Headington Headlines

Headington Headlines #21

TonyOX3

Here is my weekly round-up of news for the week 11 – 17 July.

Professor Audrey Mullender, head of Ruskin College, went on the attack over the college’s plans to build houses on Ruskin Fields, referring to “three fields that are quite muddy and damp and under used” and accusing local residents opposed to the development of being nimbys.

Highfield residents suggested introducing community traffic calming schemes using plant tubs and flowers, among other ideas, to slow down traffic in their area. Bizarrely, Wickes picked up the ‘DIY’ element and tweeted a link which then got retweeted by a good dozen DIY enthusiasts apparently in the belief that something had actually happened (which it hasn’t).

Dancer, choreographer and Barton resident @EshaMessyjam went to a Buckingham Palace garden party. She was invited in recognition of her work with the @MessyJamOxford dance school.

An old story about the Oxford Centre for Islamic Studies (on Marston Road) being built on the site of a pig-farm resurfaced this week.

@TheOxfordMail carried a story, sorry, prediction, that a bronze sculpture planned to be installed on the corner of Horspath Driftway and Blackstock Close might get stolen.

The stolen husky puppy was found and returned. All together, Aaaaahhhh! Turns out his name is – wait for it – Husky.

Someone tried to grab a handbag from a woman as she walked along Dene Road at 2.30pm on Monday. A 19-year old man (or ‘teenager’ as @TheOxfordMail prefer) has been arrested.

@HeadingtonNews reported that St Andrew’s Church in Old Headington welcomed its new Vicar, Father Darren McFarland, at a special service on Friday 15 July.

My favorite Headington-related tweet this week:

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

  • Marston Road Mosque
  • Headington Car Park site
  • Amenities lost in Headington in recent years
  • We want our money back from the County Council!
  • Sikh temple in Cherwell Drive
  • Should the Dorset House planning application get planning permission?
  • Headington area to get most of Government transport grant

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 #20

TonyOX3

Here is my weekly round-up of news for the week 4 – 10 July.

The Quality Care Commission issued a report heavily criticising standards in the Albany Nursing Home on the London Road. “The care provided fell far short of the essential standards of quality and safety people should be able to expect from a care home”, it says. The Albany Nursing Home is owned by Trinity Care (Crown) Limited, part of the troubled Southern Cross Healthcare Group. It is registered to care for 48 older people. [Latest] Southern Cross is closing all homes but says residents’ care will continue.

The County Council announced it has secured a grant of £5m for transport schemes. Around £3.5m of the grant will be put towards the following schemes:

  • Expanding Thornhill Park and Ride through the addition of 500 spaces
  • Creating a new outward-bound bus lane on London Road in Headington towards the ‘hamburger’ roundabout
  • Establishing two new low-carbon bus services connecting Thornhill Park and Ride with the John Radcliffe and other hospital sites, and the city centre.

Oxford Brookes University’s plans to put a maintenance unit on its £132m library and teaching building have got their neighbours annoyed again.

The first North-East Area Forum was on Tuesday. @RuthWilk and I both blogged about it. The Headington car park development dominated discussion, including in the e-dem forum.

A lorry and a Renault Clio collided on the London Road near the Green Road roundabout at about 07:15 on Monday.

The missing husky story made the Oxford Mail. The original twitter appeal was still being retweeted at the end of this week.

The Northway Estate reached its 50th anniversary.

The Mediterranean Fish Bar in Cherwell Drive, Marston, closed since a fire, re-opened.

An application to build flats in William Street, New Marston has been turned down because of concerns about overdevelopment, amenity space and access.

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

  • The Cavalier pub
  • Tagging
  • Headington area to get most of Government transport grant
  • Headington Car Park site
  • Amenities lost in Headington in recent years
  • Oxford Car Parks

 

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 #19

TonyOX3

Here is my weekly round-up of news for the week 27 June – 3 July.

BT may have introduced their Infinity fibre optic system in Headington exchange this week. Or they may not.

@OxfordCity used an interim management order for the first time in Oxfordshire to take control of an HMO (house in multiple occupancy). The house in Salford Road, Marston is an unlicensed HMO that contains six people. The landlord is not considered a fit and proper person to hold a licence after being prosecuted twice before for offences at HMOs in Craufurd Road and Marston Road.

Two men appeared at Oxford Magistrates’ Court on Friday charged with rape and other offences after an alleged assault in Barton.

@TheOxfordMail reported that the Sikh community evicted from Marston may have found a new site near Kidlington for a temple.

Joe Callaghan laid a foundation stone for a new library named after his grandfather, former Prime Minister James Callaghan, at Ruskin College. The Callaghan Library is part of a £5m refurbishment project.

The Cowley Road Carnival in South Park was on Sunday and seems to have been a success. @headingtonnews and @OxfordCityGuide posted these pictures. http://twitpic.com/5kos27 http://fb.me/UR8CPSOI

Re-tweets about a stolen husky dog filled my timeline on Sunday – here’s what to look out for.

Someone’s started using the twitter name @headington. He’s nothing to do with us – he’s from Hornsby. Not even Hornsby in Cumbria, but a suburb NW of Sydney, Australia. Seven tweets so far and all pushing a ‘Make money working from home’ scheme. So not very interesting then.

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

  • The Cavalier pub
  • Area Forum
  • Old Headington Conservation Area Appraisal Consultation
  • residential parking in the Radcliffe Hospital area
  • Noise complaints

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.