Your weekly round-up of local news for 11 – 17 January.

It was a quiet week on the heatpipe front, at least in public. My round-up is here. 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.

The City Council is running a consultation with the people who own the leasehold of their properties in the Northway and Wood Farm tower blocks (and Cowley too) over the costs of the improvements the Council has announced (see HH 244 for original story). Cllr Mike Rowley has explained the Council’s position here.

Meanwhile, Oxford East Tories, led by aspiring council candidate Mark Bhagwandin @markb_gt, have sponsored the formation of an Oxford Towers Leaseholders’ Association to fight the Council over the charges.

Police raided a flat on Underhill Circus, Barton on Friday in a search for illegal drugs. They found cannabis and crack cocaine, and two people, both from Barton, were arrested.

The Ronald McDonald House Charity which provides accommodation for families of children in hospital has announced plans to build a 62 bedroom ‘hotel’ in the grounds of the JR. The charity currently has a 17-room unit on the top floor of the children’s hospital. The new building will be on the site of the tennis courts opposite Sandfield Nursery, currently being used for storage by Vital Energi. A planning application is expected in March.

An Extraordinary Board Meeting of Southern Health NHS Foundation Trust was held on Monday, but despite the serious criticisms of the Trust’s record none of the board members resigned. The following day Monitor (the national health regulator) announced they will appoint an expert to improve the way deaths are investigated, particularly those involving people with learning difficulties or with mental illnesses.

Back in August 2014 (see HH 175) a planning application to build a care home for dementia patients at 1 Pullens Lane was turned down by the East Area Planning Committee. Now another developer – Frontier Estates (they of the Latimer Road student accommodation proposals) – has put in a new application (ref: 15/03611/FUL) for a 55 bedroom care home on the same site. The Oxford Mail report is here.

 

I noted in HH 245 that Purple Zone, which includes Barton, had won the Blue Bin Recycling League prize in December. As a result, the Thrive project @thriveteams has received an award of £400 to support their work with young people on the estate.

Friends of Stansfeld @FofStansfeld joined twitter.

My favourite Headington-related tweet of the week:

@amwilson_opera @tinydooms Oh, I think it’s beautiful up the hill, particularly Old Headington. Love living here. Come and visit some time!

— Katherine Cooper (@ZwischenKath) January 13, 2016

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

• Headington Post Office
• Radio story Foxwell drive green space
• Pothole – Marston flyover slip
• City Council agrees energy pipe needs planning permission