Headington Headlines #373

TonyOX3

Your weekly round-up of local news for 18 – 24 June.

The advisory cycle tracks at the top end of Headley Way have been removed and the central white line shifted. ‘Cyclists Dismount’ signs appeared but after protests they were removed on Tuesday afternoon. The County highways engineers said they had been mistakenly left after some earlier work for which they were needed.

County Councillor Glynis Phillips (Barton, Sandhills & Risinghurst) is pressing for the right turn from the A40 into Collinwood Road to be re-opened for the duration of the sewer repair works which have closed Green Road. She says temporary traffic lights would prevent the kind of accidents which happened on the A40 before the junction was closed.

The closure of the Six Bells pub in Quarry is confirmed. Greene King are looking for new tenants.

Back in November last year, shortly after the new Westgate opened, I wrote a critical article about the lack of cycle parking spaces at the new development. I was sceptical about whether the promised number of spaces required under Westgate’s planning conditions would ever be provided. Now eight months later it seems the requirement might almost have been met. Exact numbers are still uncertain, but the Oxford Mail reports Cyclox as being fairly happy with the latest situation.

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

  • Chinese Dance and Martial Arts at Oxford Festival of the Arts

Headington Headlines #372

TonyOX3

Your weekly round-up of local news for 11 – 17 June.

File under “Oh no, not more roadworks!” A collapsed sewer in Green Road means the road will be closed for about three weeks while Thames Water carry out the necessary repairs.

Oxford Bus Company’s ‘Pick-me-Up’ service starts on Monday 25 June. It will operate within the area shown on the map below. Within the zone a minibus picks you up more-or-less anywhere and takes you to within a short walk of your chosen destination for a fixed fare of £2.50. You’ll need the app on your smartphone. Full details here pickmeup.oxfordbus.co.uk/.

Pick-me-Up operating area
Pick-me-Up operating area

The collapse of South Oxfordshire’s local plan means the choice of housing sites in the district has gone back to square one. Land at Wick Farm and on the Christ Church College land next to Barton Park, both of which had been rejected in the original proposals, is now back on the agenda. Watch this space for updates.

Oxford Civic Society added its voice to the chorus of objections to the siting of the proposed Swan School at the Harlow Centre in Marston. “A quart into a pint pot”; “based on expediency”; “the site is far too small”; traffic managemnt measures, especially for cycles, are “implausible”.

So far I’ve had two leaflets through my letterbox promoting LibDem Stefanie (‘Stef’) Garden @SGarden13 as Ruth Wilkinson’s replacement. Nothing yet from declared Conservative and Labour candidates, and I don’t know if the Green’s will be fielding anyone. The poll is on Thursday 19 July.

The Costa Coffee drive-thru [sic] at the Horspath Driftway trading estate (where Aldi is) officially opens today, although informed sources say it’s been open for quite a few days.

My favourite Headington-related tweet:

Once again there were no new posts on the Headington & Marston e-democracy forum this week:

Headington Headlines #371

TonyOX3

Your weekly round-up of local news for 4 – 10 June.

Although the news broke in the previous week, Headington Headlines couldn’t ignore the decision by Ruth Wilkinson to stand down as a city councillor due to over-riding family reasons. Since I moved to Headington other Councillors have come and gone but Ruth has always been Councillor for my Ward. She has published a personal statement on her website. Whatever anyone’s political stance, no-one can deny that Ruth has been a hard-working and tireless councillor on behalf of ‘her’ Headington residents. She will be a hard act to follow and I give her my very best wishes as she devotes more time to her family caring responsibilites.

The three main parties have announced their candidates for the by-election triggered by Ruth’s resignation. The LibDem candidate is Stefanie Garden @SGarden13; Stefanie lives in Staunton Road and stood in St Mary’s Ward in May, coming fourth. Simon Ottino @SimonOttinotwit stands for Labour; Simon lives in Margaret Road and came second [edited from earlier incorrect version] in the recent city election for Headington Ward. The Conservatives are fielding Georgina Gibbs @Georgin54979582 (you’ll have to fix that twitter handle, Georgina) who lives in Saxon Way and ran for Headington Hill & Northway in May where she came third. The by-election will be on 19 July.

Old Marston Parish Council voted to oppose the planning application for the Swan School. One of several concerns is that cyclists using the Marston Ferry Road cycle track might lose priority, which of course would affect students heading for the Cherwell School.

The Local Government Boundary Commission has published its draft proposals for Ward boundary changes in Oxford. The proposals look to be close to those in the City Council’s cross-party recommendations published in March which I covered in HH 361. You can have your say; consultation closes on 13 August.

It looks like this is the end of Jacob’s Brasserie.

A decision by the Consistory Court of the Diocese of Oxford has ruled that the locally controversial extension to Holy Trinity Church in Headington Quarry should be allowed to go ahead.

A surface water flood believed to be from a burst water main in the grounds of Headington School caused bad flooding at the Headley Way London Road junction on Saturday.

There were no posts on the Headington & Marston e-democracy forum this week.