Headington Headlines

Headington Headlines #60

TonyOX3

Here’s my weekly round-up of local news for 23 – 29 April —

Wood Farm residents have formed a ‘Friends of Magdalen Wood West‘ group to look after the eponymous woodland.

The Barton Area Action Plan has been formally submitted to the Secretary of State. I wrote a short blog piece about it, with links to the official documents. The next step is the Examination in Public: the provisional date and venue for this is 16 to 20 July 2012 in Oxford Town Hall, but this may change.

There was a distraction burglary at Headington Conservative Club in Windmill Road last Saturday (21 April) when two men stole charity cash collecting tins.

On the same day there was a major street brawl in the Wood Farm/The Slade area. According to reports, a gang of 30 men armed with hammers and dog chains attacked several Wood Farm residents. Two men and possibly a third were injured. Police suggest the attack might have been in revenge for an earlier burglary.

Costa Express have opened at the Shell petrol station on the London Road, but it’s only a coffee machine.

A question was raised at the full City Council meeting on Monday about the terms of a leasing agreement for the Northway Community Centre. It centres round a dispute over Cllr Roy Darke’s status as Chair of the Association. I suggest you start with the thread on the e-democracy forum if you want to know more. You can also see the question and answer on the video record of the meeting. Ignore the bit where it says "The recording of the meeting is unavailable" and play the Part 1 video. Scroll through to 39’30” to get the start of the question. Two short sections just after the start have been redacted but stick with it and the video continues. Feelings seem to be running high because after Cllr Bance’s statement (at about 46’40”) Cllr Altaf Khan claims he has been personally verbally attacked and leaves the chamber.

A new residents’ group, the Headington Hill Umbrella Group (HHUG), has been formed to represent the interests of local residents concerned about EF’s developments at Cotuit Hall and the former Plater College, both in Pullens Lane. They have issued an opening press release.

Work started on demolishing The Cavalier pub on Copse Lane, Northway. Accommodation for 58 students will be built in its place. Picture by @headingtonnews.

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

  • Controversy over the signing of the new Leasing Agreement in relation to the yet to be constructed Northway Community Centre
  • EF Academy plans for Cotuit Hall
  • The Cavalier pub
  • Restaurant application for former Tote betting shop in Marston Road
  • Is a wider process needed for consents for Transport Plans?
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 #59

TonyOX3

Here’s my weekly round-up of local news for 16 – 22 April —

The Headington Londis store run by Sunder Sandher is the first in the UK to roll out I-viewer, a shelf-mounted magnifying glass to help shoppers read the small print on labels. The I-viewer won ‘Best New Idea’ award at the National Convenience Show at the NEC. There’s a report here if you can be bothered to navigate to page 26 and there’s an I-viewer website built exclusively with Flash if you’ve got time to spare.

McKenna’s plans to use Woodeaton Quarry to dump waste clay and sand from building sites were approved on Monday. Lorries will use Bayswater Road, Barton and the B4027 to reach the quarry.

A £1,000 reward is offered for information about a burglary at a house in The Slade between noon and 4.30pm last Monday. A gold chain with a crucifix and rings, a Dunhill watch, two Mexican gold coins, a gold Seiko watch, three cameras and a bottle of brandy were stolen.

Café Noir reopened.

Andrew Smith MP asked a question in PM’s Questions on Wednesday about the potential closure of the @ACECentre and whether the government could make bridging finance available. Cameron says he knows the Centre and will work with Andrew Smith to look at what can be done.

@Oxford_Brookes students started an occupation protest against tuition fees.

A takeaway delivery driver was robbed in Brome Place, Barton on Tuesday.

Young riders from @HeadingtonSch did well in an inter-schools showjumping competition.

Armando Ianucci @AIanucci was among the people who abseiled down the JR’s Women’s Centre on Sunday.

My favorite Headington-related tweet this week:

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

  • St. George’s day in Headington
  • Barton Area Action Plan: see what was submitted to Secretary of State
  • 29 Old High Street (again)

There was also a thread about Councillor Ruth Wilkinson bit it’s title is too long to print here.

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 #58

TonyOX3

Here’s my weekly round-up of local news for 9 – 15 April —

Headington’s ACE Centre which supports children and adults with communication difficulties is to close at the end of June, another victim of Government cuts. If you don’t know about them look at their website to see what will be missed. The Centre is located in the grounds of the Nuffield Hospital in Windmill Road. You can follow them on twitter as @ACECentre and @moore_ace.

A 25-year old man appeared in court accused of a burglary in Weyland Road.

A man was rescued from a flat fire in Bayswater Road, Barton on Tuesday. The same day a man was attacked with a baseball bat in the subway between Barton and North Way.

Northway and Wood Farm are two of five Oxford tower blocks listed for refurbishment in an £8m project announced by the City Council.

A Community Dog Day was held in Headington on Saturday.


The rebuilt wall – picture by Stephanie Jenkins. Click for larger version.

The saga of 29 Old High Street took another twist this week when the owner, Martin Young, had the wall on the street rebuilt in concrete blocks. It’s hard to believe these are permitted materials in the Old Headington Conservation Area so it means more ratepayers’ money will have to be spent by the Council to get it put right. The story has been widely covered – here’s the latest from the Oxford Mail.

My favorite Headington-related tweet this week:

This map shows the location of some of the places mentioned in this report.

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

  • Headington Community Dog Day
  • 29 Old High Street (again)
  • Older people’s bus passes
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.