Life in and around Headington & OX3 (mostly), and Oxford (occasionally)
"To every complex problem there is a simple solution, startling in its simplicity, piercing in its clarity, and hopelessly and completely wrong" - Gore Vidal.
It’s been a bit quiet in OX3 this week. Here’s a rather sparse round-up of local news for 16 – 22 April.
Oxford High Street will be closed to traffic from The Plain to King Edward Street from 0200 to 0900 on May morning (Tuesday 1 May). The ban includes bicycles, both ridden and pushed.
@RuthWilk reports that a roadworks alert database indicates the Access to Headington work on Headley Way may start this week.
First alert has gone out for Access to H works in Headley Way – dates given on Elgin for scheme are 23 April-18 Feb with lane closure alert. Trees to be felled shortly after checking no birds nesting in them
A full planning application to build one 3-bed and two 4-bed houses on the site of The Quarry Gate has been submitted and is on the City Council website (ref: 18/00939/FUL).
My favourite Headington-related tweet:
Lye Valley was very springlike this morning: blue and green instead of grey and brown pic.twitter.com/nm4kwAHgYc
Your weekly round-up of local news for 19 – 25 March.
In a rather bizarre fashion the Oxfordshire Growth Board revealed the projects to be carried out in the first year of the Growth and Housing Deal recently signed by the Oxford/shire councils. The Oxford Mail had the story before there was anything on the Growth Board’s website, and before Councillors or County officers were informed. The Board has not actually met to approve the spending – they do that this week. It all seems a bit topsy-turvy.
However, the good news (OK, some people may disagree) is that the Headley Way Access to Headington money has been more than covered, and work will start on the full scheme soon after Easter. It will run until about Christmas. The additional funding means that the crossing on the London Road by the bus gate at the end of Osler Road has been reinstated to the programme, although as plans stand at the moment it will amount to little more than a central refuge – no zebra or light controls for pedestrians. The County’s Access to Headington web page has a little more information.
Elsewhere, the County has opened a consultation on its proposal to introduce double yellow lines for the entire length of The Slade on both sides of the road, with exemptions for loading and access to properties. Cyclists will hope this will help stop people parking on the nice new segregated cycle paths. The consultation page tells you how you can comment.
Another theft of an upmarket car; this time a Mercedes stolen in Burchester Avenue, Barton, by a thief or thieves hooking the keys through a catflap.
The two bus companies are having to adjust their services and reduce some frequencies to cope with traffic congestion in the city. The 8 and 9 services are among those affected. The changes come into effect from Sunday 8 April.
A ‘fit trail’ was opened in Barton on Wednesday. Has anyone tried it yet?
The flats on the site of the old snooker club at the top of Windmill Road are being marketed by Keble Homes. It looks like they are only interested in selling to people who work at, or aspire for their children to go to, private schools in the area.
The eagerly anticipated new magazine Headington Occasional (see last week’s HH) has launched a crowdfunder.
Your weekly round-up of local news for 12 – 18 February.
Here’s @RuthWilk‘s damning account of how private companies run rings round the City and County enforcement procedures, in this case in Latimer Road.
A woman from Headington is one of a pair who plan to canoe from England to the Black Sea to raise money for charity.
The Friends of St Nicholas Primary School in Marston are raising money to pay for the children of the school to repaint the mural in the underpass at the Old Marston end of Marston Ferry Road. Donations welcome!
The car park behind Waitrose has been resurfaced.
Agents acting for Christ Church College have submitted a ‘Scoping Application’ for a potential Barton Park-sized development on College-owned land northwest of Barton Park. There will be many hurdles to get over if this development ever gets agreed, not least that the land is Green Belt and isn’t allocated for development in South Oxfordshire DC’s new local plan. The application (ref P18/S0399/SCO) is on the SODC website.
Christ Church College land
Intermittent Access to Headington work goes on while the County sorts out the money for the Headley Way phase of the full scheme. The small roundabout at the main enrance to the JR has been removed and replaced with a temporary roundabout pending conversion of the junction to traffic light control when the scheme goes ahead.
