Headington Headlines

Headington Headlines #24

TonyOX3

As the financial world went into meltdown (again) and people everywhere were dusting off their houmus and taramasalata joke, here in Headington well-wishers were jumping the gun to announce the 25th birthday of the Headington Shark.
In other news for the week 1 – 7 August —

The East Area Planning Committee gave planning permission to Oxford University’s plans for two large new buildings on their land next to Old Road. A couple of days later it was announced that the decision is to be ‘called in’ for review.

It was confirmed that Feltham Construction will shortly start work on building flats on the remaining Manor Hospital land.

McKenna Plant Hire is reported to be intending to submit a planning application to re-open Woodeaton Quarry as a site to dump soil and clay. Barton residents are gearing up to oppose the plan which would mean a significant increase in heavy lorries along Bayswater Road.

The landlords of the Ampleforth Arms in Risinghurst who lost their daughter to meningitis held a charity event on Saturday.

Thrive Barton’s funding was reported to be under threat.

The JR Hospital (@oxfordradcliffe) took delivery of a 7 Tesla MRI scanner, the most powerful in the country. There was a Family Fun Day in the JR grounds on Saturday to raise funds for the JR and Horton A&E departments.

Problems associated with language school students surfaced with coverage on local TV, letters in the papers, posts on the e-democracy forum and moans on twitter. I blogged about it too.

And talking about students in Headington (tenuous link of the week), it emerged that Headington School’s wealthiest alumna will be spending the coming academic year in Oxford. Yes, Emma Watson will be a student at Worcester College for a year before returning to Brown University in the USA to complete her Eng Lit degree. Wonder if she needs digs … ?

My favorite Headington-related tweet this week:

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

  • Joint Bus Ticketing Starts 24 July
  • Good homes for used carpet?
  • Headington Car Park site
  • The Cavalier pub
  • Police patrols to tackle anti social behaviour by language students

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 #23

TonyOX3

Here is my weekly round-up of news for the week 25 – 31 July.

To my deep dismay the new combined ticketing and revised bus schedules meant the end of the 7C bus route. Both operators now use 8 for Headington/Barton and 9 for Headington/Risinghurst. The Oxford Mail (reported via This Is Oxfordshire) said the new ticketing system is “a great success” but this was based on a couple of vox pops and spokespeople for the Council and the bus companies. I haven’t seen any real information yet about how the scheme’s operating. My highly unrepresenative personal experience backed up by comment on the e-democracy forum seems to show that the timetables aren’t working yet and buses are still travelling up and down the London Road in convoys. The joint ticketing seems to be working, though, and has been well received even though the night buses and the 700 route are not part of it.

An ‘eco’ car rally set off for Pall Mall from Broad Street on Sunday morning, passing through Headington en route. Headington car park has an electric vehicle charging point.

The route of the Oxford half-marathon on 25 September will take the runners through Headington Quarry: Beaumont Road, Quarry Hollow, Quarry Road, Old Road and Morrell Avenue.

Dinner lady and cleaner Beryl Chidlington retired from New Marston Primary School this week after working there for 47 years.

Both Bury Knowle Park and Brookes’ Headington campus were given Green Flag Awards by Keep Britain Tidy. Bury Knowle Park hosted an open-air screening of “How To Train Your Dragon” on Sunday evening.

Planning consent for @UniofOxford‘s Old Road campus development was recommended for approval to the East Area Planning Committee.

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

  • Joint Bus Ticketing Starts 24 July
  • Sikh temple in Cherwell Drive
  • Londis corner shop in receivership
  • Rosemarys Restaurant
  • 700 Not In Smart Zone
  • I’d rather have a Tesco than a KFC
  • Temporary car park proposed at Harcourt Hill …
  • Can anyone recommend a good electrician?

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 #22

TonyOX3

Here is my weekly round-up of news for the week 18 – 24 July.

It was a weekend of varied events in Headington. A C.S.Lewis walk, a public open afternoon at Magdalen Quarry and an organised picnic in Bury Knowle Park on Saturday, and the Oxford Family Olympic Event in South Park on Sunday. @HeadingtonNews reports on Magdalen Quarry.

And while we’re on the subject of three or four things all coming at once, the new joint-ticketing bus timetables started on Sunday. We’ll have to wait and see if it’s a success, though @Ox_Bex wasn’t happy with her experience.

Headington Ward LibDems held their first Focus Meeting on Tuesday. Reports by @RuthWilk here and me here. Ruth has published the action points from the meeting.

The City Council has told the White Hart in Old Headington that the pub’s bins must only be on the highway on collection days.

The Rosemary restaurant leafleted many streets with a menu. @AlisonHogarth ordered a takeaway and wasn’t very impressed.

My favorite Headington-related tweet this week:

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

  • Should the Dorset House planning application get planning permission?
  • Heavy Trucks using the Residential streets
  • Joint Bus Ticketing Starts 24 July
  • Events in Headington this weekend (23/24 July 2011)

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.