Here’s my weekly round-up of local news for 17 – 23 June.

The big news of the week was the launch of what people are loving to describe as a ‘Boris Bike’ scheme in Headington. It’s proper name is Oxonbike, on twitter as @Oxonbike. You can pick bikes up and drop them off at Thornhill P&R, the JR, Nuffield and Churchill hospitals, the Old Road campus and on London Road (see below). A seventh site will open at Brookes/Gipsy Lane. For detailed information and discussion you can look at the Oxonbike web page and FAQ and the Headington & Marston e-democracy forum thread.

The location of one of the Oxonbike stations directly outside St Andrew’s School on London Road (it’s described as ‘Headington Shops’) has been criticised, not least because no-one including local councillors or the school was consulted about it. The County Council and Oxonbike operators Grandscheme have apologised for their ‘oversight’ and offered to relocate it if a better alternative can be found.

As I reported last week the outline planning application for Barton West has been published. @TheOxfordMail covered the story, focussing on the divided opinion about the scheme’s merits. Despite the complexity of the application developers @BartonOxford tell me there are no plans for any public exhibition.

Meanwhile, objectors to the proposed Barton West access road have succeeded in having their application for land on Foxwell Drive to be declared a Town Green accepted by the County Council. There will now be a consultation period before the application is decided.

Environmental Health officers from Oxfordshire CC removed two sound systems and a TV from a house in Sherwood Place, Barton after noise complaints from neighbours.

You can have your wedding reception in Headington Hill Park. It appears to be a joint venture between @OxfordCity and a Headington-based company called Total Event Management @TotalEventMgmt.

A man was stabbed in the shoulder on the corner of Gladstone Road and London Road on Wednesday.

An programme to build self-esteem in teenage girls run by Barton-based @ThriveBarton operating within charity Innovista was described in @TheOxfordMail.

Some people in Marston and Headington – and further afield – were annoyed by the sound of loud music and fireworks on Friday and Saturday night. College balls seem to have been to blame, but Marston’s own village fête fireworks may also have contributed.

Some of Headington’s gardens were open on Sunday as part of the Open Gardens scheme.

My favourite Headington-related tweet of the week:

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

• Headington cycling signs
• Family search
• Black Boy pub
• Headington bike hire scheme
• Noise in Quarry
• Supermarkets in Headington
• Headington Neighbourbood Plan and the Wood Farm area
• Shops and businesses in Headington
• Joe Mcmanners
• Balls