Headington Headlines #214

Here’s my weekly round-up of local news for 11 – 17 May.

On Monday, work started on the site of the new access junction for @BartonPark_ with lane restrictions on the Headington-bound side of the Northern Bypass (A40). On Wednesday there was an official groundbreaking ceremony to mark the start of the development proper.

If you missed the presentation of the developers’ latest plans for Phase 1 last Monday and Saturday, there’s a final chance on Tuesday from 4 – 7 pm at the Northway Community Centre in Dora Carr Close. When they submit their formal planning application there will be the usual opportuntiy to comment via the City Council. They have distributed a flyer with some general information about the development.

The Headington Shark featured on Channel 4 on Monday, in a programme called “Damned Designs – Don’t Demolish My Home.

Oxforshire County Council announced it intends to cut £2.3m from the bus services it supports. The Dial-a-Ride service is to go, but the other services to be affected have not yet been announced. The occasional H1 and H2 services which connect Headington shops with Old Marston, Sandhills and Quarry are possible targets, and the 280 service to Aylesbury might also be a victim. For anyone unfamiliar with the H1 and H2 routes, this is when they run.

Starting on Bank Holiday Monday (25 May), @CreationTheatre are running “Put On A Play In A Week” drama workshops for 6 – 8 and 9 – 12 year-olds in Headington Baptist Church.

The much anticipated closure of Headington Post Office in its present home and a move to the Co-op has been confirmed, with the Post Office opening a consultation on the proposal. Within the consultation it says the new Office will be fully open all day Saturday and offer “selected services” late and on Sundays.

Is St Leonard’s Road car park Headington’s version of the Bermuda Triangle? Weird happenings have been reported.

My favourite Headington-related tweet of the week:

At least three Headington people received Certificates of Honour at Town Hall yesterday: Liz Grosvenor, Carolyn Gulliver, and Marie Vickers

— Headington News (@HeadingtonNews) May 12, 2015

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

  • Petitioning Oxfordshire County Council for Quarry Hollow Traffic Calming and pedestrian safety
  • Headington Post Office
  • Access road from Barton to Northway Estate
  • Barton Park development
  • Revised Proposals for the Development of Holy Trinity, Headington Quarry
  • Electronic issues in St Leonard’s Road Car Park
  • Here we go – scapegoating again.
  • School Places
  • Cafe Culture
  • Lye Valley
I 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.