Bury Knowle

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 #177

TonyOX3

Here’s my weekly round-up of a very quiet week for local news 18 – 24 August.

A traffic accident involving a car and a motorbike on Wednesday evening closed Headley Way for a while. Stagecoach and Oxford Bus buses diverted through Northway.

Another carved wooden statue has recently appeared in the Narnia-themed playground in Bury Knowle Park. Picture c/o @headingtonnews, identification as Reepicheep c/o @Howard_S. But Howard also points out that since installation, Reepicheep has lost his tail *and* his sword. How humiliating for this most fearless of knightly warriors!

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

  • Excessively bright light at Tesco ATM
  • Cherwell drive slip road
  • Barton to Kidlington bus
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 #163

TonyOX3

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

A report from the Quality Care Commission identified a number of areas where the JR Hospital needs to make improvements. A report in The Oxford Mail by @OllieOxMail has a full summary.

Planned road works on the Ring Road at the Kiln Lane junction for Risinghurst mean that entry to and exit from the estate will be severely restricted for about three weeks, starting on 27 May. Residents say it means they will be living on ‘an island’. The work is for “new signal poles and toucan crossing aspects”. A Council spokesman said the work will improve cycle links between Headington and Thornhill P&R, and will cost about £40,000.

After reports on twitter on Wednesday evening of police activity outside Macdonalds, this story came out the following day. A young boy was injured, thankfully not seriously, in a road accident involving a Renault Clio on The Roundway.

Headington Plan @HeadingtonPlan has set up several Policy Groups to consult on and develop policies for inclusion in the Neighbourhood Plan. Get in touch with them if you’d like to be part of the work.

In an operation on Thursday morning police issued nearly 50 tickets in traffic checks at the Headington roundabout and Bayswater Road. Sixteen drivers were issued tickets for flouting right turn bans, while 11 were fined for not wearing seatbelts. Drivers were also caught using phones and speeding in a 30mph limit.

The new Principal of Ruskin College is Dr Chris Wilkes, who has been Acting Pricipal since the departure of Audrey Mullender.

Two concrete slabs have been placed in Bury Knowle Park as bases for table-tennis tables. People are upset about the unforgiving material and the lack of any consultation which would have allowed other options to be considered. The e-democracy forum has the story.

The postponed Marston Parish Council election will be held on Thursday 26 June. The polling station will be in Mortimer Hall.

My favourite Headington-related tweet of the week:

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

  • Its time Oxford had a congestion charge
  • Hi from Bartonia
  • Housing Policy in Headington
  • Concrete in Bury Knowle Park – lack of consultation
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.