Headington Headlines #391

Your weekly round-up of local news for 22 – 28 October.

In case I’ve not mentioned it before, thanks to @TheOxfordMail reporters for being the source of many of the local stories I pick up and report here. Thanks too to all the lovely local people on twitter who pass on their stories, comments and discussions.

Thames Water says that a problem with ‘mis-connected drains’ putting domestic sewage into the Lye Valley has been solved. Although there’s some confusion about whether this particular problem was affecting the Lye Brook or the Boundary Brook, both streams suffer to a varying extent from surface drains which inevitably include polluting road run-off. It’s welcome news that mis-connected domestic drains have been rectified though; every little helps!

The Friends of Headington Hill Park have a rather nice new website friendsofheadingtonhillpark.org.uk. Just one question – how DO you pronounce FoHHP?

The expected planning application by Oxford Brookes to demolish and rebuild their Clive Booth Student Village accommodation has been published on the City Council’s website (ref: 18/02587/FUL). Comments are open until 30 November.

Headington Action @HeadingtonA has entered the @OxfordBusCo competition to ‘Brand a Bus’. Vote for them here – scroll down to find no. 18).

Oxford United Football Club @OUFCOfficial celebrated the 125th anniversary of their foundation as Headington United FC. The local paper covered the occasion well, including presenting this quiz where you can test your in-depth knowledge of the club’s history.

The City Council has finally resolved the outstanding problem of the condition of the Bullingdon Community Centre on Peat Moors/Bulan Road (see HH 326, 328, 330, & 359). The previous plan for partial demolition has now been replaced by a £1m scheme for complete demolition of the Centre, replacing it with a brand new building.

Staff from Connell’s Estate Agents in Headington came to the rescue of an elderly man whose car stalled on the London Road at rush hour.

And finally … continuing the good news theme, a special OX3 welcome to Henry George Stuart Fowler, age 10 days, who was born in the back of his parents’ car on the corner of London Road and Headley Way on Friday last week (19th).

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

  • Brand a Bus
  • Oxford Architectural History lecture

Headington Headlines #324

Your weekly round-up of local news for 26 June – 2 July.

Despite earlier reassurances, Oxford City Council has found after tests that they will have to replace the exterior cladding on the Evenlode and Windrush Towers in Blackbird Leys. The towers will not be evacuated as other fire precautions, including sprinklers, have been included in the Council’s refurbishment. The two towers in OX3 – Foresters in Wood Farm and Plowman in Northway have not yet had cladding installed so are not affected.

Oxfordshire Fire and Rescue Service has released this statement about it.

The last thing anyone wanted was for a fire to break out in one of the tower blocks. This is just what happened in Plowman Tower, Northway on Wednesday. Fire crews attended and the fire turned out to be small and in a ground floor storage area. It was quickly dealt with.

Still on the subject of fire safety in communal buildings, Headington LibDems asked @Oxford_Brookes and Unite (the company that manages Dorset House and will manage Beech House) for statements on their respective fire safety. The replies are here on the LibDem website.

Four local surgeries/health centres are now run by Hedena Health; Bury Knowle, Barton, Marston and Wood Farm. Who or what Hedena Health is, is to say the least opaque but I’ve done some digging. This post explains what’s going on.

All Saints’ Church has joined twitter. Welcome and follow @AllSaintsOX3!

Oxford City has opened the public consultation on the ‘Preferred Options’ stage of the City’s developing Local Plan covering the period up to 2036. The consultation runs until 25 August. Every household will be getting a leaflet and questionnaire, but for starters try the Council’s Local Plan web page and @OxCivicSoc‘s short article.

Local LibDems and Greens were quick to pounce on newly-elected @AnnelieseDodds‘ failure to back an amendment in the Commons that would have required the UK to stay in the Single Market. This despite her election campaign statements that ‘extreme Brexit’ would be a disaster. Anneliese has explained that she backed a different amendment which she believed was stronger. A full account of this story here.

My favourite Headington-related tweet:

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

  • Four local medical practices now come under Hedena Health
  • Edgeway Rd cycle apologies
  • Frontier Estates Multiple Site London Road / Barton Road

Headington Headlines #323

Your weekly round-up of local news for 19 – 25 June.

As predicted last week, the start of the Access to Headington work on Headley Way which was due today has been postponed to 24 July to allow Thames Water to carry out sewer replacement work in St Clements first. The St Clements work means traffic lights and closures for two months.

Judy Webb, naturalist, conservationist and leading light of the Friends of Lye Valley @FriendLyeValley received an Oxford City Certificate of Honour “for 16 years of service as a volunteer promoting nature conservation within Oxford”. She was presented with her certificate by Oxfordshire Deputy Lieutenant Lady Helen Baker.

Judy Webb receiving her Certificate of Honour
Judy Webb receiving her Certificate of Honour

Oxford City’s Executive Board ‘made’ (i.e. approved) the Headington Plan. To complete the process it still needs confirmation by the full City Council, which will happen next month.

The Oxford Mail reports that the OU Hospitals Trust is considering installing number plate recognition controls at the hospital car parks.

The day before the new parliament started, Oxford East’s new MP @anneliesedodds was tipped by the Huffington Post as one of ‘nine MPs tipped to shine‘ in the new parliament. They predict a significant role in Labour’s Brexit team.

I was one of a group of 14 locals who enjoyed a behind-the-scenes tour of the Energy Project at the JR Hospital on Thursday. After a short presentation giving an overview of the project we were shown the new boilers and the 4.5MW CHP engine. They’ve managed to fit some impressive equipment and miles of pipes into the existing hospital structure without losing any of the hospital’s working time.

The man who pleaded guilty to the murder in Windmill Road in February (see HH319 and HH305) was sentenced to life imprisonment with a minimum term of 20 years 10 months. Egidio Da Silva Alves murdered his brother-in-law Domingos Ramalho in a family feud.

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

  • Strimmer found