Headington Headlines

Headington Headlines #128

TonyOX3

Here’s my weekly round-up of local news for 2 – 8 September.

The development of Bury Knowle Park for housing was approved on Wednesday. The Warren Crescent (Lye Valley) decision was deferred.

Oxfordshire County Council released their final recommendations for the London Road bus lane improvements which will go before cabinet member Cllr David Nimmo Smith @DNimmoSmit1 for approval on 12 September. I wrote a blog article about it.

@TheMasonsArmsHQ held this year’s Headington beer festival over the weekend and had sold out by Sunday!

Headington’s pawnbroker The Trade £xchange has closed down, and @OxFurniture who only moved to Headington a few months ago have been given three months’ notice to quit by their landlord.

The house in Holyoake Road where C S Lewis lived for 7 years is up for sale as a redevelopment opportunity.

The outdoor screening of ‘Brave’ in Bury Kowle Park finally happened after being postponed twice beause of poor weather.

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

  • Electric car charging points in Headington
  • Quarry Gate pub
  • Aerial photographs of Headington and Marston
  • Proposed Changes to Green Road Roundabout
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 #127

TonyOX3

Here’s my weekly round-up of local news for 26 August – 1 September.

To many people’s surprise @OxfordshireCC launched a consultation asking for thoughts on traffic and transport problems and solutions in and around Headington. Read my comments here and respond to the Council here.

In Thursday’s debate on Syria Local MP Andrew Smith @OxfordLabourMP voted for the Labour amendment (which failed) and against the Government motion backing military intervention. Oxford’s other MP @NicolaBlackwood (Con) voted the other way.

A nasty episode came to an end when two people, one of them from Bonar Road, were jailed for four years for a prolonged and vicious assault on a man living in Wood Farm.

The @Victoria Arms beer festival happened over the weekend, and @TheMasonsArmsHQ‘s beer festival is next weekend.

The White Horse on the London Road has started charging people to use its car park. It’s to deter students and commuters using it for long-stay parking. A two-hour stay costs £2. If you spend £5 or more in the pub you get your £2 back.

The ninth annual Barton Bash took place on Saturday.

Headington Road Runners @HeadingtonRR staged the Headington 5 run on Sunday. The event earned some criticism because a marshalling error meant the route was only about 4.5 miles, disappointing some competitors who’d hoped to record good personal times for 5 miles.

Someone is stealing the toilet rolls from Bury Knowle Park toilets. So far police have not appealed for information, but some awful jokes did the rounds on twitter (no, I’m not repeating them).

Feel-good story of the week – a young man, Jorge Villaescusa, who lives in Headington chased after a bike thief in Cornmarket and was able to return the bike to its grateful owner.

There are some significant Headington meetings coming up in the next two weeks. On Wednesday this week the East Area Planning Committee meets in the Town Hall to decide on the planning applications for Bury Knowle Park depot and the Warren Crescent garages (which might affect the Lye Valley SSSI). See the e-democracy forum for more information on these two. The following week the Headington Ward Focus meeting on Tuesday 10th has the County’s transport strategy as the main topic and County officers have said they will attend. The Headington Transport Group is meeting on the same day, again with the transport strategy as the main agenda item.

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

  • Lilac rubbish sacks and compulsory wheelie bins
  • Headington Transport Strategy Consultation
  • Planning meeting re Bury Knowle Park depot, and Warren Crescent
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 #126

TonyOX3

Here’s my weekly round-up of local news for 19 – 25 August.

The improvements to the Croft Road cycle path in Marston have been delayed because the company supplying two bridges has gone bust, according to a message on the Marston Cycle Path flood information message board.

The official announcement of the new Headington bus routes finally emerged on Monday. The services are being subsidised with £1.2m from the Department for Transport’s Local Sustainable Transport Fund (LSTF). I assume that’s £0.4m for each of the three years of the initial contracts. Peter Headicar of Oxford Brookes University sent me a considered appraisal.

The people who run Brambles own the business and the premises. They’re selling because they want to retire.

@SunderSandher, who runs the Londis store, has reminded everyone that the shop will soon be open 24hrs a day.

The Wood Farm neighbourhood policing team moved to a new base at the Churchill Hospital on Tuesday.

The planning application to build three houses on the car park next to the Crown & Thistle on Old Road has been approved.

The Prime Minister has a bad back. It is thought he was treated at the Nuffield on Monday.

The campaign by Cllr @laurencepbaxter to persuade Oxfordshire County Council to reinstate the right turn into Risinghurst from the A40 continued. He tells me that if the County Council can’t or won’t fund a crossing with safety improvements – preferably a crossing with lights – it would be difficult to justify re-opening the turn.

Ther are reports that Hill View Farm in Marston may be turned into a conference centre. A twitter account @SaveOxfordFarm has been set up but as yet hasn’t really got going.

My favourite Headington-related tweet of the week:

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

  • Crown and Thistle
  • New Headington Bus Routes
  • Hill View Farm, Marston
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.