Headington Headlines

Headington Headlines #250

TonyOX3

Your weekly round-up of local news for 18 – 24 January.

My weekly energy project round-up is here. All my posts about the project are under the ‘Energy Project’ tab in the main menu, and there’s a page of links and contact details here.

Lloyds Bank was the scene of an armed robbery on Saturday morning. Police say two masked men, one with a firearm, escaped in a white BMW. The same bank was robbed almost exactly three years ago (thanks to @HeadingtonNews for that link).

The Latimer Road student accommodation planning appplication goes to the City’s Planning Scrutiny Committee on Wednesday. It has been ‘called in’ after being rejected by the East Area Planning Committee, despite officers’ recommendation to accept. The papers for the Committee are here, with the details in the Agenda Reports Pack and a set of slides in the Presentation.

Still on planning, there’s an application (ref: 16/00082/FUL) to build three 5-bedroom houses on the site of the Quarry Gate pub.

A search of the Food Standard Agency’s “Scores on the Doors” food hygiene ratings for OX3 finds 204 rated premises. Of those, 10 are rated “2 – Improvement Necessary” or lower. The unhygienic wooden spoon goes to the Londis on Marston Road, rated “0 – Urgent Improvement Necessary” in March last year. Here are the 0 – 2 results with a map. Above a score of 2, the next is “3 – Generally Satisfactory”.

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

  • City Council agrees energy pipe needs planning permission
  • Saxon Way bus gate
  • Disruption
  • The Headington Plan – whats next? (August 2015)
  • The Danger on the A40 Headington to cutteslow.
  • Cold callers selling goods

Headington Headlines #249

TonyOX3

Your weekly round-up of local news for 11 – 17 January.

It was a quiet week on the heatpipe front, at least in public. My round-up is here. All my posts about the project are under the ‘Energy Project’ tab in the main menu, and there’s a page of links and contact details here.

The City Council is running a consultation with the people who own the leasehold of their properties in the Northway and Wood Farm tower blocks (and Cowley too) over the costs of the improvements the Council has announced (see HH 244 for original story). Cllr Mike Rowley has explained the Council’s position here.

Meanwhile, Oxford East Tories, led by aspiring council candidate Mark Bhagwandin @markb_gt, have sponsored the formation of an Oxford Towers Leaseholders’ Association to fight the Council over the charges.

Police raided a flat on Underhill Circus, Barton on Friday in a search for illegal drugs. They found cannabis and crack cocaine, and two people, both from Barton, were arrested.

The Ronald McDonald House Charity which provides accommodation for families of children in hospital has announced plans to build a 62 bedroom ‘hotel’ in the grounds of the JR. The charity currently has a 17-room unit on the top floor of the children’s hospital. The new building will be on the site of the tennis courts opposite Sandfield Nursery, currently being used for storage by Vital Energi. A planning application is expected in March.

An Extraordinary Board Meeting of Southern Health NHS Foundation Trust was held on Monday, but despite the serious criticisms of the Trust’s record none of the board members resigned. The following day Monitor (the national health regulator) announced they will appoint an expert to improve the way deaths are investigated, particularly those involving people with learning difficulties or with mental illnesses.

Back in August 2014 (see HH 175) a planning application to build a care home for dementia patients at 1 Pullens Lane was turned down by the East Area Planning Committee. Now another developer – Frontier Estates (they of the Latimer Road student accommodation proposals) – has put in a new application (ref: 15/03611/FUL) for a 55 bedroom care home on the same site. The Oxford Mail report is here.

East & South elevations
East & South elevations (East faces Pullens Lane)

 


Location map

I noted in HH 245 that Purple Zone, which includes Barton, had won the Blue Bin Recycling League prize in December. As a result, the Thrive project @thriveteams has received an award of £400 to support their work with young people on the estate.

Friends of Stansfeld @FofStansfeld joined twitter.

My favourite Headington-related tweet of the week:

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

  • Headington Post Office
  • Radio story Foxwell drive green space
  • Pothole – Marston flyover slip
  • City Council agrees energy pipe needs planning permission

Headington Headlines #248

TonyOX3

Your weekly round-up of local news for 4 – 10 January.

Now you see it, now you don’t! What happened on the heatpipe project last week? My handy summary is here. All my posts about the project are under the ‘Energy Project’ tab in the main menu, and there’s a page of links and contact details here.

Aldi have submitted a planning appplication (ref: 15/03709/FUL) for a new store on the Curry’s site at Horspath Driftway (where Homebase is).

According to the BBC, Hampshire Police have confirmed they have received a complaint alleging criminal behaviour by Southern Health NHS Foundation Trust, the Trust involved in the death of Connor Sparrowhawk in 2013. The Trust is accused of producing false and misleading information, an offence under the 2014 Care Act.

Sobell House hospice is going to build a new £4m specialist facility at the Churchill Hospital.

There has been a landslip from the old quarry wall in the back garden of a house in Coppock Close, thought to have been caused by the exceptionally wet weather recently. Fortunately no-one was hurt.

Charles Young, spokesperson for the Headington Car Club car-sharing scheme, presented a petition to Oxfordshire County Council before Christmas asking them to reconsider their refusal to allocate two on-street parking bays in Headington (see HH 240). Here he is in a video from @ThatsOxfordTV explaining how car-sharing works.

Also from @ThatsOxfordTV, here is Marston independent councillor Mick Haines, supported by Joanna Bartlett, urging support to stop the demolition of the Jack Russell pub to build housing.

My favourite Headington-related tweet of the week:

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

  • Barton Park development
  • City Council agrees energy pipe needs planning permission
  • Free water, energy and money-saving offer
  • Headington Post Office
  • Pothole – Marston flyover slip