March 2013

Headington Headlines #102

TonyOX3

Here’s my weekly round-up of local news for 4 – 10 March.

A public meeting and presentation on the Haboakus Northway developments was held on Monday evening. Publicity beforehand was limited – it does not appear to have been publicised outside Marston. I wasn’t there but I had a report from someone who was which I’ve added to the blog.

Notes of last week’s meeting which decided to go ahead with a Neighbourhood Plan for Headington are now online.

The owner of the Oxford Food Store (London Road, towards Green Rd roundabout) was fined £750 plus costs for fly-tipping after dumping sheep heads in a lay-by in Wootton. He claimed the devil took control of him but told the magistrate he now feels ‘back to normal’.

Reports of a smokey smell which started on Monday were traced to a fire in a field near Thornhill P&R. Residents in Sandhills and Risinghurst had the worst of it and some complained it spoiled their enjoyment of the best day’s weather of the year so far. It turned out that 40 tons of hay had been burning. The e-dem forum has the story.

Churchill Ward Councillor @MarkLygo shaved his head and beard for charity – the Oxford Children’s Hospital.

There was a robbery in Greggs early on Thursday morning as they were opening the shop. Money was taken but there are no reports of anyone being hurt.

Headington’s newest street, Blackburn Close (the new flats between the Manor Hospital and the London Road) was being landscaped this week in preparation for the first occupants to move in. If you don’t know why it’s called Blackburn Close and what the connection is with Barbara “Walkies” Woodhouse @HeadingtonNews has the answer.

There are reports that the infamous JR/Saxon Way (non-)rising bollards are being replaced.

My favorite Headington-related tweet this week:

Active topics on the Headington & Marston e-democracy forum this week:

  • Blockbusters in Headington is closing after all
  • Redevelopment of Northway
  • Northway developments / Greensuare / Haboakus
  • Crown and Thistle
  • Burning Waste at Thornhill
  • Traffic on A40 / London Road increasing?
I try to cover news from the OX3 postcode in Headington and out as far as Barton, Sandhills and Risinghurst (see map). To feed into next week’s summary you can comment on this article, or tweet either with the hashtag #ox3 or @mentioning @TonyOX3.

Northway Haboakus public meeting

TonyOX3

To see all my articles on this development click here.

There was a public meeting held in Marston Community Centre on Monday 4 March to discuss these developments. I couldn’t be there but I’ve had some feedback from someone who was. The proposals were presented by the City’s Chief Planning Officer Michael Crofton Briggs with support from other officers.

I’m told the meeting was quite lively, with many local residents unconvinced about the merits of the development. A major cause for concern was the problem with local drainage and flooding, with people worried about the effects of the increased load on the already inadequate systems. Some felt that the residential blocks would overlook and dominate existing properties. Mr Crofton Briggs assured those present that their views, as far as they fell within the permissible grounds for objection, would be recorded and fed into the evaluation process.

A quick look today (Wednesday) at the planning applications on the Council website finds that there are so far about a dozen objections, all of which focus on one or other of the issues above.