burglary

Headington Headlines #197

TonyOX3

Here’s my weekly round-up of local news for 12 – 18 January.

Temple Bookbinders of Stephen Road have been awarded a Royal Warrant. This means they can now describe themselves as “By appointment to HM The Queen”. The Oxford Mail report cites Bentley cars as another warrant holder, which is fine, but I’m not so sure about the comparison with baked beans (Heinz) and Creme Eggs (Cadbury).

@HeadingtonA, who organise the Farmers’ Market, say they are working on bringing more stall-holders in after the number of traders dropped earlier this month.

Fire crews attended a ‘small engine fire‘ on an @OxfordBusCo bus in Wood Farm on Tuesday. No passengers were affected.

Headington Hill Park car park (the one at the bottom of the Park) will be closed from today (19 Jan) while a new access road to the properties inside the Park is built.

A man was sentenced to three years imprisonment for two burglaries last October, one in Northway and one in Tilehouse Close.

In a well-signalled move, @Oxford_Brookes announced their long-term plan to move all teaching, research and supporting activity from Wheatley over the next ten years. This will obviously have a major effect on the Headington Campus and Headington generally, and the university has promised thorough consultation. Their official announcement has much more detail and is worth reading. I will write more on this story as it unfolds.

It was almost exactly two years ago I first reported that developers Haboakus had submitted two planning applications for sites in Northway (see this map). The ‘Hab’ part of their name is celebrity architect Kevin McCloud’s company, although in what way if any he may be personally involved is not clear. Now at last work has started on the Dora Carr Close site which will provide 47 new homes: 15 three-bedroom houses, 4 four-bedroom houses and 28 one and two bedroom flats, and a state-of-the-art community centre. The buildings have been designed by architects Allford Hall Monaghan Morris of Camberwell, London. A search on this blog for Haboakus will give you the past hisory of this development.

In Headington Headlines 195 I reported that the Bury Knowle Club was on the market for £300k. Now Oxford-based Keble Homes has submitted a planning application (Ref 15/00062/FUL) to convert the Club, which is on the first floor of the shops on the west side of Windmill Road, into flats.

Starting today (Monday) diversions will be in place as work on the St Clements/Plain junction begins. City-bound traffic will be diverted down Dawson Street onto the Cowley Road to reach The Plain. Headington-bound traffic will use the Cowley Road, then Jeune Street to get back onto St Clements. Details and maps here.

Bill Simpson, of BBB Stores on London Road next to the Post Office, had a sarcastic letter published in the Oxford Mail under the title "Reasons to come to Headington".

My favourite Headington-related tweet of the week:

Wikipedia knows about ‘manicule‘ but oxforddictionaries doesn’t.

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

  • Brookes moving teaching facilities from Wheatley to Headington
  • New Headington bus routes
  • Bury Knowle Club in Windmill Road
  • Brookes Estates Strategy
  • The Economist on Oxford/Cambridge
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 #187

TonyOX3

Here’s my weekly round-up of local news for 27 October – 2 November.

Holy Trinity Church in Quarry published revised plans for extending the building to provide a purpose-built toilet for those with disabilities and a small crèche/meeting-room and kitchen. Previous plans were rejected after considerable concerns expressed by parishioners.

Risinghurst’s fireworks will be on Saturday 8 November. Gates open at 6.30, tickets £3 for adults, £2 for children over 5 years old. It is the same evening as the big display in South Park.

The developers who want to build student accommodation on the corner of Latimer and London Roads – Frontier Estates – changed their minds about presenting their proposals at the Headington Ward Focus meeting on Tuesday and decided not to attend. The same people have been actively looking for sites in the Windmill Road/Kennett Road area but have not endeared themselves to local residents. There’s no indication on their website that they have any experience of delivering student accommodation, and their non-attendance at the meeting last week won’t help them win support for their Latimer Road scheme.

Law firm @WithyKing who took over local solicitors Edward Pilling (see Headington Headlines 185) made legal headlines when they took a pro bono case in the Family Court in Swindon. The lack of legal aid led the judge to make a scathing attack on government policy.

A mature Scots pine tree in Bury Knowle Park had to be cut down after developing a dangerous split in last week’s high winds. @grnlbs made this video of the job being done.

Two cars, a Mini and a Smart Car, were stolen from a house in Sandfield Road early on Thursday morning. It’s thought the thief or thieves entered the house through an unsecured front door and took the keys from the entrance hall.

Oxford City Council has produced a list of buildings throughout the city which will become free wifi hotspots next year under a Government scheme. Barton Neighbourhood Centre, Headington Community Centre, Northway Community Centre, Risinghurst Community Centre, Headington Library, Old Marston Library and Thornhill Park and Ride are all included.

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

  • Marston Park and Ride
  • Risinghurst Fireworks
  • Revised Proposals for the Development of Holy Trinity, Headington Quarry
  • Oxford Fiddle Group Concert – Headington Quarry
  • New coach service from Thornhill to London
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 #173

TonyOX3

Here’s my weekly round-up of local news for 21 – 27 July.

A cyclist suffered head and leg injuries and was taken to hospital after a collision outside the Shell petrol station early on Tuesday morning. His injuries were said to be serious but not life-threatening.

A police operation in Northway on Monday morning resulted in 50 drivers being stopped and one car confiscated. Some bizarre and worrying examples in the brief report.

There’s talk of forming a cricket team in Marston. Contact @OldMarstonPC if you’re interested.

Friends of Quarry are considering putting in a bid for the Stansfeld Outdoor Centre, although the property is not yet on the market.

There’s been a spate of burglaries in Headington and Marston.

The Co-Wheels car sharing club has been named a Social Innovation Pioneer by corporate consultants Deloitte.

My favourite Headington-related tweet of the week:

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

  • Smoking at JR Hospital
  • Carterton/Witney bus to JR Hospital
  • Fitness Classes in Piper St Scout Hall
  • Headington bike hire scheme
  • Satellite dish outside Tesco
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.