JCA News

New 'Jericho Online' Website

The Jericho Community Centre website is now being replaced by a more comprehensive site 'Jericho Online' which incorporates information on the Community Centre and the Community Associaton.

You can go there now by clicking Jericho Online

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Major survey of Jericho

Residents now have a chance to give their opinions and ideas about this distinctive part of Oxford. This month the Jericho Community Association will be carrying out an extensive survey.

This is the first step in the JCA’s ambition to draw up a community plan for Jericho which, if we can get it approved in a local referendum, and accepted by the City Council, will help us shape the way Jericho develops. How, for example, would you like to see Walton Street remodelled? Should we have designated play streets? What would you like to see in the new public square planned for the canalside development?

The questionnaire is going to more than 1,000 households, and has to produce answers that can be analysed statistically. In many cases, this means responding to predetermined questions by ticking boxes. Nevertheless there is also a lot of space to write in other ideas. The process does not involve recording names and addresses, since we only need to know about Jericho as a whole.

The survey, which is supported by the City and County Councils, will be carried out during November. We hope to start working early next year on using this as the starting point for a community plan.

Creating a neighbourhood plan

JCA AGM

JCA Chair, Charlotte Christie, left, with this year's speaker Lorraine Hart

The Jericho Community Association held its AGM on Monday 16 April in St Barnabas School.

The AGM received reports from the officers and elected a new committee for next year. Details on our AGM page which can be reached from the menu on the left.

The guest speaker was Lorraine Hart, a planner and community activist who shared her experience of neighbourhood planning in East London. How can residents shape the way Jericho changes and develops in future? A group of residents has volunteered to start the process.

Jericho's best breakfast

Try our full English brunch, or coffee and home-made cakes. Terrific value for money. Jericho's students are especially welcome. Bring your friends and meet your neighbours.

Every Saturday, 11.00 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Jericho Community Centre in Canal Street.

Jericho Community Cafe

The JCA is VISIBLE

The Jericho Community Association (JCA) has been awarded a VISIBLE certificate by Community Matters, which is the National Association of Community Organizations. VISIBLE accreditation serves as a kind of kitemark to confirm the quality of the organization. In making the award the assessor concluded that “The Jericho Community Association is a welcoming, impressive and community focussed charity. It has limited staffing resources but is led by a highly experienced and locally well established group of community members.”

One of the advantages of putting in all the work to prepare for this assessment is that it has encouraged the officers and management committee to think more clearly about the many responsibilities involved in running the Community Centre, including child protection, fire risks, and health and safety. The relevant documents on these and other issues are available from the menu on the left.

With this accreditation, the Community Association is now in a stronger position to apply for funds for building a new community centre. Community Matters is, for example, one of the organizations that manages the government’s Communitybuilders fund.