The steam rail centre next to Didcot Parkway attracts thousands of visitors every year.

Visitors now have an easy way to refill their glasses or bottles with mains water at the touch of a button, thanks to a grant from Didcot Town Council.

READ MORE: Rail enthusiasts enjoy train rides

Last month, Didcot’s mayor from 2025-2026, Jim Loder, was joined by his immediate predecessor, Councillor Andrew Jones, to unveil the new water refill station.

Mr Loder said: “Didcot Town Council is pleased that giving this grant has allowed more people to refill their bottles while visiting the railway centre.”

Andrew Jones (left) and Jim Loder (right) unveiling the water station. Martin Buckland of the railway centre’s environment group is on the far left, and Ann Middleton on the right. (Image: Frank Dumbleton)

Ann Middleton, a member of the board of the Great Western Society, which runs the railway centre, said: “Giving easy access refill drinking water containers shows our commitment to reducing our impact on the environment.

A steam train at Didcot Railway Centre (Image: Frank Dumbleton)

“We are very grateful to Didcot Town Council for the grant of £2,000 to install the water station and were honoured to have Jim Loder and Andrew Jones visit to inaugurate it.

“We also acknowledge the assistance of Sustainable Didcot who supported our application.”

During ‘steam’ days at the centre, trains are running and visitors can enjoy unlimited rides, as well as calling in at other attractions, including the museum, engine shed, shop and cafe.

Local insurance broker Howden Abingdon is hosting the event to help support Sobell House.

The fundraiser is taking place at the Loose Cannon Brewery from 6pm on Thursday, May 14.

Teams of up to 10 people are invited to take part in five rounds of quizzing, with a raffle held during the evening.

David Warren, branch manager at Howden Abingdon, said: “Sobell House plays a hugely important role in our community, and we’re delighted to support them with this charity quiz night.

“It’s a fantastic opportunity to raise funds, raise awareness and bring people together in support of a charity that makes a real difference to so many local families.”

Oxford will go to the polls on May 7, in what is likely to be the last ever election for the city council.

There will be 24 seats up for grabs, one in every ward.

Below is the statement shared by Green, and there is more to come from the other parties and groups fighting for votes in the city.

Leader of the Green Group in the council, Cllr Chris Jarvis, shared the following pitch:

 Green Party candidates, councillors and volunteers have spoken to thousands of residents across Oxford in recent months. In those conversations, we’ve heard the same message again and again.

People feel that the Labour Party – both nationally and locally – has let them down. People feel that our city and our country are heading in the wrong direction. And people feel that we desperately need a change.

The Green Party offers that change.

We are the party that is willing to take on the rigged economic system – an economic system where no matter how hard you work, for many people there just isn’t enough money in the bank account after we’ve paid rent to the landlord and bills to the privatised utility companies.

We are the party that is willing to take the action we need on the climate and ecological emergency, to protect the planet we live on, the air we breathe and the green spaces that we cherish.

And we are the party that understands that our city and our country are made stronger by diversity, that we must resist attempts to divide our communities and that refugees are welcome here.

The Green Party has a bold vision for how we can tackle these issues and how we can transform our city for the better.

We would get a proper grip on the housing crisis by introducing an ‘Oxford Living rent’ – modelled on the Oxford Living Wage scheme – in order to stop spiralling private sector rents, by increasing the proportion of social housing in new developments, and by ensuring new developments are prioritised for housing, rather than for things like lab space.

We have major plans to address the climate and nature emergency – investing significantly in local renewable energy, ending the use of toxic weedkillers in our city, and ensuring our parks and green spaces are improved, enhanced and well looked after.

And we want to work closely with our diversity communities to support them to thrive – giving more support to community groups, working to make our city accessible for everyone to get around and doing everything we can to welcome refugees in Oxford.

If that’s the kind of city you want to see, you can make it happen by voting Green on 7 May.