Headington Headlines

Headington Headlines #244

TonyOX3

The weekly round-up of local news for 6 – 12 December.

Welcome to my new-look blog! I hope it’s easier to find what you’re looking for. You can comment on the most recent posts – see the About page if you can’t see how to do that.

The first meeting for the general public to hear about the Hospital Energy Project happened on Wednesday. My report is here. There’s more discussion on the e-democracy forum under the thread ‘Disruption‘.

I’ve also posted the latest schedule of road closures. It doesn’t include the work on London Road and Old Road.

Oxford City Council has approved a £2m flood alleviation scheme for Marston and Northway.

The Latimer Road planning application for student accommodation, which was rejected by the East Area Planning Committee last week, is being referred to the Council’s Planning Review Committee. Although I haven’t yet seen official confirmation I understand it will go to the meeting on 27 January 2016, at 6:00pm in the Town Hall.

There was a collision between a car and an ambulance on the Headington roundabout on Wednesday morning.

Private residents in Northway & Wood Farm tower blocks will have to pay £40,000–£60,000 each towards refurbishments.

A devastating report into Southern Health NHS Trust, who ran the centre in Slade Park where Connor Sparrowhawk died while having a bath, says the Trust “failed to investigate the unexpected deaths of more than 1,000 people since 2011”. The ‘Southern Health’ tag on the right links to earlier mentions in the development of this sad story.

Here’s one of the weirdest Headington mentions I’ve ever come across. Look at the web page but PLEASE DON’T CLICK on any link there – I can’t believe it’s safe!

Mick Haines, campaigning independent local councillor for Marston, seen here without his trademark leather jacket, has joined the fight to stop the demolition of the Jack Russell pub and the site being used for new flats.

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

  • Disruption
  • Free water, energy and money-saving offer
  • Housing
  • Tower block refurbishment
  • BARTON LINK ROAD PROTEST

Headington Headlines #243

TonyOX3

Here’s my weekly round-up of local news for 30 November – 6 December.

There’s a public meeting about the Hospital Energy Project on Wednesday 9 December (this week), at 7.00pm at All Saints’ Church House, New High Street. It’s organised by our local councillors and Headington Action, and they hope someone from the project team will be there to hear concerns and answer questions.

Public meeting notice

 

The Estates Department of OUH NHS Foundation Trust has started a twitter account to tell people about the Energy Project (it’s so much more than a heatpipe!). You can find them @OUH_Estates.

The long-delayed work to renovate Oxford’s tower blocks, including Northway & Wood Farm, will start in January.

Finders Keepers letting agency @FKLetting opened on London Road.

The @BartonPark_ housebuilders Hill won the Housebuilder of the Year award.

Here’s a nice little snippet of local news from @friendlyevalley

Firefighters were called to the (unstaffed) telephone exchange behind the Shell petrol station on London Road on Thursday. The fire was caused by a battery overheating. My favourite Headington-related tweet of the week:  

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

  • Disruption
  • How will new Oxford to London train service affect your trips to London?
  • Is it an Intelligence Test?
  • Join us today – on #GivingTuesday!
  • BARTON LINK ROAD PROTEST
  • Car sharing
  • Link Road Protest
  • Jack Russell Pub
  • Housing
  • Jaya’s Deli – new shop on London Road where Turkish grocery used to be

Headington Headlines #242

TonyOX3

Here’s my weekly round-up of local news for 23 – 29 November.

The Headington Heatpipe story broke in the local mainstream media on Monday, with coverage on BBC Radio Oxford and in The Oxford Mail. The reports mainly focussed on the unexplained refusal of the OUH NHS Hospitals Trust to do anything to allay residents’ anxieties. It was also a hot topic at Tuesday’s Ward Focus meeting. The Trust is holding an invitation-only briefing for the media and local Councillors today (Monday): expect more details soon.

After more than a month, the County Council finally got a court order on Monday requiring the travellers camped on the Marston Ferry Road cycle track to leave. They left on Tuesday.

Confusion still reigns over the shop being prepared next to the Post Office, the old BBB Stores. One rumour says it will be an off-licence, but no licence application has been made. A competing rumour is that it will be a halal butcher. Place your bets!

Residents in Wood Farm and Lye Valley have been canvassed about whether they would support a new Aldi store on the site of Curry’s (adjacent to Homebase) on Horspath Driftway.

Photographer @Howard_S from Old Headington won @BBOWT‘s Photographer of the Month accolade for this fern photo.

An accident involving a car and a pedestrian caused long delays on the city-bound A40 on Wednesday evening. The female pedestrian had head and arm injuries and was taken to the JR. Her condition was said to be ‘not serious’.

The Black Boy in Old Headington @TheBlackBoyFood wants to branch out. They’ve submitted a planning application (ref: 15/03259/FUL) to convert the first floor of the gastropub to provide five guest bedrooms and a flat.

The Crown and Thistle pub on Old Road, which has been closed since 2012, has been put on the market for leasing at £22,500 p.a. The Oxford Mail article speculates that this may be a move designed to demonstrate it is not commercially viable as a pub in the hope it will then be easier to get permission to develop the site for other uses, probably housing.

My favourite Headington-related tweet of the week:

— Headington Plan (@HeadingtonPlan) November 28, 2015

Spare a thought for @HeadingtonNews, the long-suffering moderator of the e-democracy forum which this week has seen an outpouring of claim and counter-claim about the Barton Park – Northway access link. Threads on the forum have become so tangled it’s impossible to follow a coherent line. The problem’s not helped by an East Oxford rumour being sneaked in under cover of Northway.

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

  • Housing
  • Travellers along the Marston Ferry cycle track
  • Northway Green access road
  • Jack Russell Pub
  • Marston
  • Councillors opinions outweighing what is right……
  • Foxwell Drive
  • Photo of demolition squad in Foxwell Drive
  • saving Foxwell Drive Green space
  • New Aldi store could replace Currys off Horspath Driftway in Oxford
  • Jaya’s Deli – new shop on London Road where Turkish grocery used to be
  • Local concert this evening!
  • Supporting something for the greater good for one side, is not good if at the expense of the other side!
  • EOCC / Foxwell Drive