Bury Knowle

Headington Headlines #91

TonyOX3

Here’s my weekly round-up of local news for 17 – 23 December.

The Manor Hospital, run by private company Nuffield Health, has installed a new MRI scanner replacing the original equipment dating from when the hospital opened in 2004.

The Friends of Warneford Meadow have set up a limited company as a charity to raise funds to buy the meadow from the Department of Health. The meadow is expected to go on the market early in the New Year.

The overall plans for the Barton West development of some 900 new homes was signed off by the City Council on Monday. Looks like it’s going to happen folks! The next step is for the developers to put forward specific planning applications for consultation and approval.

A man was arrested in Headington’s Trade Exchange shop on Tuesday morning.

The West Wing Atrium of the JR Hospital was the venue for carol singing twice this week: Wednesday evening with The Salvation Army and Songsters, and on Friday afternoon with the Abingdon Brass Band.

The two men charged with raping a woman in Bury Knowle Park in September (see original report) pleaded not guilty at Oxford Crown Court on Thursday and will stand trial in February.

Two new shops are opening soon in Marston: Oxybox take-away and a butcher’s shop called ‘Marston Meat’. Both are in the parade on Marston Road next to the petrol station on Cherwell Drive.

Oxfordshire County Council has confirmed that work to rebuild the collapsed drains which cause the road at Headington cross-roads to flood in even moderate rain is scheduled for next month (Jan 2013). They have also announced that work on the planned expansion of Thornhill Park & Ride will start in January. This will provide 500 new parking spaces and cost an estimated £3.6m part of which will be met from the Government’s Local Sustainable Transport grant.

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

  • London Road Improvements Stage 3
  • Empty shops in Headington
  • Long-stay charging to begin at Park and Ride
I try to 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 #78

TonyOX3

Here’s my weekly round-up of local news for 10 – 16 September —

Two men arrested after an alleged rape in Bury Knowle Park on Tuesday night have been charged.

Headington’s specialist chocolate shop Coco Noir has a promotional video on Youtube.

Oxford Design (S side of London Road near Taylor’s estate agents) announced they will be moving to the Green Hangar, Stanton St John, on Monday 22 October.

Café Noir had a French Night on Friday – a six-course meal and music.

A traffic accident near the Shell station on London Road on Tuesday reportedly involving a car and a taxi caused buses to divert via Windmill Road, Old Road and Gipsy Lane for a short time. Fire engines also attended, apparently because it was close to the petrol station.

Five people were taken to hospital with neck and back injuries on Thurday evening after a two-car crash on the Eastern Bypass near Headington Quarry. The injuries were not believed to be life threatening.

My favorite Headington-related tweet this week:

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

  • Thornhill Park & Ride: proposed charges for 11+ hours
  • Should Windmill School grow to over 600 pupils?
I try to 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 #73

TonyOX3

There’ll be no Olympic gold letter box in Headington, but here’s my weekly round-up of what else was happening over the period 6 – 12 August —

Andrew Topping, manager of estate agents Breckon and Breckon is heading a new lobby group “to help keep the area’s shopping district vibrant”. The group is a reincarnation of an earlier group, Business Headington, which lapsed a while ago. The new group has adopted the same name.

A woman had her handbag snatched in Sherwood Place, Barton on Wednesday 1 August. @TVP_Oxford appealed for information.

The Headington Shark celebrated its 26th birthday on Thursday with a street party organised by @Bill_Heine. I put together a storify timeline about it, including some pictures.

Earlier on Thursday the BBC’s Frank Gardner reported live from Sandfield Road on the 1 o’clock news, covering the story about body parts retained at the JR Hospital.

The Oxford Family Sports Day took place in Bury Knowle Park on Sunday (yesterday).

My favorite Headington-related tweet this week:

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

  • Empty shops in Headington
  • Puddles Outside Waitrose
I try to 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.