Eynsham and the Total Service station on the A40 near the Eynsham roundabout.


Chemist: The nearest pharmacist is now at the Surgery in Long Hanborough.  

Lloyd’s Pharmacy is at 64 Acre End Street in Eynsham, tel: 01865-881-283.

Other local pharmacies (including those opening before 9.00 am or after 5.00 pm).  


Childcare: There is an active Pre-school in the Village that aims to provide a safe and stimulating environment for children age 2½ to 5 years old.  

Play equipment for supervised young children is available in the playing field behind the Village Hall.


Privately run local Day Nurseries include:

Daffodil Day Nursery at 204 Main Road, Long Hanborough tel: 01993-883-451;  

Little Dots Daycare, Eynsham Park, North Leigh tel: 01993-880-111,

Willow Cottage Nursery, Owls Leat, Lower Road, Eynsham and Oxley's Farm, Cumnor Road, Farmo or.


A branch of the national “Tumble Tots” is held in Witney at Burwell Hall, in Thorney Leys, with classes aimed at developing children's physical skills through the use of brightly coloured Tumble Tots equipment.


Churches: See Religious Meeting Places, below.


Citizens Advice Bureau (CAB): There is a West Oxfordshire branch of the national Citizens Advice Bureau which provides free, independent, confidential and impartial advice to everyone on their rights and responsibilities and aims to help them with their problems.  Their offices in Witney are at the Old Print House, Marlborough Lane, Witney, Oxon OX29 6DY, tel: 08444-111-444.  


County Council: Oxfordshire County Council is based at County Hall, New Road, Oxford, OX1 1ND tel:01865-792-422.  Their Website contains useful information for residents of the County of all ages.


Dentists:

Eynsham Dental Care, 4 Cassington Road, Eynsham, Oxfordshire tel:01865-880-047.

There are several dentists in Witney.



District Council: West Oxfordshire District Council is based at Wood Green, Witney, OX28 1NB, tel: 01993-861-000 and is responsible for matters of Planning, the Local Environment, Leisure Facilities and Health & Safety issues.


Doctors:   We are part of the Eynsham Medical Group with surgeries at Willis Court, Long hanborough and Conduit Lane, Eynsham.

See: How best to access our GP services


Minor Injuries Unit: Witney Minor Injury Unit (MIU), Out Patients Department, Witney Community Hospital, Welsh Way, Witney  OX28 6JJ; tel: 01865 903841


NHS non-emergency number: 111

Call 111 and speak to a highly trained advisor, supported by healthcare professionals. They will ask you a series of questions to assess your symptoms and immediately direct you to the best medical care for you.

NHS 111 is available 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. Calls are free from landlines and mobile phones.


Dog Kennels:  There are a number of dog kennels in Oxfordshire which can best be found using sites such as  “Google Maps UK”.


Electricity:

The default supplier is SSE.

The phone number to report a power cut is 105.

For alternative electricity suppliers see comparison Websites such as Simply Switch, or UKPower.


Emergency Contacts:

Emergency Contacts listed include Ambulance, Fire, Police, Doctors, NHS Direct, Witney Minor Injury Unit, Samaritans and Flooding Services


Estate Agents:

A list of the Estate Agents serving the Witney/Eynsham area.


Fire Stations:   The nearest fire station is Eynsham: Stanton Harcourt Road, OX29 4HX.  (in an emergency phone 999).  The staff also carry out community safety work such as supply and fitting of smoke detectors, talks to schools and other groups, advice on car child seats and attendance at local events.


Gas:  The default supplier is British Gas.  For alternative suppliers  see comparison Websites such as Simply Switch, or  UKPower.

The Gas Emergency Freephone Number is 0800-111-999.


Health Visitors: The health visitor is a qualified nurse who has received extra training in family and child hjealth promotion.  To contact a health visitor for advice or make an appointment please telephone 01993 709599 or email oxfordhealth.ohswitneyhv@nhs.net.


Library:  Witney Library is on Welch Way.  


Job Vacancies:   "Jobted" is a listing of job vacancies in Oxfordshire.



Markets: There is a Farmers’ Market in Witney organised by the Thames Valley Farmers’ Market Co-operative in the Market Place on the third Wednesday of the month.


Newspapers:   The local newspapers are the Oxford Mail (daily except Sundays), Oxford Times (weekly on Friday) and the Witney Gazette (weekly on Wednesday).


Notice Boards: Notice Boards may be found in front of the Village Hall (in the bus shelter) and at the corner of Wroslyn Road and Parklands.  At the Village Hall site there are two types of notice board: (1) an official Parish Council notice board which is glass-enclosed and locked. To have a notice added, contact the Parish Clerk: Lisa Smith, tel: 01993-880-067; Email: lisa.fpc@gmail.com (2) an open notice board for general use.  


Pharmacists: The nearest pharmacist is now at the Surgery in Long Hanborough.  

Lloyd’s Pharmacy is at 64 Acre End Street in Eynsham, tel: 01865-881-283.

Other local pharmacies (including those opening before 9.00 am or after 5.00 pm).


Planning: The responsible authority for local planning is the District Council.   Planning applications affecting Freeland are also considered by the Parish Council.


Playing Field: The playing field is behind the Village Hall near the centre of the village.   It has toddler play equipment next to the Village Hall and play equipment for older children at the far end of the playing field, where there is also a shelter for teenagers.   The playing field is the responsibility of the Parish Council and all equipment is inspected regularly for wear or damage.  


Police:  The local Police Force is part of the Thames Valley Police.   Call 999 in an emergency or 101 for non-emergency enquiries.


Post: There are three Post Collection Boxes in Freeland. They are in Wroslyn Road and are (1) near the A4095 junction (2) by the Primary School and (3) by the Village Hall.   Currently there is one daily postal delivery to homes - on week days and Saturdays.


Post Offices: There is a Post Office in Long Hanborough at 72 Main Roadnorth leigh post office and in North Leigh at 10 Common Road in the Memorial Hall. Both of these businesses are also newsagents for daily papers and magazines.


Radio: Local stations include Radio Oxford (95.2 MHz FM), Heart FM (formerly Fox FM) (102.6 and 97.4 MHz), Jack FM (106.8 and 106.4 MHz FM).  


Recycling:  There is a Waste Recycling Centre, “Dix Pit” just west of Stanton Harcourt, off the Eynsham-Hardwick Road.

Opening hours: All year from 0800 to 1700 (From 1 April to 30 September there is late opening on Thursdays until 2000).

Bins & Recycling: Household paper, cardboard, glass, metal, textiles and plastics and household food waste are collected from the kerbside every Wednesday.

There is also a garden waste recycling scheme in wheely bins collected fortnightly on Wednesdays (alternating with the non-recyclable household waste collection).

All bins and boxes should normally be put out on Tuesday night before the Wednesday collection day.


Religious meeting places:

Christian:

There are two Churches in Freeland:

Freeland:

Methodist Church (currently closed)

St Mary the Virgin Church



Road repairs: Road repairs are the responsibility of Oxfordshire Highways tel: 0845-310-11-11, at Oxfordshire County Council.   Report Potholes and other road problems to "FixMyStreet"


Schools:

Freeland CE School is a small, friendly primary school situated in the centre of the Village near Parklands.  

Tel 01993-883-707. Email office3208@freeland.oxon.sch.uk


Bartholomew School in Eynsham is a very well regarded school that performs well in the tables of GCSE and A-level exam results. Tel: 01865-881-430.



Social & Community Services: Health and Social Care is provided by Oxfordshire County Council in the form of support for carers, advice and contacts for people with learning disabilities, mental health problems, and disabilities and infirmities associated with old age.


There are also independent organizations that provide help, such as:

Age UK (formerly Age Concern) which has an Oxfordshire branch that provides valuable help and advice to the elderly.

Cruse Bereavement Care exists to promote the well-being of bereaved people and to enable anyone bereaved to understand their grief and cope with their loss.

Dementia Oxfordshire is a website for people with dementia and their carers.  It gives up to date details of services and resources in Oxfordshire and also information on a variety of issues such as benefits, legal issues, younger people with dementia, diagnosis, getting a break, practical help and much, much more.

Elderberries are a social group which meets in the Recreation Hall in long Hanborough every Wednesday 9.30am-2.30pm.  They have over 20 members, including some from Freeland and welcome more!  Members enjoy social interaction with friends and a 2 course lunch for £10 if they need transport, or £7 without.  Contact Gill Battams gblock144@gmail.com

Volunteer Link-up is based at the Methodist Church, Wesley Walk, Witney, tel: 01993-776-277, and runs three projects that help the West Oxfordshire community: Transport: volunteer drivers take people who cannot use public transport to appointments (for a small fee), Befriending: volunteers visit people at home for a chat or do shopping or errands for them and Practical Tasks: volunteers help with gardening or small DIY or decorating jobs.

West Oxfordshire Citizens Advice Bureau provides free independent, confidential advice to everyone about their problems,  

Sports, Walking and Health:

The Windrush Leisure Centre in Witney was built as a joint project between West Oxfordshire District Council and the Education authority in 1975 and provides a 25 metre Swimming Pool, Teaching Pool, 4-court Sports Hall,  5 Squash Courts, Snooker Room, Café, Health and Fitness Studio and an artificial Turf Pitch.

Oxfordshire Sports provides courses, news of events and advice on how to get active.

The Ramblers Association has an active local group in West Oxfordshire.   The Association organizes several walks per week along footpaths and byways in the Oxfordshire area.  Walks are of varying length and pace: from a leisurely 4-5 miles with Pub stops, to a strenuous 10-16 miles for those of above average fitness!

Walking for Health provides assistance for those wishing to increase their health by walking.


Taxi cabs: There are several local firms that operate in the area:

Angelas Taxis are based in Witney and serve West Oxfordshire. tel: 01993-771-122 and 01993-771-072


Livey’s Taxis operate local and long distance services and are based in North Leigh tel: 07979-507-535


AAC Taxis are based in Witney and operate local and airport services (including one-way and return journeys to all of the major airports including London Stansted and London Luton) tel: 01993-800-800

Witney Shuttle are based in Witney and operate an Airport Shuttle service. tel: 0800-046-4333. Book by Website booking form.  The shuttle departs from Sheep Street, Stow-on-the-Wold and Church Green, Witney and stops at The George and Dragon in Long Hanborough, The White House in Bladon, The Turnpike in Yarnton, Sunderland Avenue and The Oxford Hotel in North Oxford and London Road, Wheatley on its way to Heathrow and Gatwick airports.



Telephones: Telephone land lines are the responsibility of British Telecom (BT) and they have several (often changing) tariff plans catering for differing needs.


Trading Standards:   Oxfordshire Trading Standards provides advice on a wide range of consumer issues: buying goods and services, holidays, cars, credit and finance, scams and safety.  


Trains: The nearest station to Freeland is Hanborough: Witney Road, Long Hanborough OX29 8LA.  It serves Oxford, London Paddington, Worcester and Hereford and is run by First Great Western.  There is an automated system for tracking train arrivals and departures from Hanborough.  


Oxford station is in Park End Street, Oxford OX1 1HS and serves Bristol, Edinburgh via Birmingham and London via Reading. Train operator: First Great Western. There is an automated system for tracking train arrivals and departures from Oxford.

Timetables for all trains services may be found at National Rail Enquiries, tel:08457-484-950.


Water: The local supplier is Thames Water, tel 0845-9200-805, P.O. Box 286, Swindon, SN38 2RA.  Many people have opted to have Water Meters fitted which can make large cost saving for households of two or less.   Thames water are also responsible for wastewater removal and levy a separate charge for this service.  If you see a leak, their 24 hour “Leakline” is 0800-714-614.




If there are other services that you feel could usefully be included,

or errors in the above, please contact Peter Newell using the Feedback form