Latimer Road

Headington Headlines #269

TonyOX3

Your weekly round-up of local news for 30 May – 5 June.

Vital Energi gave a preview of their latest and hopefully final plans for the heatpipe roadworks before they submit the planning application this week. Read my write-up 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.

Queen Street in the city centre is closed to all motor vehicles from today. Some bus routes are affected – see where to get on and off your Headington bus here. The same link has details of the @Stagecoach_Ox services affected by the cuts in the County Council’s subsidies. The 17A & 17C services will no longer run after 21 July and there are timetable changes to the 14 and 14A routes.

The papers for the County’s meeting to decide on Access to Headington have been published, with the officers’ recommendation to accept the latest version retaining some parking on Windmill Road and Headley Way. My thoughts – and links to the papers – here.

Investigators were called to @WindmillOxford Primary School in Margaret Road on Tuesday after reports of a possible gas leak. Children were not in schoool as it was half term.

Demolition of the houses on the corner of Latimer Road started on Tuesday, to make way for the new student block.

The traffic lights at the Headington roundabout failed on Wednesday morning. Again.

Richards Medical Centre at 12 Old High Street will close after the retirement of Dr Peter Saunders in September (via @HeadingtonNews).

@HeadingtonNews also reported that Nielsen’s have sold their site on the London Road to a property developer and will move to the Oxford Business Park by early 2018.

Congratuations to @HeadingtonSch whose rowing team became national schools girls’ eights champions for the eighth successive year.

A planning application (ref: 16/01267/FUL) has been submitted on behalf of @thespiritoftoad to build an ‘artisan distillery incorporating visitor centre, tasting room, storage barn and café/restaurant’ on the Council Depot on Cheney Lane, at the top of South Park. Here’s the Oxford Mail’s take on the story.

The play area at the bottom of Sandfield Road is one of three sites trialling a voluntary no-smoking policy in the enclosed play area. Anyone familiar with the park will know that smokers escaping the JR West Wing tend to go just inside the gate into the park near the bus stop. Local councillors want to know what you think about the no-smoking idea.

It’s been a busy weekend. Oxford Brookes’ open day, the Farmers’ Market and a sunny, well-attended @HeadingtonFest all happening over the two days.

But less happily, there was a break-in in Wharton Road on Sunday and three bikes were stolen from a garden shed.

My favourite OX3-related tweet of the week:

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

  • AC Nielsen building and A40 surveying work
  • Possible distillery and visitor centre at Headington end of Cheney Lane
  • Closure of Parking Shop
  • Energy pipe

Headington Headlines #265

TonyOX3

Your weekly round-up of local news for 2 – 8 May.

OK, they may not play at the Manor Ground in Headington any more but Oxford United are going up into the First Division next season. Well done all of you!

It was local election week. The full results and a brief commentary on the City Council election results for the six wards in OX3 are here, and the result of the Thames Valley PCC election is here. [Spoiler alert! There are no surprises.]

Barton has a new police sergeant. He is David Keith, and apparently was previously wiith the Met.

Frontier Estates, the developers of the student accommodation in Latimer Road, have submitted an appplication to vary one of the conditions for the building to go ahead. They now want permission to “enable the student accomodation to be occupied by cultural and academic visitors and by conference and summer school delegates outside of term time”. It’s worth noting that unless this is called in by Councillors, the decision will be taken as a delegated decsion by the Planning Officer for the case. Given the controversial history of this development we can only hope it gets fully considered.

Beleagured Southern Health Trust has appointed a new Chairman to replace the one who resigned last week (see HH 264). The new man is Tim Smart, who until last year was Chief Executive of King’s College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust. According to Wikipedia he has an Economics degree from Birmingham University and had a long career as a businessman before joining Kings in 2008.

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

  • Disruption
  • Northway Estate
  • Energy Pipe
  • Election results

Headington Headlines #251

TonyOX3

Your weekly round-up of local news for 25 – 31 January.

I have no further news about the Energy Project this week. So far only one public comment appears on the Council’s website – an objection based on a claim that Vital Energi have no right to excavate in sub-soil owned by the frontagers of the properties past which the pipes will run. 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.

Work has started to make a new Post Office in the Co-op. The opening date is now Monday 15 February.

Shopfitters have started work on the new Post Office in the Co-op.
Shopfitters have started work on the new Post Office in the Co-op.

The Planning Review Committee on Wednesday gave planning permission for the Latimer Road student housing, subject to the developers coming up with a satisfactory solution to screen Headington Prep School from being overlooked. People are now concerned about the timing of the construction possibly coinciding with the heatpipe road works, but at present there’s no information on the timing of either.

Headington’s contribution to the Cecil Rhodes statue debate:

Headington Pet and Garden Store (it’s on the corner of Stile Road opposite the Co-op) is closing down.

My favourite Headington-related tweet of the week – is that David Beckham outside the chip-shop in Barton?

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

  • The Headington Plan – whats next? (August 2015)
  • Northway Update
  • Parking at the JR Hospital
  • Disruption
  • Cold callers selling goods
  • Former Quarry Gate pub