Headington Headlines #207

TonyOX3

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

Andrew Smith has changed his twitter account until after the election. He is now @VoteAndrewSmith.

Churches Together in Headington have organised a hustings on 9 April, 8 – 9.30pm in Headington Baptist Church on Old High Street. You can pre-register your questions on their facebook page, where there are more details of the event. There’s a video too, encouraging everyone to turn out, get informed, and vote.

The Manor Surgery in Osler Road is one of three across the County to share in £6.4m funding to expand services. Manor’s £1.2m will pay for six new consultation rooms and two practice nurse rooms. The practice has said it would like to offer space for an out-of-hours service and community-based specialist clinics.

Councillor @RuthWilk has had confirmation from the City Council that the Bury Knowle solar panels are to stay, with some modification to their position.

Blackbird Leys based dance club @MessyJamOxford organised by Barton’s @EshaMessyjam won 147 trophies at in international dance festival in Lincolnshire.

A car fire in Barton Village Road closed the road for a time on Saturday. There were no reports of any injuries.

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

  • Could installing a cable car commuter system be the answer to Oxford’s congestion?
  • School Places
  • Pavement clutter
  • Solar Panels in Bury Knowle Park
  • Election hustings
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.

Headington Headlines #206

TonyOX3

Here’s my weekly round-up of local news for 16 – 22 March.

A collision involving a car and a motorbike closed the London Road near the Lime Walk junction for a time on Monday afternoon. On Thursday a bus and a car collided outside the Churchill Hospital and a man was taken to hospital for treatment.

The Barton Road / London Road junction is closed until Tuesday 31 March. There’s no access in or out at that end.

Headington Festival’s @HeadingtonFest new website went live with details of this year’s fun and frolics. Saturday and Sunday 30 and 31 May – put the dates in your diary!

@RyeStAntony School launched their new website.

Planning permission has been given for the change of use of Kennett House offices (above Iceland) to residential. This was given under the new permitted development rules introduced by the coalition government.

Friends of Quarry are publicly looking for partners who can help them bid to buy the Stansfeld Outdoor Centre, which they registered as an Asset of Community Value. The back story is in these HH articles, and my brief “what happens next” is here.

A muntjac deer got jammed upside down between two walls in Stephen Road on Monday and had to be released by the Fire & Rescue Service and the RSPCA. It was relatively unharmed and was released in “nearby woods”.

Olympic rowing gold medallist Dr Katherine Grainger CBE was inaugurated as the new Chancellor of @Oxford_Brookes University on Friday. The ceremony was followed by the formal ‘opening’ of the John Henry Brookes Building.

My favourite Headington-related tweet of the week:

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

  • City Council looks to residents for Barton Park street name ideas
  • drains
  • Solar panels in Bury Knowle Park
  • School Places
  • St. George’s day in Headington
  • Could installing a cable car commuter system be the answer to Oxford’s congestion?
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.

Headington Headlines #205

TonyOX3

Here’s my weekly round-up of local news for 9 – 15 March.

The mystery noticeboard which appeared last week on the corner of Headington Road and Headley Way acquired its first notices on Monday – posters for performances at the Oxford Playhouse and the New Theatre.

The fire in Colemans Hill, which was breaking news as last week’s Headington Headlines went to press, is being treated as arson. Three people were taken to hospital for treatment.

Police released an image of a man they want to question in connection with an assault that happened in The White Horse on Sunday 1 March.

Lovers of the 29 Old High Street saga will be both delighted and dismayed, even angry, to learn that Martin Young will not be prosecuted for failing to bring his property up to standard because the Council has run out of time for the legal process. Local taxpayers will now have to pick up the bill of at least £16,000, including Mr Young’s costs.

The decision to remove the solar panels from the roofs of the new houses facing Bury Knowle Park (see HH204 or this Oxford Times article) has triggered one of the biggest local outcries since the suggestion of building on the Waitrose car park. Posts on the e-democracy forum queried the need to remove the panels, saying the need for renewable energy outweighed and visual impact. You can even sign a petition calling on the Council not to remove them. However, Friends of Old Headington and Friends of Bury Knowle Park take the opposing view, while Cllr Roy Darke has said on the forum that he believes the panels will now stay.

The City Council, which is responsible for naming new streets, is asking Barton & Northway residents for suggestions for the names of over 30 new streets in the Barton Park development. The Barton Community website says you can tweet your suggestions to @oxcitycommunity with the hashtag #BartonSNN. There are also links for email, facebook, and even a good old-fashioned drop-in box.

Two sheds in Risinghurst (aka Headington, according to the Oxford Mail) caught fire late on Saturday night. Arson is suspected.

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

  • Solar panels in Bury Knowle Park
  • Local transport plan consultation (including controversial new route to Churchill)
  • School Places
  • Undelivered Mail Returned to Sender
  • 29 Old High Street (again)
  • Headington Post Office
  • City Council looks to residents for Barton Park street name ideas
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.