Headington Headlines

Headington Headlines #107

TonyOX3

Here’s my weekly round-up of local news for 8 – 14 April.

Oxford Furniture Warehouse opened on the London Road on Monday and have joined twitter as @OxFurniture. They’ve moved from the Abingdon Road.

A man’s gold ring was lost in Lime Walk last Sunday (7 April) – appeal for information/return.

The Headington Festival 2013 website has gone live – go there to book a place for your stall. The festival’s on Sunday 2 June from 1 – 5 pm. The twitter account is @HeadingtonFest.

You can watch a 2-minute time-lapse video of the new @Oxford_Brookes building going up.

A fight broke out after a football match last Saturday week (6 April) at Barton Recreation Ground. One man suffered a broken nose. Three men were arrested and bailed.

The Londis store (run by @sundersandher) has applied for a 24hr, seven days a week alcohol licence. You can comment here.

The East Area Planning Committee meets on Tuesday this week. On the agenda are

  • Bury Knowle Depot — recommendation to support in principle but defer pending drawing up a legal agreement;
  • Land behind 73 – 81 Lime Walk — recommendation to approve subject to conditions;
  • 29 Old High Street — recommendation to approve subject to conditions;
  • Noted for a future meeting, no action at this time: Haboakus Northway development; Cotuit Hall; Barton Road cricket ground; 255 Marston Road (change from plumbers merchant to taxi hire office).

Meanwhile the non-public public art circular seat (Ref 13/00284/VAR) the @EFOxford language school wanted to put outside their main entrance but inside their boundary fence was rejected by the City Council.

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

  • Another recommendation: driving instructor?
  • A Neighbourhood Plan for Headington
  • Gold Ring lost Headington
  • Barton Road Cricket Ground
  • Competent telephone engineer
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.

Headington Headlines #106

TonyOX3

Here’s my weekly round-up of local news for 1 – 7 April.

In a joke about a joke the @OxfordTimes featured the Headington shark on April Fools’ day. They managed to take a swipe or two at a few local celebrities as well.

New municipal financial year, new parking charges. It’s now £1.30 for a minimum 2hr stay in the car park behind Waitrose (up by 10p).

The @HeadingtonPlan Steering Group met for the first time on Wednesday.

The planning application (ref. 13/00631/FUL) to build “30 residential units (8 x 4 bed houses, 17 x 3 bed houses, 2 x 2 bed flats and 3 x1 bed flats) together with access road, 51 car parking spaces, 60 cycle parking spaces, public open space and landscaping” on the Barton Road cricket ground is open for public comment.

There’s also a planning application (ref 13/00769/FUL) to replace the public toilets at the bottom of Headley Way with two 1-bedroom semis.

There’s talk about residents in Lime Walk/Highfield getting radar speed guns in a police-backed scheme to reduce speeding in residential areas.

The @ButchersArmsOxf now has free wifi and the Headington Festival @HFandSD2013 joined twitter.

Nominations closed for the County Council elections and the two City Council by-elections on 2 May. All the local candidates and links to the others are below.

I posted a short description and pictures of Headington’s newest street, Blackburn Close.

My favorite Headington-related tweet this week:

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

  • Barton Road Cricket Ground
  • Bus Users’ Forum | Thu 4th Apr | Town Hall | 18:30
  • Local elections, May 2013
  • Headley Way public conveniences
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.

Headington Headlines #105

TonyOX3

Here’s my weekly round-up of local news for 25 – 31 March.

A man from Headington who was tackled by members of the public in the course of an attempted robbery at the Covered Market has died. He was named by @TheOxfordMail as Clinton Townsend, later corrected to Clint Townsend by Thames Valley Police.

Author Brian Aldiss did himself no favours with a strange contribution to Headington Monthly. In a one-page piece rather reminiscent of a personalised story-book he shoe-horned in mentions of the JR, Headington Homewares, Ruskin, Waitrose, Bury Knowle Park and Chancellors. I wonder if a similar version has appeared in other local magazines around the country.

William Hill are appealing against the refusal of a change of use on the old Cartridge World shop which is stopping them opening another betting shop.

The planning application (Ref 13/00570/FUL) for a change of use for the Marston Plumbing business on Marston Road (now closed) to become a taxi business with waiting room has been called in by the East Area Planning Committee.

The Oxford Mail picked up a story which first surfaced in February (see Headington Headlines #98) about the not-so-public proposed piece of public art that @EFOxford want to install inside their gates to comply with their planning permission conditions. To say “A row has broken out” is perhaps a bit strong when there’s only been one comment on the proposal.

@HeadingtonPlan joined twitter. If you didn’t know that Headington has embarked on drawing up a Neighbourhood Plan you haven’t been paying attention! A Steering Group has been set up consisting of Stuart Cooper, Mark Lygo, Ruth Wilkinson, Christopher Taylor, Veronica Hurst and John Nealon: further members are being sought. The Steering Group’s first meeting will be on 3 April.

The Oxford Furniture Warehouse is moving from their Abingdon Road store into the shop that was the short-lived Today’s drink shop at 85 London Road, next to Lloyds TSB. Their website says they sell “new, antique and good clean second-hand furniture”. They expect to move in next weekend.

The cycle lane markings on Windmill Road have been repainted.

There are reports that possibly 40 ancillary jobs could go at Oxford Brookes University as student numbers have fallen. Some 250 student rooms in halls of residence (out of about 5000) are unoccupied.

@Oxford_Labour declared their candidate for the Churchill Ward by-election – Susan Brown. She’s not on twitter; a retrograde step in my view after @joemcmanners. The by-election is on 2 May, the same day as the County elections.

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

  • Headington has 2 of the country’s most congested roads
  • Redevelopment of Northway
  • Bedroom Tax Demonstration – Saturday 16th 1pm – Bonn Square Oxford
  • Headington shop news 2013
  • E-Forum Protocols
  • Bus Users’ Forum | Thu 4th Apr | Town Hall | 18:30
  • Barton Road Cricket Ground
  • A Neighbourhood Plan for Headington
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.