Beech House

Headington Headlines #334

TonyOX3

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

The old Post Office, which has been a shop selling stationery since the PO closed, is to become a gallery for local artists.

BBC Countryfile reported on the @TheSpiritofToad distillery in South Park. It’s here on iPlayer until the end of the month – scroll through to 53’30”. (NB You have to register now to view BBC iPlayer).

The proposal for a 20mph speed limit for the whole of Windmill Road, which has always been part of the Access to Headington scheme, was approved by the County on Thursday. Thames Valley Police had objected on the grounds that people already drive faster and they doubt if they could enforce it. As they don’t enforce most other traffic restrictions this argument isn’t very convincing.

The new Swan School to be built in Marston moved a step closer as the River Learning Trust which will run the school announced contractors Galliford Try have been appointed to lead the design and build process.

A group of travellers moved onto the Margaret Road recreation ground on Thursday, but had gone by Friday evening.

The Tour of Britain passed briefly through OX3 on Saturday on the B4027 from Stanton St John to Islip. Here’s part of the peloton going through Islip.

The Tour of Britain passes through Islip
The Tour of Britain passes through Islip

Dr Anandagopal Srinivasan of Sandfield Road has been charged with two counts of sexual assault, one of which is alleged to have happened at the JR Hospital and the other at Addenbrooke’s in Cambridge.

The Mosaics (Barton Park) marketing office was opened over the weekend. There’s a thread about it on the e-democracy forum.

My favourite Headington-related tweet:

And finally, a tenuous link to Headington and only of interest to fans of professional cycling, EF Education First is  replacing Cannondale as sponsor of the current Cannondale-Drapac cycling team. Following what seems to be a trend for cycling teams to have ever more clunky names, the new team name will be Team EF Education-Drapac.

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

  • Travellers on Margaret Road play area
  • Travellers on Margaret Road
  • Barton Park Opening
  • Builder?

Headington Headlines #331

TonyOX3

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

It’s been a long saga, but the Headington Heatpipe has been turned on.

However, the whole system is not yet fully operational; the CHP (combined heat and power) engine isn’t yet commissioned.

There’s work going on at the ex-pet shop on the corner of Stile Road (opposite the Co-op), but as yet no information about what will be there. On the other side of the road the promised “Grill House Opening Soon” seems to have been on hold for the past month or more.

The shop that was last Morrison’s is to be a branch of franchise operation Heavenly Desserts.

@LeonardoLoredan has been mounting a one-man twitter campaign pointing out continuous breaches of agreed working conditions by Frontier Estates and their contractors Winvic on the Beech House site, Latimer Road.

The Oxford Mail reports that Independent Councillor for Marston, Mick Haines, is raising concerns about sewage flooding from the Barton Park development once people start moving in to the new properties. Provision of foul drainage capacity is a matter for Thames Water, and was a ‘reserved matter’ in the original outline planning permission for what was then West Barton. A Foul Water Strategy was prepared and the East Area Planning Committee approved the corresponding Condition 26 on 11 February 2015. Whether Cllr Haines is crying wolf remains to be seen, but I think I can hear a bandwagon approaching.

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

  • Local Plan 2036
  • Barton Park Prices

Headington Headlines #290

TonyOX3

Your weekly round-up of local news for 31 October – 6 November.

Work in the public realm on the heatpipe project, or hospital energy project to give it its proper name, is about to start again. It’s been confirmed that work on the JR Temporary Car Park will begin on 14 November and work on the residential roads on 28 November. For a summary of the latest information see my separate post which also has a link to the Trust’s letter to Highfield residents.

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

@ThatsOxon TV did a short piece on the Wychwood planning application next to the C S Lewis nature reserve. You can watch it here on YouTube.

Three Headington building projects won @OxfordPresTrust certificates – the Radcliffe Primary Care building, St Andrew’s Church tower in Old Headington and Maggie’s Oxford Centre at the Churchill Hospital.

On Friday 11 November Highfield Residents Association is putting on “an evening of music, poetry and reflection” in All Saints Church. Details here.

Southern Health’s new Chairman has announced a review of the Trusts’s operations.

Any hope of saving the Fairview pub in Glebelands has gone. The East Area Planning Committee agreed on Wednesday that it can be converted into a family home. The owner says he intends to live there with his family.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the by-pass, the campaign to save and re-open Risinghurst’s Ampleforth Arms @TheAmpRevival has a smart new website.

Locals are getting fed up with Beech House contractors’ vehicles parking on double yellow lines in Latimer Road.

Concillor RuthWilk has taken up the case with the developers Frontier Estates, who have come down hard on the contractors. Hopefully things will be better this week.

A @headingtonrr runner was hit by a lit firework thrown at him on Thursday evening in South Parks Road. His top caught fire but fortunately he didn’t suffer serious injury.

My favourite Headington-related tweet of the week:

Some e-democracy forum users seem to have a problem with the name Nielsen. We’ve already had Nielen. This week we’ve added Nielsen (correct), Nielson and Nelson. That just leaves Nilsson, Nilsen, Nilssen and Nielssen, I think. @headingtonnews has appealed for calm and consistency. It’s Nielsen everybody!

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

  • AC Nielen building and A40 surveying work
  • Apple juicer
  • Nielsen/Nielson/Nelson House
  • Oxford Winter Cycle Safety