Headington Headlines #258

Your weekly round-up of local news for 14 – 20 March.

In a surprise announcement the OUH NHS Trust and VialEnergi said they were taking more planning advice and would submit a revised planning application for the heatpipe covering two alternative routes – the original route and another via Lime Walk instead of Stapleton Road. They intend to submit the application in time for the June East Area Planning Committee.

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

The shop that was the dry cleaners next to Up & Running is being refitted. It is reported that it will be a Card Factory shop. Card Factory is a chain of over 800 stores and it looks like they will be competing to a greater or lesser extent with @frogorange, Daisy Chain and Pen to Paper. They already have a store in Cowley.

A mobile bike servicing and repair service has started operating out of Headington Quarry. It’s called Quarry Cycle Services and is of course on twitter as @quarry_cycles. Details of services offered and charges are on their website.

The application for three five-bedroomed houses on the site of the former Quarry Gate pub has been refused, and the one to turn two residential units behind the old Headington Post Office into a six-bedroom HMO has been approved.

The Garden florist shop turned yellow in support of Oxford United playing in the Johnson’s Paints Trophy final at Wembley on 3 April.

Staying on a horticultural theme, Monty Don’s “Big Dreams Small Spaces” show featured a garden in Headington.

No hesitation this week over my favourite OX3-related tweet:

The Headington & Marston e-democracy forum has been particularly vitriolic this week with new threads being started willy-nilly and moderator @headingtonnews having to appeal for an end to personal attacks. Active topics this week:

  • Guardian story the danger posed by the Northway link road
  • Latimer Road
  • Revesing [sic] bleepers
  • Tower block refurbishment
  • New type speed camera on Marston Road
  • Northway and Marston Flood Alleviation scheme
  • Disruption
  • Re Election
  • R Darke
  • Noise and air pollution on Foxwell drive
  • Quarry Gate pub
  • New road humps (Access to Headington)
  • The Headington Plan – whats next? (August 2015) – Parking at the JR
  • Northway Estate